Training Sale Still On Upward Curve

[Wandering Eyes]

The gains of the 2017 Hokkaido Training Sale of 2-year-olds were always going to be hard to beat, so the downturn at this year’s sale on Tuesday wasn’t entirely unexpected. However, 2018 did continue the general upward trend the sale had been enjoying yearly through 2016. The sale this year grossed ¥1,169,856,000, which was down by ¥115,236,000 from last year but up ¥51,192,200 from 2016. The average was ¥7,747,390 and median ¥6,048,000, and both were down from 2017 but up from 2016 figures.

Each year, the Hokkaido Training Sale at Sapporo Racecourse attracts Asian buyers from all over the continent and this year was no exception, with groups from Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea in attendance. This trend should continue to grow with Quarter Back (Jpn), a 2017 graduate, running in the Singapore Guineas this Saturday.

For the second year in a row it was also one of the international buyers who topped the sale. Hong Kong’s Yeong Hung Wae claimed a Bamboo Ere (Jpn) colt for ¥45,000,000 ($409,948). The colt was originally purchased for ¥7,000,000 ($63,769) at the October Autumn Sale as yearling and consigned by Yoshizawa Stables.

Pyro grossed highest of any stallion at the sale with ¥56,160,000 for six lots sold. Thirty-one lots broke the ¥10-million barrier and six were over ¥20-million. Older stallions Neo Universe (Jpn) and Zenno Rob Roy (Jpn) did well in the sale with lots going for ¥26,000,000 and ¥22,500,000, respectively. Overall, from the 228 lots offered on the day, 151 sold with a 66.2% clearance rate. This was a decline from last year’s 74.52%; however, there were 20 more lots offered this year than last.

While the JRHA’s Select foal and yearling sales still dominate the market in Japan, the training sale market is continuing to develop. As Japan continues to slowly shift away from the purchase of foals, as it has done over the past decade, the prospects for the Hokkaido Training Sale will continue to grow.

¥1,000,000 = $9,072/£6,799/€7,753/A$12,030

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