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| Staff Writer |
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After delivering one of the finest catalogues in the global breeze-up sale industry last year, Arqana’s Head of Bloodstock, Cornuel, had a fight ahead to deliver an even better one this year, while adding more quality dirt pedigrees to mix for the first time as well.
Cornuel and his team did extensive research to understand what the buying bench from their local and international markets wanted.
The results, showcased in the catalogue, are less than surprising. Given Arqana’s reputation for refinement and minimalism drawing its French heritage, the catalogue, just 207 lots, is almost as tempting as a Cartier fine jewellery show catalogue. Each lot more exquisite than the last. Showcasing a 12 per cent growth, up from 185 lots last year, the catalogue is one of the largest Arqana has produced since the sale began. The bloodstock team inspected 650 2YOs to carefully select the best for their historic sale. But according to Cornuel, everything is bleeding of Arqana’s own vision into the vision held by their buying bench as a collective.
Through all of his work as a global bloodstock director for Arqana, Ludovic Cornuel exudes quiet determination and strength about the high quality of the work they present at the sale. With their biggest Breeze Up sale just a few days away, Cornuel speaks to Ten Furlongs about what makes the catalogue special.
Please tell us a little bit about your background and how you got involved with horses. And then, how you got involved with Arqana.
A: Well, I got involved a bit by accident because I'm not from a horse background. My parents had some friends who were racehorse owners. One day we went racing with them, and I just fell in love with the game, and that's how it got started.
I started to work with Arqana over 13 years ago in 2011. Before that, during my studies, I would go riding in the morning while I was at business school in Paris. During the summer, I was doing some placements with Arqana and some bloodstock consulting on the side. After I finished my business degree and graduated from Godolphin Flying Start, I joined Arqana full-time. I've been I've been gravitating around the business for like 20 years now.
And if we look at this particular sale, the Breeze Up Sale, how long have you been involved with this sale?
A: Together with the team, we go to the farms to inspect and select the best offer for the seller. Afterwards, we travel extensively within France and then internationally, to try and get the best people to buy them. Our job is really to balance the supply and demand at the highest prices.
What were the factors that contributed to making this one of the best breeze-up sale offerings in the world?
A: Arqana started to organise the Breeze Up sale 20 years ago. It has been developed really step by step. The Deauville track is a key element to the success of the seller. Vendors really like this track. It is flat and very well maintained by the team. A couple of days before the seller breezes the horses so that people have a view of the horses in action. It is also extremely important that we can provide a very safe track in the best condition possible for horses.
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What sort of trends or themes do you anticipate seeing this year in this year’s catalogue?
A: Firstly, we have a catalogue with 207 lots this year, which is which is a 12% increase from last year. The second fact is that we have increased the share of American dirt profiles because we see there is greater demand on that bracket of the market. We've travelled to the Middle East extensively over the last few years, we have been given this feedback by a lot of buyers, and trainers. The buying bench tell us that they are looking for these types of horses. Obviously, racing in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai and Bahrain have been developing and competing at a very good level over the last few years. That was part of the reason why we decided to have more horses with a dirt profile, based on the needs of these jurisdictions.
We have also had more and more buyers from America. This year again, we had one horse (sold at the Breeze Up sale) that was on the Kentucky Derby trail. Last few years we got several others. Six years ago, Norman Williamson of Oak Tree Farm sold a War Front colt, to Justin Casse for €250,000 at the Breeze Up sale at Deauville. After he was taken back to his native land, the Claiborne-bred colt became Gr.1 Preakness winner War of Will—and now brings things full circle with a member of his first crop featuring Hip 177.
Could you talk about some of your selection process because you must be really going into quality control when it comes to horses for this particular sale?
A: Just to give you an idea, we had around 650 entries and during the winter we selected what we felt were the best 200. Furthermore, for this sale, we are focusing on Classic types that will blossom at three.
Has there been any shift that you're seeing in terms of buyer preferences when it comes to the sale?
A: The main change in the buying bench for this sale has become very international. This sale will have horsemen and buyers from America, Australia, Hong Kong, the Middle East and all over Europe. Hence, we try to group together such a diverse offer in terms of pedigrees and in terms of abilities. I think there is something for everyone at that sale looking for a quality bloodstock to run end of the year and onwards.
What do you feel about the quality bloodstock being presented at this sale?
A: Given the quality of the catalogue to be honest, difficult to pinpoint one or two. What we are very proud of is that the catalogue features some very powerful sires and sire lines. We have all the best sires from Europe including Dubawi, Frankel, Lope De Vega, Sea The Stars, Siyouni, and Wootton Bassett. From America, we again have some great sires, including five or six by Justify, a sire whose name is on everyone's lips. Other American sires include Candy Ride, Gun Runner, Medaglia D’oro, Quality Road, Uncle Mo, Bernardini, Ghostzapper, Kitten’s Joy, Maclean’s Music, Nyquist, Street Sense, and Twirling Candy.
Please tell us about some stand-out lots from this sale.
A: We feature a number of interesting horses based on their pedigree and confirmation. Some of the highlight lots include:
And our last question is, in the coming years, how do you see the sale evolving? And what are the initiatives that you would like to see bear fruit in the future?
A: We always want to do better and better. Over the next few years, the focus will always be to improve the quality and increase the strike rate of our horses.