A strong domestic trade provided the backbone to Arqana’s three-day October Yearling Sale, which still saw across-the-board declines in all key statistics. The sale ended at Deauville, France, on the evening of Oct. 22.
The 8,381,500 euros (US$11,103,727) turnover was down 26.5% on 2007, the 23,412 euros (US$29,566) average was a reduction of 19% and the 18,000 euros (US$22,731) median dipped by 10%. The clearance rate fell from 77.91% to 71.17%. A total of 358 yearlings were sold from 503 offered.
A 315,000 euros (US$397,801) Danehill Dancer colt out of the Mr Prospector mare Obscura topped the sale when selling to French agent Paul Nataf, acting for a client from Libya. The Niarchos family’s Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard sold the colt who will go into training with Jean-Marie Beguigne.
Eric Hoyeau, president of Arqana, commented: "In such a difficult international context, we can only be satisfied with the results and particularly with the diversity in the buyers’ list, which is a very positive sign.
"The French yearling market, measured as the cumulative turnover of the August and October sales, remains stable in comparison to 2007, a remarkable performance that only France can claim to have achieved."