JRHA Sale Lights Up Hokkaido

HOKKAIDO, Japan–International visitors and Japanese locals alike are making their annual pilgrimage to the island of Hokkaido this weekend for the JRHA's Select Sale, which takes place Monday and Tuesday with 248 yearlings and 242 foals slated to go under the hammer at Northern Horse Park in the town of Chitose. With a growing number of sale graduates winning on the global stage and an increasing international contingent showing up to shop year-on-year, the Select Sale has truly earned the right to be named among the world's elite yearling sales.

It doesn't hurt, either, that Japanese breeders–namely brothers Teruya and Katsumi Yoshida under their Shadai and Northern Farm banners–have built up a stud book of global envy by investing in the best pedigrees in Europe, America and Australia since the turn of the century. Internationally acclaimed mares with progeny catalogued this year include Awesome Feather (Awesome Of Course); Cambina (Ire) (Hawk Wing); Champagne d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro); Dubai Majesty (Essence of Dubai); Elusive Wave (Ire) (Elusive City); Franny Freud (Freud); Gabby's Golden Gal (Medaglia d'Oro); More Than Sacred (Aus) (More Than Ready); Southern Speed (Aus) (Southern Image); Topliner (Thunder Gulch); and Ultra Blend (Richly Blended).

Last year's foal and yearling sale combined posted its third-consecutive record gross at ¥13,173,500,000 ($106,237,903), a 4.8% rise from 2014. The average price for yearlings and foals combined was up 7.4% to ¥33,440,000 ($269,677). Last year's yearling sale posted a record gross and average of ¥7,104,500,000 (US$57,294,355, up 17.9% from last year) and ¥33,830,952 (US$272,830, up 20.7%). Last year's sale also boasted the first purchases made by an American buyer when WinStar Farm swooped for three yearlings and two foals. Other international buyers last year included Australian Hall of Fame trainer Gai Waterhouse, the late Phil Sly, American-based agent John McCormack, Irish agent Mick Flanagan, and prominent German owner Christoph Berglar. The JRHA reported 22 separate sales of yearlings and foals to international buyers during last year's sale. In 2014, Sheikh Fahad al Thani bought the sale-topping yearling. These are all in addition, of course, to robust activity by some of Japan's most prominent owners.

Sales-grounds inspections for this year's yearlings don't officially begin until Sunday, and the yearlings only shipped in midday on Saturday, but nonetheless a few keen shoppers were out refining their lists on Saturday afternoon. Spotted on the grounds, in addition to perennial big shopper Makoto Kaneka, who raced the likes of Deep Impact and King Kamehameha, were John McCormack, a regular visitor to the sale, alongside Coolmore representatives David O'Loughlin and Dermot Ryan; Peter and Toby Liston of Three Bridges Thoroughbreds in Australia; Australian owner Robert Anderson, who was recently granted a highly coveted JRA racing license; and Naoya Yoshida, principal of Winchester Farm in Kentucky.

The foals slated to sell during Tuesday's session don't ship in until two hours before the start of the sale on that day, and thus many more shoppers were out making inspections on the farms. This reporter, in Japan for the first time, was lucky enough to have the services of JRHA international consultant Naohiro Goda for the day, and the first stop of the morning was Shadai to see some of the foals entered for the sale. We were greeted at Shadai by farm manager Mitsuru Ikeda and his team. We were soon joined by farm owner Teruya Yoshida, who wanted to give us a special preview of a trio of his prized yearlings just moments before they loaded the van to the sales grounds. Yoshida easily blended in with the media, enthusiastically snapping photos of his horses on his own camera.

The yearlings in question were three sons of Deep Impact: Lot 71, a strongly made bay out of dual Grade I winner Gabby's Golden Gal; lot 141, a smart grey out of My Jen (Fusaichi Pegasus), whose half-brother Caravaggio (Scat Daddy) won Royal Ascot's G2 Coventry S. last month; and lot 99, a striking son of GI Acorn S. and GI Test S. winner Champagne d'Oro who, at ¥10,000,000 ($994,234), has the highest reserve of the Shadai yearlings. Unlike other sales companies, the JRHA publishes reserves prior to the sale.

Yoshida bought Champagne d'Oro for $2.7-million from the 2013 Fasig-Tipton November Sale and sold the foal she was carrying, a Tapit colt now named Foggy Night (Jpn), for ¥230,000,000 (about $1.9-million), at last year's yearling sale, and Yoshida said of lot 99, “he is a very nice individual. He is a good walker and has size; everything about him is perfect.”

