Yoshida Praises Fellow Breeders as ‘Lively’ Trade Sets New JRHA Records

[Wandering Eyes]

HOKKAIDO, Japan — “I expected it would be lively,” said Katsumi Yoshida, in what may have been the understatement of the day at the conclusion of the yearling section of the JRHA Select Sale. Even by its own lofty standards, Japan's premier sale of bloodstock managed to raise the bar higher still, with only two of the 227 yearlings to pass through the ring on Monday failing to find a buyer. A 99 per cent clearance rate would be the envy of any sales house, and with the turnover of ¥15,546,000,000 ($105.6m/€90.2m) climbing by 7.2 per cent and the ¥69,090,000 ($469,259/€401,205) average by 6.7 per cent, the JRHA once again ventured into record territory. 

A director of the sale company and principal of Japan's largest breeding operation, Yoshida said, “The market was very strong even from the first lot. We had more than 200 groups inspecting horses only yesterday, so I expected it would be lively. There were 60 to 70 new buyers from last year, so the turnover has risen, like every year.”

He continued, “Overall the quality of the catalogue is improving and the reason for that is we have invested a lot of money in buying some of the top broodmares from all over the world. Also, the conformation of the horses was outstanding, and the way the breeders care for horses in Japan is very good, and that's another reason the sale has improved.”

Looking ahead to the session of 250 foals to sell on Tuesday, Yoshida added, “[First-crop sires] Equinox and Titleholder have very good foals tomorrow so I hope the momentum will continue.”

Accounting for roughly 40 per cent of the first session of yearlings catalogued, Yoshida's Northern Farm draft dominated proceedings, often in tandem with one of the country's most popular stallions, Kitasan Black.

The son of Black Tide was responsible for the day's top two lots, with the colt out of the four-time Australian Group 1 winner Mosheen (Fastnet Rock) leading the day's trade when selling to new entity Nebraska Racing for ¥420m ($2.85m/€2.43m). The winner of the VRC Oaks among her top-level victories, Mosheen is now the dam of four winners, including the treble Grade 2 winner Primo Scene (Deep Impact).

Makoto Kaneko, best known in the racing world as the owner of Deep Impact, signed for the second-top lot (86) among six yearlings bought on the day. The Kitasan Black colt out of the G1 Victoria Mile winner Normcore (Harbinger), herself a half-sister to Arima Kinen hero Chrono Genesis (Bago), brought the hammer down at ¥410m ($2.78m/€2.38m), and Kaneko bought another by the same sire (lot 54), Shadai Farm's half-sister to the dual Classic victrix Stars On Earth (Duramente) for ¥270m ($1.83m/€1.57m).

 

 

Makoto Kaneko at the opening ceremony | JRHA

Back to Black

A terrific racehorse himself, Kitasan Black's star as a sire has continued to rise since Equinox emanated from his first crop to become the highest-rated horse in the world in 2023. It has been boosted further still thanks to this year's Japanese Derby winner Croix Du Nord, and potential owners now seemingly can't get enough of him.

Along with the aforementioned top two, the Kitasan Black colt out of Argentinean Grade 1 winner Conviction (lot 23) rang the bell when selling from Northern Farm to Masahiro Noda of Danox Co Ltd for ¥300m ($2m), while Lake Villa Farm's daughter of the GI EP Taylor Stakes winner Etoile (Siyouni) was one of the most expensive fillies of the day at ¥165m ($1.1m/€957,990), bought by Tatsuya Aakimoto.

In total, all 11 of Kitasan Black's yearlings were sold for an average price of ¥225,454,545 ($1.5m/€1.3m).

