Ornellaia. Who jumped brilliantly for the Whitakers and then a junior. She’s in the Flanders Foal Auction today ( as is an HH Azur embryo). She is a granddaughter of Fein Cera. She should be safely with people who love and treasure her. OK, me. It terrifies me to think she will go off with strangers and I fervently hope someone nice steps up.
She is going to sell for so much damn money you have no worries.
High end auctions are standard practice.
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“Auction” just means selling to the highest bidder. It doesn’t imply any sort of quality.
Here’s an example of a past auction at Sentower Park, and you can see selling prices
Here’s the link to the auction this mare is going to be at
https://www.barnbridge-auctions.com/auctions/flanders-foal-auction-at-sentower-park-2025/
She’ll be fine 
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I was about to say…that’s not a low end auction where bin end dealers dump their horses.
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She was last with Sienna Charles whose father Peter has been harboring the horses of the sanctioned Roman Abramovich. How is it possible they couldn’t privately arrange a verified soft landing for her. Sorry, as a huge Fein Cera fan I am taking it too personally.
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She will get a soft landing. No one is going to spend that much money on a horse to not take care of them.
If there are legal issues involved with the ownership/sale of a horse, you often have to sell them at auction. It’s how you guarantee the horse was sold at fair market value in a manner that satisfies banks, courts, etc.
The majority of high end horse sales in the world occur via auctions.
The not knowing where the horse will land part always kind of sucks. But she is at no more risk going through this sale than any other private sale at this price point.
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Formerly that may have been the case, but in this era of embryo transfer and ICSI, which are not without discomfort to the mare, a 20 year old lady could well be exploited by a foal mill. Will be watching with great trepidation to see where she lands. Why did I not win the lottery or make better choices?
Hmph I just edited Formally to Formerly but it vanished like an HH Azur embryo off of Horsetelex. (There were two, now there are none, but a C. Obolensky foal is in this auction).
These auctions are not the last resort type and she will sell for a very high price. High end auctions are extremely commonplace for sport horses in Europe.
No one buying at these auctions will spend that amount of money for her to not be cared for correctly and many Olympic horses have through auctions at some point in their lives.
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I can’t think of a higher profile horse going through an auction at the end of her career. When they are 7-10, sure. The one that really blew my gourd was when they auctioned FERRO’S MOTHER at the age of 27. FFS!
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Why are you so convinced this horse will end up in a bad place via auction vs a private sale? There is a risk with selling a horse in general, no matter what the case. Many of these horses sell at higher prices via auction vs through private sale.
Also not trying to be that person, but you are mentioning discomfort for ICIS or embryo transfer. This horse was a top level showjumper for years, I can guarantee you that she experienced quite a bit of discomfort over that time frame from lack of turnout, ability to be a “horse”, stress from traveling, etc. equine welfare is extremely fine lined at that level but being a broodmare is somehow an issue?
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Foal mill? Hardly. Yes, the new owner may try to do some embryo flushing, maybe some ICSI (but that’s pretty darn $$ still and still not entirely reliable). Embryo flushing is hardly the worst thing this mare has done, and given the cost of each time you flush, an owner who’s thinking ahead (after all, she’s 20, she may not be fertile for too many more years) would do due diligence to get a few embryos as a time. That’s far, far less stress on the mare than gestating for 11 months (or 12) and then nursing for 6
Embryo flushes are done alllll the time these days, sometimes to keep a mare in competition, sometimes because the mare has proven she can’t carry a foal to term. Why is ET just an issue with this mare? Because she’s 20?
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This always rings out to me. I was in KY for this WEG. And was really saddened and disappointed (thought nor surprised) to read about Seldana Di Campalto. It is old news, but it is relevant.
Philippe Le Jeune’s article about Seldana Di Campalto - Hunter/Jumper - Chronicle Forums
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I don’t know anything about this auction but to say a horse selling for a high price will be fine is looking at horse transactions through rose colored glasses. We’ve all heard or read about a famous horse ending up in a tragic setting. Million dollar racehorses sent to the slaughterhouse. Hundred+ thousand dollar horses found at low end auctions.
No need to belittle someone worrying about an older mare being sold instead of given a good retirement. Any horse, any where can end up in a bad spot.
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Right. I’m not trying to belittle the OP and I’m sorry if it comes across that way.
My point is that this mare is in a high end auction where she will be undoubtedly sold for a lot of money. Horses don’t get bought for $1M in an auction by the slaughterhouse.
Like you say, any horse,anywhere can end up in a bad spot. My point is that this auction doesn’t increase her risk of ending up in a bad spot anymore than anything else. A privately arranged “good home” has the same risks.
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Slight tangent, but does anyone happen to know if HH Azur has actually carried any foals? Or have they just been getting embryos from her?
This isn’t like the low-end Bowie auctions though, where high-end horses have slipped through the cracks and are at clear risk. This is the equivalent of sending a good broodmare through Keeneland’s Breeding Stock sale–no one is there buying for shipment to slaughter.
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No direct knowledge but two embryos were auctioned off last year. The foal that is up for sale in this auction appears in the video with a surrogate mother. I fear that the two embryos did not make it since they both have been unlisted from Horsetelex. Azur herself I believe is safe and sound at Ecurie Mathy in Belgium.
I appreciate your response. I understand this is a high end auction, but there are several horses I’ve heard of that were sold for big money, no one heard from them for quite awhile and then it’s discovered they came to a bad end. The horses I’m thinking of are thoroughbreds, but I imagine the same could happen to any expensive horse. Spiraling down and falling through the cracks has happened to KY Derby winners.
You are way out of line. Auctions are normal in Europe and it’s to prevent the kind of fraud and secretiveness that is the problem in the USA with leasing and selling older horses through agents. This way everything is above board and public The high end horse world is very different in Europe and horses are all passport holders and trackable, the horses will be very well taken care of. If they were not everyone would know.
Consider that people may be buying older horses like the one you mention so they can legally clone them.
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