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Dubawi filly purchased by Oliver St Lawrence on day two at Arqana

On paper Lot 251 - the well-related Dubawi (Dubai Millennium) filly - looked the potential headline act of the Arqana Select Yearling Sale and she did not disappoint when she went for a massive €2.5 million on Thursday to come out on top of day two of France’s premier auction. 

Offered by Monceaux, the filly is out of the placed Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) mare Starlet’s Sister, who has proved herself a top-class broodmare producing multiple elite-level winning mare Sistercharlie (Myboycharlie), Group 3 winner My Sister Nat (Acclamation) and Sottsass (Siyouni), whose four stakes victories are headed by wins in the Prix du Jockey Club (Gr 1, 2100m) and Prix Ganay (Gr 1, 2100m) and he will look to add a third top-flight victory to his record in the Irish Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 1m2f) at Leopardstown on Saturday. 

Further back this is the same family as Listed winner Anabaa’s Creation (Anabaa).

Bahraini trainer Fawzi Nass, who was speaking alongside St Lawrence, said the filly had been bought for Nasser Al Khalifa, in partnership with KHK Racing and would head into training in England but that no trainer had been decided. 

“She is a very beautiful filly with an exceptional pedigree,” said Nass - who outlasted David Redvers for the honour to take the well-related daughter of Darley’s star sire Dubawi home. 

“I bought it for Nasser Al Khalifa, in partnership with KHK Racing. She will be going to England, we don't know where she will go in training yet, but we'll decide soon. It is a profile of fillies difficult to have because it arouses a lot of interest, but we never doubted, we knew we could go all the way. We are delighted to have it”

NEW TOP LOT@OStLawrence signed the docket for €,, for lot 251, a half-sister by #Dubawi (@DarleyStallions / @DarleyEurope) to Classic winner SOTTSASS and multiple Gr.1 winner SISTERCHARLIE. Consigned by @EcurieMonceaux. #ArqanaYearlings pic.twitter.com/1Tue7Sc0aJ

— ARQANA (@InfoArqana) September 10, 2020

St Lawrence and Nass paired up earlier in the day for the only lot in the catalogue by Coolmore Stud shuttler American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile), taking home the colt for €320,000. 

Offered as part of the Etreham draft and catalogued as Lot 228, the colt is the first foal out of Woodcote Stakes (Listed, 6f)-placed Distorted Humor (Forty Niner) mare Sea Of Snow, who is herself a half-sister to Group 3 winner Powder Snow (Dubawi). 

Further back this is the well-known family of multiple Group 1 winner Lammtarra (Nijinsky), while 2017 Sydney Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Polarisation (Echo Of Light) also features on the page. 

He is a very beautiful son of American Pharoah with a very good pedigree,” said Naas. “We hope he will be a very good racehorse as well. He will take over the management of England, but we have not yet decided who he will go to in training.”

Earlier on in the afternoon, another lucrative chapter of Pruenzia’s (Dansili) extraordinary sales story was written on Thursday as Coolmore’s M V Magnier went to an eye-watering €2 million for a Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) colt out of the Listed-winning Dansili (Danehill) mare, taking the aggregate of her yearling receipts to a phenomenal €10,195,000. 

Catalogued as Lot 199 and also offered by Monceaux - the same farm that sold her other eight yearlings - the colt is a brother to globetrotting superstar filly Magic Wand whose four victories are headed by her win in last season’s LKS Mackinnon Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) at Flemington, while she also counts Irish Oaks (Gr 1, 1m4f) winner Chicquita (Montjeu) among her half-siblings. 

Pruenzia herself is out of Platonic (Zafonic), making her a half-sister to Pacifque (Montjeu) and Listed-winner English King (Camelot), who will be attempting to add a top-flight win to his record in the Grand Prix de Paris (Gr 1, 1m4f) at Longchamp on Sunday. 

Further back this is the same family as 2017 Melbourne Cup (Gr 1, 3200m) winner Rekindling (High Chaparral). 

It was the second of the mare’s progeny Magnier has bought, having paid €1.4 million for the aforementioned Magic Wand at the 2016 edition of the auction, while he paid €1,000,000 for Truth - a filly by Galileo - in 2013 and he said he was pleased to be leaving Deauville this year with another yearling from the famous family in toe. 

“He's a very pretty colt who moves very well,” said Magnier, who had to fight off furious competition from David Redvers. 

“He comes from a fantastic family with whom we have already been very lucky. Chicquita and Magic Wand brought us a lot of joy on the track, and we hope he will follow in their footsteps.”

Three lots made over seven figures on the second day of the Arqana Premier Yearling Sale and the trio was completed by colt by Juddmonte Farms stallion Kingman (Invincible Spirit), who was purchased by Anthony Stroud, who was working on behalf of Godolphin, for €1,100,000. 

Godolphin have enjoyed a lot of success with progeny by the son of Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) headlined by their three-time Group 1 winner Persian King. 

Catalogued as Lot 250, the colt is out of Speralita (Frankel), who is in turn a daughter of German Listed winner Soignee (Dashing Blade). 

Soignee herself produced multiple top-flight scorer Stacelita (Monsun) - the dam of dual Japanese Grade 1 winner Soul Stirring (Frankel) - who is famed for handing Frankel (Galileo) with his first elite-level-winner as a stallion when she took out the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (Gr 1, 1600m) in 2016 - the first of her two wins at elite level. 

Further back the pedigree is littered with stakes winners, including Group 2 winner Simoun (Monsun) and Listed winner Soudaine. 

One of the lots that would have garnered significant interest during the auction was the sister to dual Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Gr 1, 2400m) winner Treve (Motivator), who was offered by Quesnay and snapped up by Gérard Larrieu of the Chantilly Bloodstock Agency for €520,000 and will be sent into training with Fabrice Chappet. 

Catalogued as Lot 296, the filly is out of winning Anabaa (Danzig) mare Trevise, who alongside Treve also produced Listed winner Trois Rois (Hernando). 

“We had wonderful moments with his sister, there is no reason that we did not know it with her,” said Gérard Larrieu. “I bought it on behalf of Shael Al Kuwari and she will stay in France and will join Fabrice Chappet's boxes.”

At the close of trade, Arqana reported that over the two days of trade 167 yearlings had sold at a clearance of 70.46 per cent with an aggregate of € 30,192,000, meanwhile the average sat at €180,790 and the median was €105,000. 

At the same point in 2019, 112 yearlings sold at a clearance of 78.32 per cent and aggregate of € 32,655,000. The average was reported as € 291,563, while the median sat at €220,000.