Arqana sale: Sea the Stars juvenile sets record

A 2-year-old son of European Horse of the Year and freshman sire Sea the Stars sold for a sale-record price of about $675,190 (520,000 euros) to lead Saturday’s Arqana Bloodstock Breeze Up auction, held at Saint-Cloud Racecourse near Paris.

The colt was offered by the Channel Consignment and purchased by trainer Marco Botti as agent for Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum, who outbid Nicolas de Watrigant’s Mandore International in the late stages. Named Salamargo, the Irish-bred colt is out of the multiple stakes-winning Danehill mare Navajo Moon. Navajo Moon is a full sister to Group 3 winner Five Dynasties and to Irish classic-placed winner Roosevelt. The colt’s second dam, Star Begonia, by Sadler’s Wells, is a full sister to Group 1 winner and leading French sire Poliglote.

Including private sales, Arqana reported 92 juveniles sold from 115 offered for total receipts of $8,304,620 (6,403,500 euros). This marked a 1 percent increase compared with the 2012 Breeze Up sale, when 102 lots sold from 149 offered for about $8,205,550. Saturday’s average price of about $86,700 increased 18 percent compared with last year, and the $64,920 median spiked 19 percent. The buy-back rate of 20 percent was also a marked improvement, compared with 32 percent during last year’s sale.

The top price by a United States-based sire was brought by a Bernardini colt, who was a late addition to the sale and sold for about $129,850 (100,000 euros) to Blandford Bloodstock. Consigned by Mocklershill Stud, the colt is out of Grade 3-placed winner The Best Day Ever, by Brahms. His second dam is Grade 3 winner Added Asset, who is a half-sister to Black-Eyed Susan winner Added Gold.

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