Ecurie des Monceaux's Henri Bozo had plenty to celebrate on the opening day of the Arqana October Yearling Sale as big-spending Godolphin went to a session-topping €360,000 (US$403,808, €1=US$1.12) to secure a Blue Point colt offered by the leading nursery.
The colt was the most expensive of three purchases signed by Anthony Stroud on behalf of Godolphin, which finished the day with an outlay of €750,000.
Bozo said: "He deserves to be popular because Blue Point is going from strength to strength and he gives a great attitude to his horses. I really liked the mare when we bought her from the Wertheimers and we decided to send her to a proven stallion. He is a nice colt with a great attitude and walk and it was a good result."
The colt is out of Ronea, a Wertheimer & Frere-bred daughter of Sea The Stars, whom Bozo's operation purchased for €135,000 at the 2023 Arqana Breeding Stock Sale.
Ronea is a half sister to listed winner Mosaique, with both out of group 2 winner The Juliet Rose, herself a half sister to recent Canadian International Stakes (G1T) winner Arabian Crown and German stakes winner Everest Rose.
Earlier in the afternoon, Godolphin made its first purchase when going to €260,000 for Etreham's Sea The Stars colt out of the listed-winning Lord of England mare Penny Lane.
Penny Lane has produced four winners on the track, headed by this year's Prix du Calvados (G2) winner Woot Woot. That daughter of Wootton Bassett fetched the same price as her half brother at last year's edition of the October Sale, while Penny Lane is also the dam of group 3-placed winner Padishakh.
Godolphin's first day's spend was completed by a Muhaarar colt out of a sister to dual group 1 winner Recoletos.
Ecurie des Monceaux topped the vendors' charts at the close of the opening session, having sold 21 yearlings for an aggregate of €2,329,000.
However, the sale ring results were not the only cause for celebration for Bozo, who also watched his blue hen mare Prudenzia produce yet another winner when her daughter Marylebone broke her maiden at Yarmouth Racecourse.
Prudenzia's remarkable record as a broodmare includes multiple group 1 winner Diamond Necklace, Australian group 1 scorer Magic Wand, 2013 Irish Oaks (G1) heroine Chicquita, and group winner Philomene, who finished runner-up in the 2021 Prix de Diane (G1).
Statistics
A total of 154 of the 191 lots offered changed hands for a clearance rate of 81%, a marked improvement on the 69% recorded at the corresponding session 12 months ago.
Turnover reached €14,114,000 (US$15,831,533), a 2% increase year-on-year, despite 24 fewer lots coming under the hammer. The average fell marginally by 2% to €91,649 (US$102,802), while the median rose 7% to €75,000 (US$84,127).
Reflecting on the market, Bozo added: "I think it's been good. It was strong and if you brought a nice horse with a nice physical and a decent pedigree, there was plenty of interest from many different buyers. It was not polarized at all. I thought it was a good market."
The Arqana October Yearling Sale continues with selling getting under way at noon local time Oct. 21.
