An English thoroughbred was sold for 2.1 million euros, the highest price of this edition.
Forget the Covid and its restrictions… Sales of yearlings – these young thoroughbreds destined to become racetrack cracks – are once again reaching new heights. The Deauville auctions, the most important of the year, which take place in mid-August, recorded an unprecedented turnover of more than 51 million euros, the organizers announced on Tuesday. Total turnover jumped by 18% still compared to 2019 to reach 51,071,000 euros.
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“Faced with such a result, we are more than satisfied, the yearling sales season is starting in the best possible way.“, welcome Éric Hoyeau, president of Arqana and Freddy Powell, executive director, quoted in the press release. The previous record for these auctions dates back to 2019 with a turnover which had reached 43 million euros. In 2021, the total sale was 40.2 million euros. The highest price of this edition was reached on Sunday for the sale of the brother of Sottsass (winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe), awarded 2.1 million euros to Japanese master trainer Yoshito Yahagi. This colt, presented by the Écurie des Monceaux, is the son of Siyouni and Starlet’s Sister.
An average price of 210,025 euros
On Monday, the son of Dubawi and the winner of the Minerve Golden Valentine Prize, also presented by the Ecurie des Monceaux, was acquired for 2 million euros by Godolphin, the stable of the Emir of Dubai Mohammed ben Rached al – Maktoum. Godolphin, the biggest buyer at the end of the three days of sales, won 6 yearlings bought for an auction volume of 5.55 million euros.
The Deauville record for the sale of a single horse was set at 2.6 million euros in 2015. The average price for yearlings sold this year reached 210,025 euros for 285 horses presented, says Arqana. 84% of the horses found takers. The Arqana sales agency, the second yearling sales agency after Tattersalls in England, launched these sales in 2000 and organized the event which is one of the most prestigious yearling auctions in France.
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In 2020, sales severely disrupted by the Covid had fallen by 20%. In 2021, they had returned to their 2018 level, despite the persistence of health restrictions. Several factors explain this improvement. The end of sanitary measures has allowed buyers from all over the world to return to Deauville. In 2021, the Australians, traditional big buyers, could not be present. In addition, the parity of the euro with the greenback is very favorable to those who buy in dollars or those whose currency is indexed to the American currency. Finally, this year, the catalog has been reduced to display only the best pedigrees. An inflationary factor there too.