Prix de l'Opera (G1) heroine Place du Carrousel produced a bidding battle for the ages Dec. 9 in Deauville. And the contest took an age, too. The outcome of almost a quarter of an hour's worth of bidding was the hammer fell at €4,025,000 (US$4,336,334, €1=US$1.08) making the Haras de Bouquetot-consigned filly the most expensive horse ever sold at Arqana.
The bid board quickly skipped into seven-figure territory and continued to tick over at €100,000 increments until the bell rang to signal an online increase of €25,000 when the price was already beyond €3 million.
Agent Tina Rau, taking instructions on the phone in the restaurant, was involved until late in the piece, while the penultimate bid of €4m came from the Coolmore camp, with Paul Shanahan and MV Magnier directing their involvement to the bid-spotter by the entrance to the ring.
However, the Coolmore team walked away when the online bidder played their final €25,000 raise. The docket was signed by Portofino Bloodstock.
An air of mystery surrounded the identity of the buyer as the Arqana team were unable to reveal who is behind the name Portofino Bloodstock. Zhang Yuesheng has been an active online player at the top of the European bloodstock market in the past but representatives were unable to confirm or deny the involvement of the Yulong Investments man.
Place du Carrousel was raced in partnership by Al Shaqab Racing and Ballylinch Stud, with the latter partner also co-breeder along with Alexis and Fan Adamian.
"Everyone on the campus knew she was an outstanding physical, an excellent race filly, and by a top sire," said John O'Connor, managing director of Ballylinch Stud. "We had a good go at buying her back ourselves but there was a big battle to get her. We would have loved to have her back but I'm sure she'll be going to the top stallions, whoever has bought her.
"We're happy for everyone involved though; our partners who raced her with us, our co-breeder, everything is good. I've been at all the breeding stock sales in Europe this year and, for me, she was the best overall package between looks and racing, she was just a queen."
Reflecting on the bidding marathon that saw Place du Carrousel etch her name into Arqana history, O'Connor said: "We're in a new era now where online bids come in at a slower rate and at various figures, so we have to get used to that. We knew she was going to make a lot of money, whether we were going to get her ourselves was never clear. We knew there'd be plenty of opposition, and at the highest level, but you never really know what they're going to make."
The 4-year-old Lope de Vega filly is the first foal out of Traffic Jam, a daughter of Duke of Marmalade who won the Prix du Conseil de Paris (G2) during her time in training.
"The mare is young, she's her first foal, and we have a beautiful full sister who's a weanling at the moment," added O'Connor. "I think there's still a lot to come from this family. I wish the purchasers the best of luck and I'm sure she'll be very successful. We're going to discuss what we do with the sister soon. She's very nice so we're going to have some interesting conversations over the next few months."