Photo Opportunity for Resolute

Two days after celebrating the Grade I success of Excellent Truth (Cotai Glory) in the Diana Stakes at Saratoga, John Stewart's Resolute Bloodstock made its first strike at the JRHA Select Sale and he too was lured by a Kitasan Black yearling whose page boasted plenty of bold black type from around the world. Lot 69 is out of Photo Call (Galileo) and, bought by Stewart for ¥170m ($1.14m/€987,020), her dam is a half-sister to Land Force from the Cassandra Go dynasty which includes Auguste Rodin and Victoria Road, by Deep Impact and his son Saxon Warrior respectively. Stewart said that he had also been underbidder on lot 36, Lake Villa Farm's Contrail colt, and that his purchase was “all about the dam's pedigree for us.”

He said, “I see this sale as an opportunity to bring some of the bloodlines back to the US that have been exported. We have a few Galileo mares and Photo Call had a nice career here in the States. Kitasan Black is really doing well and we like this as a pedigree for future breeding.”

Photo Call, bred by the late Evie Stockwell, raced initially in Ireland before being sold to Vinnie Viola for $3,000,000 at Keenelend's November Sale. Four years later she returned to the sales, this time to Fasig-Tipton, where Katsumi Yoshida gave $2,700,000 for the dual Grade I winner. Stewart noted that her daughter will also be exported to America for her racing career.

He continued, “I think our participation in this sale is a testament to the wonderful job the Japanese have done importing many top mares and stallions to their country from around the world. We appreciate the JRA and Northern Farm for breeding such a nice selection of quality horses.”

Stewart added, “We will be active tomorrow with some foals that we have our eyes on.”

Stewart appeared to be the lone foreign buyer at the sale so far. Those in attendance from overseas included Kenny McPeek, with his wife Sherry and daughter Annie, David Redvers, Hannah Wall, Arthur Hoyeau, Will Johnson, Annabel Archibald and Ciaron Maher, but the strength of the domestic market is such that it can be difficult for foreign buyers to land a blow.

Sister Act Hard to Follow

Saturnalia, who stands alongside both his sire Lord Kanaloa and half-brother Epiphaneia at Shadai Stallion Station, featured as the sire of lot 90, the half-brother to ill-fated Fillies' Triple Crown winner Liberty Island (Duramente). The colt out of the dual Group 1 winner Yankee Rose (All American) was another sold from the 90-strong Northern Farm draft and will race under the 'Danon' banner for owner Masahiro Noda, who went to ¥310m ($2.1m/€1.8m) to secure him. 

Lot 64, another of the Saturnalia yearlings, was one of the leading ladies of the day and brought a winning bid of ¥240m ($1.62m/€1.34m) from TM Group. Out of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Wavell Avenue (Harlington), she is a half-sister to the young Shadai stallion Grenadier Guards (Frankel), who has four of his first-crop foals in the sale on Tuesday, and to the dual Grade 2 winner Queen's Walk (Kizuna).

Forever Again 

There really could be only one trainer for lot 77, the half-brother to Saudi Cup winner Forever Young (Real Steel), who has been such a globetrotting star for Yoshito Yahagi in recent seasons. Third in a closely fought Kentucky Derby, Forever Young has also won the G1 Tokyo Daishoten at home, as well as finishing third in both the Dubai World Cup and Breeders' Cup Classic. A graduate of this sale himself, he has now earned more than €14m on the track, and hopes are high that his yearling brother by the Japanese Derby winner Rey De Oro can be a similarly tough and talented campaigner.

Confirming that he would train the colt after he was bought by digital advertising entrepreneur Susumu Fujita for ¥300m ($2.03m/€1.74m), Yahagi said, “This is very nice horse and I strongly recommended to Mr Fujita to buy this yearling. I have a feeling that he may act well on turf, but I would be very happy if he becomes another dirt champion.”

Fujita was the biggest-spending buyer during the first day of the sale and picked up six yearlings for a total of Y1,180,000,000 ($8m/€6.8m). They included the first yearling by Breeders' Cup Classic winner Flightline to be sold at public auction anywhere in the world. Lot 16, a son of the Grade 2 winner Selflessly (More Than Ready), brought the hammer down at ¥190m ($1.29m/€1.1m).

