THE 2021 JRHA Select Sale this year marked the final opportunity for buyers to purchase a yearling by Deep Impact, with four catalogued, and it was the first time in many years that there were no yearlings by the leading sire King Kamehameha.

With such a watershed moment, it might have seemed probable that the results, especially in a period of great uncertainty in Japan around Covid, would be likely to remain flat, or even see a fall. The polar opposite was the outcome.

The structure of the sale sees a day of yearlings sold, followed by one of foals. The auction takes place at Northern Park Farm in Hokkaido, and this year saw 439 yearlings and foals sell for the equivalent of some £148 million. The sale is dominated by stock from Northern Farm.

The clearance rate was a very healthy 93%, and the overall sale average of about £335,000 was up 18% on last year. Trade for yearlings and foals almost mirror each other, though the overall sale-toppers came from the foal division.

Just over a tenth of the entire sale turnover was spent by first-time buyer Susumu Fujita. He bought six foals and 12 yearlings, while an influx of new purchasers was a feature of this year’s sale.

The Japan Racing Horse Association chairman Teruya Yoshida was pleased with the sale, and said: “This was a much stronger market than I expected. I thought the market would shrink, but I was wrong.

“The quality of broodmares we have in Japan is higher than ever, and breeders, including myself, will reinvest to improve the quality of Japanese-bred horses. I hope racing in Japan will become more attractive.”

Impact gone but always in demand

THREE of the four Deep Impact yearlings sold, and all were among the top 20 prices obtained for yearlings on Monday. Not only that, but one of them, the first lot in the sale, ended up tying for the top-priced yearling accolade, selling for 300 million yen (£1,965,600) to Yuji Hasegawa.

This was Northern Farm’s son of the Ghostzapper mare Go Maggie Go, and he is the second offspring of that dual Grade 2 winner. She was purchased as a four-year-old by Katsumi Yoshida for $750,000 and her first foal, a two-year-old daughter of Heart’s Cry, was recently placed on her first start.

The other Deep Impact yearlings to sell were a colt out of Sweep Tosho and a filly out of Watsdachances.

The former is out of the champion racemare, End Sweep’s daughter Sweet Tosho, and the best of her eight victories was achieved in the Group 1 Takarazuka Kinen, while she also captured two local Group 1s also. Her seven runners to date have all won, though none has blacktype. The colt cost Toyoharu Ikeda 200 million yen (£1,310,800).

The only Deep Impact filly sold was the third foal out of Watsdachances, a maiden winner at Navan for Ger Lyons before moving to the USA where her five wins were topped with a victory in the Grade 1 Beverly D Stakes. Bought afterwards for $900,000 by Haruya Yoshida, she is already dam of a winner by Deep Impact. This filly realised 120 million yen (£786,240), and sold to Hirosaki Toshihiro HD Co Ltd.

Northern Farm’s four-timer

THE four highest-priced yearlings at the sale were all sold from Northern Farm. In addition to the son of Deep Impact, they included a pair of Lord Kanaloa colts, and a son of Silver State, himself by Deep Impact.

Two yearlings sold for 300 million yen (£1,965,600), among them was a Lord Kanaloa colt out of Finest City. That City Zip mare was the champion sprinter of her sex in the USA after her win the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Immediately after that win she sold to Katsumi Yoshida for $1,500,000 and was covered by Frankel before heading to Japan. Her yearling son is her second offspring and was bought by Susumu Fujita, the sale’s leading purchaser.

Silver State is not a stakes winner, but the well-related son of Deep Impact has made a great start at stud with his first two-year-old runners, and his son of the unraced Medaglia D’Oro mare Guillem was a big hit with buyers, selling for 280 million yen (£1,702,740) to Tetsuhide Kunimoto.

The colt’s grandam Awesome Feather won the Group 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes and Gazelle Stakes, was champion filly of her year at two, and was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida carrying Guillem for $1,900,000.

Danox Co Ltd, a major buyer at the sale annually, spent 240 million yen (£1,566,624) on a Lord Kanaloa son of the Group 3 winner and Group 1 runner-up Epic Love, a daughter of Dansili. Epic Love is the dam of last year’s champion juvenile colt in Japan, Danon The Kid.

Coolmore sires make their mark in buoyant market

IRELAND’s and Coolmore’s son of Deep Impact, the classic winner Saxon Warrior, is represented by his first yearlings, two of which sold this week.

Katsumi Yoshida paid €210,000 for I’m Yours, a listed winner in Ireland for Moyglare Stud, at Goffs in 2018. That daughter of Invincible Spirit is out of the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup heroine Rebelline, and was sent to be covered by Saxon Warrior before being brought to Japan. The resulting offspring, a colt, sold for 190 million yen (£1,244,120) to Kondo Junko.

Katsumi Yoshida paid 500,000gns for Treasuring in 2018 and, as with I’m Yours, sent her to visit Saxon Warrior. Her yearling filly by the sire, her first foal, sold this week for 90 million yen (£587,580).

Treasuring won the Group 3 Curragh Stakes when trained by Ger Lyons, and added a Grade 3 win in the USA.

Coolmore’s Wootton Bassett had a yearling colt to sell this week, a son of the winning Teofilo mare Attractive Lady. He realised 52 million yen (£339,490).

Among the foals for sale, Saxon Warrior had a daughter of the Dark Angel mare Night Drive sell for 31 million yen (£202,390).

The dam ran seven times unplaced when trained in Ireland but is a half-sister to the stakes winner and Group 1 Gran Criterium runner-up Singapore Lilly.

Kizuna’s son lights up Hokkaido

TEN foals sold for the equivalent of £1 million or more at Tuesday’s session of the JRHA Sale. Eight of these were part of the Northern Farm consignment.

The top price was achieved by a son of Kizuna (Deep Impact), the Japanese Derby winner and champion first crop sire in 2019. This half-brother to the stakes winner Velox cost Ozasa Yoshihisa a cool 410 million yen (£2,683,470), and the new owner bought him on the telephone with his trainer Yoshito Yahagi. The colt’s dam is the Group 2 German winner Selkis, a daughter of Monsun.

Yoshihisa also bought one of a pair of highest-priced foals from the first crop of dual champion and Japanese Derby winner Rey De Oro, giving 180 million yen (£1,179,180) for a half-brother to Group 3 winner Black Spinel. Rey De Oro is a son of King Kamehameha.

Yoshida Shunsuke consigned the other son of Rey De Oro to sell for 180 million yen (£1,179,180), and he was bought by Kunimoto Tetsuhide. The colt is the first foal of a winning Deep Impact daughter of Listen, the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile winner by Sadler’s Wells.

Yankee Rose (All American) was the champion filly at two and three in Australia and her Lord Kanaloa colt caught the eye of Masahiro Noda’s Danox Co Ltd who paid 370 million yen (£2,422,830) for him.

One of the best pedigrees on offer this week was a colt by Heart’s Cry, recently retired from stud duties, and a half-brother to leading winners Loves Only You and Real Steel. This is the immediate family of Kingmambo. He sold to Masahiro Miki for 280 million yen (£1,834,890).

Heart’s Cry was also responsible for the highest-priced filly foal, the 200 million yen (£1,310,640) daughter of US champion juvenile filly She’s A Tiger.

Frankel is a big hit in Japan where he has had a trio of Group 1 winners, so there was inevitable interest in his son of the Grade 1 winning Street Sense mare Callback. The hammer fell in favour of Thoroughbred Club Lion Co Ltd at 240 million yen (£1,571,570), the fourth highest price among the foals. Katsumi Yoshida paid $2 million for Callback, who won her Grade 1 over a mile on dirt, and sent her to Frankel.