Dubai Arabian Horse Stud sold purebred Arabian horses for a total of AED17.361 million at an auction held at its indoor arena on Saturday 10 October, the stud said in a statement issued the next day and carried by the Emirates News Agency (WAM), which described the total as record sales. The sale offered 55 horses bred by the stud and two breeding nominations, to its stallion FA El Rasheem and to his son D Seraj.

The auction was run on site by Emirates Auction, with bidding also taken online through the Kaheelah auction platform, according to WAM’s English version of the statement; Sharjah24 spelt the platform Kahila. Buyers came from the UAE, other Gulf countries, the wider Middle East and Europe, the stud said.

Four lots made more than half the total

D Eshrah made the highest price, AED2.8 million, and the mare D Hanneen followed at AED2.3 million. The Arabic version of the statement, and Sharjah24’s report of it, add that the fillies D Etawah and D Tahiya sold for AED2.2 million each. On the stud’s figures those four lots came to AED9.5 million, about 55% of the total, leaving roughly AED7.9 million across the rest of the horses and nominations sold. WAM’s English text calls D Eshrah a mare, while the Arabic text and Sharjah24 call her a filly; Sharjah24 spells the two names D Ashrah and D Haneen.

In the Arabic statement, Mohammed Al Tawhidi, the stud’s general supervisor and general manager, said the results reflected the standing of the stud’s breeding and its role in supporting and developing other studs. Executive director Abdulaziz Al Marzouqi said the strong Gulf turnout showed trust in the stud’s horses, its lead in championships and its work on purebred Arabian bloodlines. Saud Al Rahmani of Emirates Horse Auctions called the sale an auction of millions and praised its record proceeds at national and Gulf level.

What was not disclosed

The statement did not say how many of the 55 horses were sold, whether any were bought back or failed to meet a reserve, or what the two stallion nominations made. It gave no average or median price, no clearance rate and no buyer names, and did not say what earlier figure the total was a record against. Equanine could not find a results page from Emirates Auction, the Kaheelah platform or the stud, so the figures here are the vendor’s own and have not been checked against lot-by-lot results. The statement also names two companies, Emirates Auction and Emirates Horse Auctions, without explaining how they are related.

The Dubai sale sits in a busy autumn for Arabian breeding stock. Arqana held a Purebred Arabian Sale at Saint-Cloud on 1 October and lists a November online sale for purebred Arabians on 9 November, according to its sales calendar. In the thoroughbred market, Tattersalls said buyers from across the Gulf made their presence felt at Book 2 of its October Yearling Sale, which concluded on 14 October.

Equanine’s reading

  • A single-vendor sale of homebred stock lets a stud set public reference prices for its own lines. Selling nominations to FA El Rasheem and D Seraj through the ring also tests outside demand for its stallions, though those prices were not disclosed.
  • The concentration of value is high: four horses produced more than half the money. Studs considering a similar dispersal or annual draft should plan on a few lots carrying the result.
  • Pairing a live ring with an online platform brought in bidders from outside the UAE. That model is worth watching as Gulf studs look for buyers beyond the region.
  • Until the auctioneer publishes lot-level results, the AED17.361 million figure and the record claim should be treated as the vendor’s account rather than an audited sale total.