DEAUVILLE, FRANCE — Those hardy folk that wheel from sale to sale at this time of year see more of their fellow consignors and agents than they do their own families, unless of course they happen to work in tandem with their spouse. That is usually the case for Gwen Monneraie and Lucie Lamotte, the excellent duo behind La Motteraye Consignment, but Lamotte is absent – and much missed – this week at Arqana following a serious car accident two weeks ago. Happily, Monneraie reported on Monday morning that his partner of many a year is now out of hospital and back at home following surgery. She is being well looked after by her parents and in-laws while La Motteraye's 55-strong draft is shown at Arqana without her.“She's doing better every day. It will take a bit of time, but she will heal. And overall, I think we've been lucky in our misfortune,” he said.“She's already telling me what to do by phone so she's back on track. We are lucky that we are well surrounded by good people. In these tough times, that's when you realise how important it is and how lucky we are to have those people around us.”Such a sense of perspective is also essential and doubtless Lamotte will be content to know that the consignment is carrying on as normal, albeit in a brand new setting for this sale.Arqana has recently taken on a 20-year lease of the historic racing stables on the Avenue Hocquart de Turtot, so anyone walking along that road to the sales complex straight from morning mass at the Eglise Saint Augustin can easily drop by the newly christened Cour Morny en route. Gwen Monneraie at Arqana | Emma Berry Monneraie is delighted with the new spacious surroundings for his draft and explained that he had a hand in the layout of the complex while Arqana was undertaking the renovation work.“Arthur [Serres] from Arqana worked really hard on this project and I was lucky enough to be part of it regarding the showing areas,” he said. “I wanted four metres of grass around the runaways so people didn't have a horse right behind their back, and I wanted a bit of rubber and a bit of sand – the whole shebang.”Arqana has certainly delivered, and the Cour Morny was the talk of the sales grounds on Monday. “It's a little bit further away but I'm actually maybe closer [to the ring] than where I was last week in Tatts,” Monneraie added. “The showing areas are wide and when you have a good walker, you can actually stand back and see him walk. Lucie and I said to each other that this might be our most clever move or the worst ever move.”Judging by the feedback of those viewing the horses ahead of the start of the sale on Tuesday, it looks a smart move, and the extra stabling it provides means that the October Sale has now been condensed to four days, which is another win for those who have been on the road now for months.David Cox is one that happy cohort, and his Baroda Stud draft for Arqana is also situated in the Cour Morny. Inspections in the Cour Morny | Emma Berry “We're well used to walking around a distance to see horses after being at Tattersalls and it's great to have the extra stables,” he said, adding that he had managed a day or two back home in Ireland between sales to visit the Pumpkin Patch with his three-year-old son Tiger, and once those important dad duties had been completed it was straight back on the road to Deauville. “There's a good crew out here and fair play to Arqana for putting on planes from Ireland and England yesterday, and another plane from England today,” Cox said. “If anyone had a doubt about coming here because it's hard to get here, the plane definitely incentivises them to come.”He added of the yearling market over the last few months, “We've sold a lot of horses, and trade has been good at the top end. Some of the pinhookers have found it hard but maybe the foals cost too much to buy. But then there's the cost of making these foals too – it's so expensive.“But look, at Tattersalls the clearance rates were good through the sales. Even on the Friday of Book 3 in Tatts, there was still a crowd there to buy horses, which is a sure sign. And then a lot of people have come on to here as well. If they're here, they're here to buy, and the trade should be all right if the horses stack up.” The full-sister to Maltese Cross | Elise Fossard Certainly there are some enticing pedigrees in the book, not least Haras de la Cour Blanche's sister to G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner and Derby runner-up Maltese Cross (Sea The Stars), who sells as lot 43 during Tuesday's opening session.“In France, we tend to say that this is the most important sale for French breeders,” Monneraie added. “Because this is where each breeder has the most horses and this sale needs to be strong. Last year was a bit tricky, so I hope this year will be stronger again. I feel like we've brought a very good bunch of horses.“We need Arqana to be strong and they have been bringing a lot of clients, which they do really well, so let's hope we're going to feel the effect of that.”Part I of the Arqana October Sale begins at 11am local time on Tuesday, with 1pm starts for the Wednesday and Thursday sessions and a final batch of yearlings offered on Friday from 11am. The post ‘The Most Important Sale for French Breeders’: Arqana’s October Sale Under Starters Orders appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.