Yoshida had another treat up his sleeve for the reporters before the start of the foal show: a visit with four-time Grade I winner Princess Of Sylmar (Majestic Warrior). The 6-year-old was bought by Yoshida for $3.1-million at Fasig-Tipton in 2014, and this year produced her first foal, a handsome dark bay Deep Impact colt.

The Shadai selection of foals included offerings by young Shadai sires Orfevre (Jpn) and Just a Way (Jpn). The former, as much known for his rogue antics and pair of runner-up Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe finishes as he is for his six Group 1 wins, has his second crop of foals selling this year and is said to be stamping them, an observation that was later confirmed after seeing the cantankerous Triple Crown winner at the Shadai Stallion Station (more on that later). Goda said of lot 403, a colt out of dual graded winner Kathmanblu (Bluegrass Cat), “he's typical of the sire; they're strong, bullish and have a lot of quality to them.” Bullish does seem like an appropriate adjective for Orfevre.

Just a Way, the world's highest-rated horse by the IFHA in 2014 for his win in the G1 Dubai Duty Free, has 20 first-crop foals catalogued, including lot 312, a colt out of Aspirin Snow (Jpn) (El Condor Pasa {Jpn}). Ikeda said of the Just a Ways as a group, “they're middle-sized, good, attractive walkers. Just a Way is not very correct, but his offspring generally are.”

Just a Way's sire, Heart's Cry, is represented in the Shadai draft by lot 430, bay colt out of Take Charge Lady (Dehere)'s half-sister Eventail (Lear Fan). Eventail was a $925,000 buy out of Keeneland November in 2006, and that figure looks like a bargain now considering what Take Charge Lady and her immediate family have done to improve the page in the interim.

The Shadai draft, unsurprisingly, also features some good types by Deep Impact, including lot 378, a colt out of G1 American Oaks winner Cambina. The mare has a yearling filly by the perennial champion sire and is back in foal to him.

The next stop on the agenda was Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm, where we were treated to plenty more standout foals, including a colt from the second crop of champion sprinter Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) who is the first foal out of the G1 New Zealand Oaks winner More Than Sacred lot 446. Northern Farm representative Atsushi Nagahama said, “many of the Lord Kanaloas are sprinter types, but this one isn't so typical. He has more of his mother's conformation.”

A Lord Kanaloa much more in his sire's mold is lot 543, a colt born Jan. 12 and weaned just six days ago (the majority of the foals offered will still be at their dam's sides and will return to their consignors' nurseries after the sale until they are ready to be weaned). The last horse through the ring and a son of G1 Clement L. Hirsch S. winner Ultra Blend, the bay is more compact with a strong hip and shoulder.

Northern Farm's lot 389, a Deep Impact colt out of Argentinean Group 1 winner Malpensa (Arg) (Orpen), will carry the sale's highest reserve ($1,188,000) when he enters the ring on Tuesday. The bay is a full-brother to Satono Diamond (Jpn), placed in this year's G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). He is sadly the last produce of Malpensa, who died of colic after foaling him.

As an aside, I must make note of how wonderfully behaved and handled the foals at both farms were, even the few that had been weaned as little as a week earlier. The horses are clearly very well-prepped and showcase the world-class Japanese horsemanship.

Not to be outdone, Northern Farm also had a special treat for the reporters: a visit with 2002 American Horse of the Year Azeri (Jade Hunter) and her Deep Impact filly, born Apr. 19. Azeri has had two colts sell as foals at the JRHA sale for ¥250-million and ¥240-million, but her filly is not being offered this year. Azeri is back in foal to Deep Impact.

The final stop of the day was the Shadai Stallion Station, home to a staggering 32 sires. Ruling the roost is Deep Impact, who covered 200 mares this year for a fee of ¥30-million ($298,270). His sons on the roster include the 2013 Tokyo Yushun winner Kizuna (Jpn), who traveled to France to win the G2 Prix Foy and finish fourth behind Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) and Orfevre in the Arc. Kizuna, at a fee of ¥2.5-million, covered 250 mares this year, a figure matched only on the Shadai roster by Rulership (Jpn), who stands for ¥3-million and is impressing with his first runners this year (he had his second winner at Chukyo on Saturday). One of the greatest attractions of Rulership is that he is free of Sunday Silence blood. His sire is King Kamehameha (Jpn), the second-most expensive stallion on the Shadai roster with a ¥10-million fee.

Another father and son team keeping busy at Shadai are Heart's Cry and Just a Way. The tall and leggy Heart's Cry is a far cry physically from his son, who is a smaller, more compact model, but both are understandably popular with breeders.

Pre-sale action continues on Sunday with yearling inspections at the Northern Horse Park and the official welcome party, followed by the start of the yearling sale at 10 a.m. local time on Monday.