Flightline's three yearlings in the sale sold for an average of ¥158.3m ($1.07m/€919,758).

Contrail Blazes On

Japan's most recent Triple Crown winner Contrail was represented by his first winner on Sunday at Fukushima when Rouge Voyage broke her maiden over 1,800m, and the young stallion's stock has remained in demand ever since his first foals made their debut at the JRHA auction two years ago. 

The aforementioned Susumu Fujita, founder of the advertising company CyberAgent, went to  ¥280m ($1.9m/€1.62m) for lot 57, a half-brother to the GI Coaching Club American Oaks winner Paris Lights (Curlin). Their dam, the Bobby Flay-bred Paris Bikini (Bernadini), was bought by Katsumi Yoshida at Fasig-Tipton in 2020 for $1.95m and has subsequently produced another black-type runner, American Bikini, by American Pharoah.

It is a JRHA Sale tradition for the first and last lot of each session to be sold without reserve, but those bookenders are usually pretty choice lots, as was the case with the first lot through the ring on Monday. The son of Contrail is out of the Argentinean G1 Gran Premio Mil Guineas winner Mecha Corta (El Corredor) and was sold to Yohiro Kubota for ¥260m ($1.76m/€1.5m).

Kubota's grandson Shunsuke said, “My grandfather was looking for a very nice Contrail and I visited the major consignors and thought that this was the best one in the catalogue. I saw him again this morning and was convinced that he was the best here by Contrail.”

The Gilded Lilies

There are a number of members of Haras de Tourgeville's Miller's Lily family in the catalogue, including lot 98, a grey colt by Kizuna out of the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Lily's Candle (Style Vendome). He was sold for ¥230m ($1.56m/€1.33m) to Kyojun Yonehara, and there is bound to be a similar level of interest in his younger half-brother by Kitasan Black, who features in Tuesday's foal session as lot 423. 

The American Post mare Liliside, who is a half-sister to the dam of Lily's Candle, is another from this prolific French family to have made her way east and her colt from the first crop of Efforia closed the yearling session in fine style when sold for ¥170m ($1.15m/€986,850) to West Hills.

He is a half-brother to Lys Gracieux (Heart's Cry), who represented Katsumi Yoshida on the world stage when winning the G1 Cox Plate in Australia, while at home her three Grade 1 wins included the Arima Kinen.

Lots to Note

The Grade 1-winning miler Indy Champ (Stay Gold) has his first two-year-old runners this year and already has two winners on the board. This has not gone unnoticed by Yoshihisa Osaza, who bought lot 21, a colt from the family of the recently deceased Jukebox Jury, for ¥160m ($1.08m/€928,800). 

“I am now very keen to buy young horses by Indy Champ because his first crop have been running very well, and I thought this was the best one in the catalogue,” he said. “The dam is an older mare but is still producing very good winners so I hope she still has a chance to produce another. Indy Champ himself was a miler but I think this colt will have a chance of racing over a mile and a quarter.”

The G1 Pennsylvania Derby winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up Hot Rod Charlie had seven yearlings catalogued on Monday, including lot 33, a son of the Shackleford mare Ice Pastel, who has already produced this year's G2 UAE Derby winner Admire Daytona (Drefong). The colt from the Northen Farm consignment was bought by TN Racing for ¥150m ($1.01m/€870,750).

Thought for the Day: Transparency

The term horsetrading was coined for a reason but while the inner machinations of the world of bloodstock auctions can be hard for newcomers to fathom, there is at least an array of information freely to hand at the JRHA.

Unlike most other sales, the reserves of the lots, bar the first and last, as mentioned above, are freely available from the consignors so at least one knows the level of expectation from the vendor, even though the reserves are often easily exceeded. 

Along with those figures, the height, weight, girth, and cannon bone length of each yearling is published on the sale website, along with notes of any surgical or medical intervention. 

Nothing beats seeing a horse in the flesh but this extra information is a bonus for potential buyers. 

 

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