Arqana officials were satisfied the new format for its October yearling sale achieved its objective after the auction ended on Thursday with a record median of 21,000 euros.

The Deauville sale was divided into two parts with the opening two sessions comprising the most desirable lots.  Overall, 384 lots were sold for a total of 10.66 million euros.  The record median of 21,000 euros marked a rise of 17% from 2009 while the average increased by 8% to 27,773 euros.  The clearance rate also showed an improvement rising two points to 73%.

Thursday’s session was topped by a first-crop son of Manduro.  He is a half-brother to G3 winner Ballast and was sold to trainer Markus Nigge for 40,000 euros.

Manduro (Monsun) retired in 2007 after scoring G1 victories in the Prix d’Ispahan, Prince of Wales Stakes and Prix du Jacques le Marois.  A Manduro – Sacarina colt sold for 150,000 euros at the BBAG yearling sale in Baden Baden last month.

The final day saw 51 horses change hands at an average of 14,902 euros.

“The results are very encouraging and show that the October yearling sale has much more to offer than the leftovers of the August session,” Arqana president Eric Hoyeau said.  “This is a market in its own right, which relies on the solid French demand as well as on the strong interest that the French system raises among neighbouring countries.

“This was particularly evident regarding British and Irish professionals, who were very active despite having already attended a vast number of sales in their home countries.”

1,000 euros = AUD 1,414