‘This kind of filly is rare’ – Prix de l’Opera winner Rougir among Arqana stars

THE breeding stock sales bandwagon rolls into Deauville today with Arqana’s four-day event due to kick off at 10am local time (9am GMT).

Some 1,024 lots of fillies, mares and foals have been catalogued, including a handful of youngsters with fresh Group 1 form to their name. There is a new name among the consignors’ index, albeit with some familiar faces at the helm, with Nurlan Bizakov’s Sumbe set to offer its debut draft.

The operation, which was formed in November 2020 and comprises Hesmonds Stud in Lewes and the Normandybased pair of Montfort & Preaux and Haras du Mezeray, consigns 18 lots, including an important wildcard entry, this year’s Prix de l’Opera heroine Rougir (lot 160).

The daughter of Territories has been a most talented and progressive performer for trainer Cedric Rossi and the Cheboub family’s Haras de la Gousserie. She has won four times, including three races at two, when she claimed the Group 3 Prix des Reservoirs and was third to Tiger Tanaka in the Prix Marcel Boussac.

She took her form to new heights this year, first when beaten just half a length by Mother Earth in the Prix Rothschild, then when a head third to Rumi in the Prix de la Nonette before she made her Group 1 breakthrough in the Prix de l’Opera, in which she beat Grand Glory, who will also come under the hammer at Arqana (192), as will the third home Eudaimonia (200).

Previous Group 1 winners Audarya and Thundering Nights were back in fourth and fifth.

“Rougir is a phenomenal filly,” said Sumbe’s Mathieu Alex. “She ran in the Breeders’ Cup [finished seventh in the Filly & Mare Turf] then went into training for a while and she arrived on the farm ten days ago.

“She’s a lovely filly with a great temperament, she’s got a lot of class and I’m very happy with her. She’s only a threeyear-old, she’s very sound with very clean x-rays and scopes. Opportunities to buy this kind of filly are very rare.”

Expanding on how Sumbe came to present Rougir at Arqana, Alex said: “I’ve known Mr [Kamel] Chehboub for a while and we have a very good relationship. He wanted to have some mares in Normandy and with Mr Bizakov buying the farm here [Mezeray] we got back in touch. A few weeks ago he very kindly asked us if we would consign this filly for him and naturally we said we’d be happy to do so.”

Rougir (right) is not the only highclass filly Sumbe will present during today’s headline session, with Speak Of The Devil ( 172) set to enter the Deauville ring several lots later. The daughter of Wootton Bassett has won five races, including four at Listed level. She won back-to-back Listed contests on her last two outings for Frederic Rossi, namely the Prix Isola Bella and Prix Tantieme.

She boasts some solid Group 1 form too, having finished third, one place ahead of Rougir, in the Prix Rothschild won by Mother Earth, while she also ran second, beaten by a rapidly diminishing nose, in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches won by Dream And Do.

Speak Of The Devil will be consigned by Sumbe on behalf of owner Rashit Shaykhutdinov, who also offers his homebred Frankel’s Magic (190 ),a stakes-placed daughter of Frankel from the family of Fame And Glory.

“Speak Of The Devil is a very good-looking filly who’s by a hot sire in Wootton Bassett,” said Alex. “She’s a proper Group 1 filly. She’s another who is very sound and I think she could be a fun prospect to race on.”

There are plenty of other highlights in the bumper catalogue, including Gestut Ammerland’s Wildfeder (188), a Galileo sister to Arc hero Waldgeist and a three-parts sister to Waldlied, who topped the Tattersalls December Mares Sale at 2,200,000gns when Newsells Park Stud bought out their partners through Jill Lamb.

Other eyecatching entries include the Group 1-placed fillies Aloha Star (182) and Purplepay (150), and the Group 3 scorers Parent’s Prayer ( 147) and No Limit Credit (158). The Aga Khan Studs and Godolphin also send typical strong and sizeable drafts.

The Arqana Breeding Stock Sale follows hot on the heels of particularly strong renewals of the Goffs and Tattersalls equivalents, and Alex said he was optimistic that the momentum generated at those events would be maintained in Deauville.

“The market has been very strong this year, especially in Ireland and Britain, and I think that will carry on here, which is great for the game,” he said. “There’s a lot of people coming from all over the world, obviously from France, Britain and Ireland but also America, Australia and Japan.

“It’s the first year consigning as Sumbe and it’s very exciting to be here with such a very good draft. It’s something we’d like to do more of in the future, especially at this time of the year.

“It’s a great opportunity to meet people and talk about our stallions and the breeding operation. We’re very grateful to the owners who have put their faith in us. Now let’s hope we can do the job!”