JRHA Select Sale

HOKKAIDO, Japan--"Welcome from the USA, from Europe, from Down Under," said Naohiro Goda at Sunday evening's party on the eve of the JRHA Select Sale. The welcome in Japan is always warm, but what is clear is that the extraordinary demand for racehorses in the country makes it difficult for those overseas visitors to make much of a mark in the ring where, once again, new record prices for turnover and average were set on Monday.  The names on the list of buyers were exclusively Japanese, bar that of David...

HOKKAIDO, Japan--Things are hotting up in the Northern Horse Park, literally and figuratively. As the mercury nudged 30 degrees on Saturday, the English and Irish in town for the JRHA Select Sale swooned and wilted while the many attendants showing the horses, mostly clad in jackets, went manfully and womanfully about their hot and tiring work without so much as a whimper. Both they and the young horses in their care are well prepared for the two inspection days ahead, despite having only arrived on the sales ground that morning....

HOKKAIDO, Japan--In the bloodstock world, the battle for succession does not come down to unseemly squabbles in the boardroom. What matters first is what happens on the track, and even when all goes right there, success in the breeding shed is far from guaranteed. Smallish in stature but a Goliath in influence and reputation, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Northern Dancer gave the European breeding industry many stars including, crucially, Sadler's Wells, whose line holds strong predominantly through Galileo (Ire) and his heir apparent, Frankel (GB). Northern Dancer also...

We are poised midway between Japan's Oaks (Yushun Himba), which took place last Sunday, and Derby (Tokyo Yushun) this coming Sunday. What is not in doubt in the country that has led the way at so many international meetings in recent years, is that those two races over 2,400m are still very much targeted and revered by owners and breeders. In Japan, there is no shortage of horses bred specifically for that distance, or further.  In any country, it takes a special horse to win the Triple Crown. For the...

The Japan Racing Horse Association (JRHA) will stage its Select Sale in Hokkaido on July 10 and 11. The auction, which takes places within the Northern Horse Park, features 231 yearlings and 243 foals. The leading Japanese breeders are major buyers at international breeding stock sales and the catalogue for this year's sale features the offspring of many highly credentialed broodmares from across the globe. The foal and yearling sections both include half-sisters to former Japanese Horse of the Year Gentildonna (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), by Drefong and the late...

10th-Tokyo, Seiryu S. (Allowance), ¥34,530,000 ($253,726), 5-14, 3yo, 1600m, 1:35.8, gd. YUTTITHAM (JPN) (c, 3, Justify--Zipessa {GISW, $783,550}, by City Zip), dropped his career debut to future SW Perriere (Jpn) (Henny Hughes) last August and was a warm item in his 3-year-old debut off victories in his final two starts of 2022 last December. The 9-10 favorite was forwardly placed after an uneventful beginning and sat a handy fourth into the turn. Traveling very nicely in the hands of Yuga Kawada, the athletic chestnut was pulled out into the long...

6th-Hanshin, ¥14,250,000 ($106,284), Allowance, 2yo, 1800m, 1:53.9, ft. YUTTITHAM (JPN) (c, 2, Justify--Zipessa {GISW, $783,550}, by City Zip) improved for a debut second at Sapporo Aug. 27 to graduate by eight lengths when last seen over this course and distance Dec. 3 and was a warm item to put them back-to-back in this seasonal finale. Beaten for speed, the flashy chestnut was content to punch the breeze three wide and was poised to strike from the position as they neared the straight. Asked for his best by premiership-winning jockey Yuga...

Clearance rates narrowly in excess of 95% for both days of the Japan Racing Horse Association (JRHA) Select Sale speak to the consistent demand for fledgling racehorses in the country where the leading bloodstock auction has once again set new high markers in all sectors of the market. At the final count, 447 foals and yearlings (from 469 offered) changed hands for a new record aggregate of ¥25,762,500,000 (£159m/€187m), up 14% on last year's previous high. The average also increased significantly, by 12%, to ¥57,634,228 (£355,000/€419,000) for the sale as...

It doesn't seem to matter where you are in the world: bloodstock sales are booming. That was certainly the case for the opening day and sole session of yearlings at the JRHA Select Sale, which reached new highs after last year's record-breaking trade. At Y12,870,000,000 (£78.7m/€93m), the aggregate for the session improved by 10.6% from 2021 with a staggeringly high clearance rate of 95.3%, which was yet another record. Only 11 of the 233 yearlings offered returned unsold to their vendors, with the average price driven up 12.6% to an...

There are bloodstock sales and then there's the JRHA Select Sale. The premier sale for Thoroughbreds in Japan, held at Hokkaido's Northern Horse Park, is truly out of the ordinary as far as these events go. The yearling section of the sale, which this year features 234 entries taking into account withdrawals at the time of writing, follows a fairly traditional format (though the sale's website does include a document noting the yearlings' heights, girth and cannon bone measurements, vices, and any surgical intervention), but it is the following day's...

Progeny of the 1,000 Guineas winner Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), Irish 1,000 Guineas scorer Jet Setting (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) and American Oaks heroine Spanish Queen (Tribal Rule) feature among the high-class offerings at the two-day Japan Racing Horse Association Select Sale on July 11 and 12.  Japanese-breds have starred on the international stage in recent times, highlighted by the success of Marche Lorraine (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) and Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), both trained by Yoshito Yahagi, who made history by becoming the first...

Prominent North American owner/breeder Charles Fipke was represented by his first winner in Japan when the newly turned 3-year-old filly Kana Tape (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) ran out an impressive three-length winner of a newcomers' event going 1800 meters on turf at Tokyo Racecourse Sunday afternoon. Sent off the narrow second favorite at odds of 3-2, the bay filly jumped well from gate two for top rider Takeshi Yokoyama and tracked pacesetting Mozu Cleopatra (Jpn) (American Pharoah) from close up in second. Felt for as the field entered the final...