The grounds of Northern Horse Park, usually a bustling tourist attraction, underwent their annual transformation into the site of Japan’s premier bloodstock event, the JRHA Select Sale, held on July 8th and 9th.
Famed for featuring some of the world’s most sought-after and valuable bloodstock, the JRHA Select Sale witnessed another historic moment when Lot 100 stood beneath the rostrum.
A colt by Kitasan Black out of Delphinia, from the Northern Farm draft, was the subject of a prolonged bidding exchange and was eventually secured by a bid of ¥590m (€3.35m), the highest price ever paid for a yearling at the sale. The docket was signed under the name of Rodeo Japan, for an owner who wished to remain anonymous.
The stamina-laden Delphinia was a two-time Group 1 runner-up when under the care of Aidan O’Brien. The daughter of Galileo was imported to Japan when expecting her first foal by No Nay Never. That produce, a filly, subsequently named Best Me Ever, was placed in the Listed Sweetpea Stakes earlier in 2024.
International interest
American bloodstock agent Alex Solis was onsite representing U.S. owner Mike Repole. Solis wasted no time in making an impact, purchasing Lot 49, a colt by Contrail, for €286,000.
By the end of trading, the American outfit had signed for five lots totaling €1.63m, including progeny of leading sire Kizuna and U.S. imports Drefong and Nadal. It has since been confirmed that Repole Stables is in the application process for JRA racing ownership licensing.
A total of 224 yearlings were successfully sold for a session total of €82.8m, a sizeable increase of 8.5% from last year. The average price jumped by 4.6% to €370,000, both metrics setting new JRHA Select Sale records. The clearance rate was 96.1%, a slight decline of 1.2% from 2023.
Northern Farm supremo, Katsumi Yoshida, in a post-sale interview, attributed the success of this year’s sale to the buoyant domestic stock market and the success of Japanese runners on the international stage.
Demand for racing prospects continues into the foal session
The yearling session follows a similar routine to most major auction arenas around the world, with yearlings available for inspection at the sales complex for two to three days prior to sale day. However, the foal session on the second day provides an utterly unique spectacle.
Unlike foal sales around the world, the foal session at Japan’s Select Sale offers foals standing beside their dams under the rostrum. On the morning of the sale, all catalogued foals line up in lot order across a large paddock for a 90-minute exhibition.
Potential buyers meander through the expanse of horses, inspecting their shortlisted or chosen lots. It is common practice for prospective buyers to inspect selected lots at their boarding farms in the weeks leading up to the sale to narrow down their shortlists prior to auction day.
Once a foal is sold, as per the conditions of sale, the mare and foal return to their respective studs for the rearing process to be completed. Upon weaning, the new owner can then move their new acquisition to their preferred farm. Should the new owner wish for their foal to remain at the consignor’s farm, boarding costs up to the end of March in the following year are included in the auction price.
Another unique aspect of the foal market in Japan is that the settlement for each lot is split into two transactions: one upon purchase and the remaining balance paid once the rearing process is complete.
Compulsory insurance on the foal is included in the auction price, with the cost of cover split 60/40 between the vendor and buyer.
In a continuation from the yearling session, the insatiable appetite for progeny of Kitasan Black continued. All 18 lots on offer sold for an average of €600,000, a sizeable return to breeders on the 2023 covering fee of €58,000.
Common thread
Inevitably, Kitasan Black was once again responsible for the session topper. Lot 364, from the Northern Farm consignment, the sixth foal out of German Group 1 winner Serienholde, was knocked down to Toshihiko Tabata of Lion Race Horse, a Tokyo-based syndication club, for €2.35m. The March-born colt is a half-brother to 2021 Group 1 NHK Mile winner Schnell Meister (Kingman).
JRA Triple Crown winner Contrail was responsible for the largest proportion of any one sire in the catalogue. All 25 catalogued foals were sold for a total of €14.24m, equating to an average price of just under €570,000.
The JRHA Select Sale foal session included foals from the highly anticipated first crops of Flightline and Baaeed. Three colts by Flightline were catalogued, with Grand Stud responsible for two lots and Northern Farm for the other.
Lot 419, a son of South American Champion Juvenile Tan Gritona, was sold to Tetsuhide Kunimoto for €1.2m. That price was matched by Lot 436, the first foal out of Group 1 winner Grace Adler, purchased by prolific owner Masahiro Noda of Danox Co. Ltd.
Harry Sweeney’s Paca Paca Farm presented Lot 400, the first foal by Baaeed to be offered at public auction. The February-born colt is out of North American Grade 3 winner Fahan Mura (English Channel), a $450,000 acquisition by Sweeney at Fasig-Tipton’s November sale in 2019. The winning bid of €320,000 was made by Cosmo View Farm Co. Ltd for the striking chestnut son of the European Champion Miler.
A total of 239 foals went under the hammer during Tuesday’s session for a gross spend of ¥14,421,000,000 (€82.36m), a 2.4% decline from 2023. The average fell by 7.5% to €357,000, with a slight year-on-year increase in the median to €240,000. Of the 239 catalogued foals, 231 sold, resulting in a 1.9% improvement to a 96.7% clearance rate from 2023.
Across the two sessions, 455 of the 472 lots were sold for a gross of €165.2m, a 2.7% increase from 2023, setting a new benchmark for the sale. The average dipped by 1.8% to €363,000, while the median fell by 2.3% to €240,000. The overall clearance rate recorded a slight increase to 96.4%, another record high for the dual-session auction.