What should the embryo collection look like when auctioning for the second time at the breathtaking Il Borro in Tuscany, Italy, on Saturday 18 November? Flanders Foal Auction asked itself this question. The pedigrees have to be top class, but also importantly, the embryos must be marketable. “Embryos with a minimum price that was too high in our opinion, have been scratched from the list. Every unsold embryo is one too many,” says Gerald Lenaerts, organiser of the Flanders auctions together with Luk Van Puymbroeck.
Last year’s auction at the Tuscan five-star resort of the famous Italian Ferragamo family, twenty kilometres from Arezzo, was unforgettable in every respect. First of all, because of the historic location and luxurious accommodation, but also because of the hospitality, the culinary experience, tour of the wine estate and explanation of Ferruccio Ferragamo’s art collection. Marco Debolini of MVD Stalloni presented some young horses from his own breeding, close to the wineyards, further fuelling the enthusiasm among the auction visitors.
The result was stunning as well. After the reception in the wine cellars and the gala dinner in the amphitheatre with live band, the auction started. The average price came to 30,300 euros. The highlight of the evening was a Chacco-Blue out of Kirby de Muze, which came into Arabian hands for 90,000 euros. The foal was born healthy and well this year.
No hyped up show
“And now we have another strong collection,” says Gerald Lenaerts. “Taking into account that the auctions were a bit more modest this year, we looked strict at the breeders’ minimum price. We had a very good year with Flanders Foal Auction, but you noticed that there were less extreme prices. That’s not a bad thing either. Everyone has to be happy with the outcome, including the buyer. As an auction, you shouldn’t make it a hyped up show. It has to remain realistic, we auction to sell.”
This time, 30 embryos were selected with 18 different sires. Chacco-Blue is the main leader with five unborn foals, followed by Emerald (4), Heartbreaker (3) and Diamant de Semilly (3).
More facts:
- 7 embryos have a granddam who jumped 1.60m Grand Prix
- 4 embryos have a dam who jumped 1.60m Grand Prix
- 12 embryos have a dam who already produced one or more 1.60m GP horses
- 26 embryos have a granddam who already brought 1 or more 1.60m GP horses
“Do you know what one of the best things is? That the collection was not even known yet and Il Borro is already pretty much fully booked. There are only a few rooms left, I heard over the weekend. So people are not asking if the collection is already known, they are confident that it is going to be good.”
Embryos from leading damlines
There are embryos from damlines such as those of Walnut de Muze, Kashmir Van Schuttershof, Centa de Muze, Electra van ‘t Roosakker, Glasgow van ‘t Merelsnest, Emerald van ‘t Ruytershof, HH Conrad, Ligie and Cordula de Laubry.
There are also a Mylord Carthago out of the half-sister of Dubai du Cedre, who finished second in the Lyon World Cup Qualifier last weekend, an Ermitage Kalone out of the half-sister to Balou du Reventon, a Chacco-Blue out of the full sister of 1.60m GP horse Go Easy de Muze, a full sibling of medal machine H&M All Inn, a Chacco Blue out of the dam of Steve Guerdat’s top horse Venard de Cerisy and a Catoki out of the 1.70m GP mare Gancia de Muze.
Most unusual embryo is perhaps the last one in the auction, the Balou du Reventon out of the 1.60m Grand Prix mare Askaria, who won plenty of classes with Pius Schwizer and was sold to the Emirates. Askaria is known as the dam of the Olympic showjumper DSP Chakaria, who was European champion in 2021 and took team silver with Andre Thieme. “Nothing from this line was ever offered on the market before!”
The full collection and more information about the VIP packages can be found here: https://flandersfoalauction.be/en/veiling/Embryo-auction-at-Village-Il-Borro