Australian buyers headlined the opening session of Arqana’s August yearling sale at Deauville on Monday.

Paul Fudge’s Waratah Thoroughbreds bid 440,000 euros to beat fellow Aussie Paul Makin for the session-topping Invincible Spirit colt from Lodge Park Stud.

Michael Goodbody, acting on behalf of Fudge, saw off Makin’s representative Grant Pritchard-Gordon.  “He is a lovely colt with a great pedigree,” Goodbody said.  “He will remain in France.”

The Invincible Spirit colt is from stakes placed mare Elle Galante (Galileo).  The dam is a half-sister leading German filly Elle Shadow (Shamardal).

Coolmore’s Demi O’Byrne secured a Montjeu – Minacciwith colt for 340,000 euros.  He is a half-brother to G2 Prix de Pomone winner Macleya (Winged Love).

Coolmore’s previous high-profile buys at this sale include Maybe (Galileo) and Recital (Montjeu).  The Galileo half-brother to G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Stormy River (Verglas) sold for 260,000.euros.

Leading the way among first-crop sires was G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Raven’s Pass.  His filly from Lady Elgar (Sadler’s Wells) was the day’s top-priced filly when selling to Blandford Bloodstock for 300,000 euros.

Lady Elgar is a half-sister to the stakes winners Grand Couturier (Grand Lodge), Alainmaar (Johar) and Yaqeen (Green Desert).

Blandford’s Richard Brown was acting for Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa.  “She is a standout,” Brown said.  “She is a nice filly from a very good farm with a great walk.”

An Oasis Dream – Consuelita (Singspiel) colt was knocked down to BBA Germany for 260,000 euros.  She is from a half-sister to the dam of 2010 Melbourne Cup winner Americain (Dynaformer).

“He’s a lovely colt and is for a German client,” agent Dirk Eisele revealed.  “If he stays in France, he will join Mikel Delzangles and if he goes to Germany, he will be with Peter Schiergen.”

Monday’s opening session saw a total of 66 yearlings change hands for 8.79 million euros.  The average was 133,303 euros and the median 120,000 euros.  The clearance rate was 65%.

“It is difficult to cast a judgment on the results, as the new format doesn’t allow for comparisons with previous years,” said Arqana’s President Eric Hoyeau.  “Most of the key indicators are encouraging but the clearance rate was disappointing.”

Selling continues until Thursday.  The full catalogue and updates are available on www.arqana.com.

Currency converter:  1,000 euros = AUD 1,380