ENGLISH TEXTS the yearlings sold in the ring were by a French based sire and 22 of these were by either Siyoui or Zarak not leaving many places for all of the other French sires. This is a problem due to a degree to how Arqana choses to make its selection, and then there are enough young sires being given a chance in France that there will surely be some successors to the Aga Khan Stud’ s two stars among the younger generation who have yet to have runners. French vendors, on the other hand, accounted for 92 % of the total aggregate, with Monceaux alone accounting for 30 %. The format and selection for Arqana’ s yearling sales is a far more difficult puzzle than anything Tattersalls has to solve. August is early in the season and doesn’ t suit many high class yearlings, and then the catalogue in October, two months later, must be strong enough to bring the foreign buyers back to Deauville. It would be possible to have more yearlings by French based sires in the August catalogue, even if this might entail reverting to one of the myriad of different formats tried in the recent past and having a Part 1 and a Part 2. In any event the base line of any analysis of the 2025 August sale is that Deauville is back, following the European trend and enticing the leading buyers to take an active part in the sale.
AT THE VERY HEART OF THE ARQANA AUGUST SALES
Nothing can quite capture the excitement of the August Sales- the beauty of the horses, the bustling crowd where professionals and tourists cross paths, the tension of the year’ s first major rendezvous, the elegance of the venue, the result of long months of teamwork and the dreams that begin with the stroke of a pen. The days were intense and full of emotion, both in the sales ring, where prices climbed to historic heights, and in the yards, where we had the pleasure of meeting the key players. A kaleidoscope of raw emotions from the ring, and a behind-the-scenes look at some of the leading figures of these sessions.
TRAINER
� PAGE 24
KARL BURKE MAN OF THE MONTH AT DEAUVILLE
BACK TO THE ARTICLE �
By Katherine Ford
He is based 840 kilometers from Place Morny, and yet he is the leading man of the Deauville meeting. From his yard in the picturesque training center of Middleham in northern England, Karl Burke sent two superb fillies, Fallen Angel and Venetian Sun, to the equally charming Norman town to each collect a Group 1 on the first and last Sundays of August.
“ I’ ve been running horses in France for a very long time, I even finished second in a Listed race at Evry with Daring Destiny in 1995,” recalls the Englishman in his sixties, who has since shone in France with Laurens, Unfortunately, Odeliz, and Lord Shanakill.“ When we started running in France, I calculated that if an older horse had a rating around 32, it would almost always earn prize money in a claimer. That worked well and we had several horses claimed from us.”
English precocity“ I find that the French program isn’ t really designed to bring two-year-olds along, and training methods for juveniles in France are more relaxed than here, so British horses are more competitive. I’ m not the only one trying to take advantage of that! Travel is expensive, so you have to be selective.” On 31 august, Burke’ s stable has sent out 21 runners in France in 2025, for three wins, 15 placings and a total of € 558,130 in prize money. Trips are targeted and prepared, with a well-oiled routine now in place.“ Our schedule is simple. For example, for a runner on Sunday, the horse will canter here at Middle-
129 # 12