WHILE the repatriation of Empire Maker was celebrated in Kentucky, accusations from some Japanese breeders of selling the family jewels have been levied at the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders’ Association (JBBA).

The son of Unbridled won the 2003 Wood Memorial, Florida Derby and Belmont Stakes, all Grade 1 races and additionally finished second in the Kentucky Derby. The imposing bay then began his stud career in the Bluegrass state but was acquired by Japanese interests after seven seasons at Juddmonte Farm.

By that time he had already sired Pioneer Of The Nile who won the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in 2009 before emulating his sire by finishing second in the Kentucky Derby. Empire Maker had also sired Icon Project, Mushka and Country Star, all Grade 1 winners, by the time the deal was done but nevertheless there then only minor murmurings of discontent from breeders about his departure to the Land of the Rising Sun.

However, the ink was hardly dry on the contract when Acoma joined the Grade 1 club and she was soon followed by Royal Delta, Bodemeister, Grace Hall, In Lingerie and Emollient, many of whom scored multiple times at the highest level.

EMPIRE MAKER HOME

Many failed attempts were made to get Empire Maker back to the USA but this year, soon after his grandson American Pharoah won the triple crown, a significant offer from Kentucky prevailed and the 15-year-old will stand next year in Gainsway Farm for a fee of US$100,000.

So why exactly did the JBBA sell? Keiji Nishimura, the CEO of the JBBA, was frank and generous with his time in explaining the rationale: “It was not a decision that we took lightly,” explained the 66-year-old, who has been at the helm of what is effectively Japan’s National Stud for almost seven years. “However, the reality is that he covered only 82 mares this year which is a far cry from the situation in 2012 when he covered 236. In fact, that year, we received more than 700 applications for mating.”

Empire Maker’s first Japanese crop are just three-year-olds and he is currently in 23rd position in the general sires rankings. However, in the dirt rankings he is 17th with an AEI of 1.26, quite respectable considering all the sires above him also have four, five and six-year-olds running for them.

Nevertheless, this was not quite good enough for the JBBA. “We had hoped that he would do a little bit better,” explained Nishimura. “From his Japan-bred runners he has only had two or three blacktype horses to date.”

Asked if the decision to sell Empire Maker was unanimous, Nishimura, who in a previous incarnation was a director of the Japan Racing Association (JRA), gave a very complete answer. “We have 18 directors on our board, 13 of whom are breeders. One Hokkaido-based breeder, who owns more than 500 mares, spoke very forcefully against the proposal to sell but all the other directors including the breeders voted in favour, many of them albeit with a heavy heart.”

MIXED RESULTS

Empire Maker’s progeny had mixed results at the sales this year. The top end way buoyed by significant foreign participation with Winstar, John McCormac and Naoya Yoshida among others buying both foals and yearlings to return to the USA. However, 30% of Empire Maker’s progeny were unsold and a further 15% sold for below the cost of production.

“There were some very good sales this year but mostly from the bigger sophisticated farms, many of whom don’t agree with our decision,” explained Nishimura. “However, the JBBA has about 1,000 members, the majority of whom are small breeders with less than 10 mares and Empire Maker was just not working for them. We made the decision that we thought was best for our members overall. Empire Maker will in total have sired about 640 foals in Japan and I expect that there will be a number of elite runners among them. However, I have about an 80% confidence level that the JBBA will not regret the decision to sell.”

The JBBA this year purchased Eskendereya but were are pains to point out that the purchase of the son of Giant’s Causeway is independent of the Empire Maker deal. “We got a very good price for Empire Maker and these funds have been banked while we search for a replacement,” concluded Nishimura.

The JBBA will stand Cape Blanco, Johannesburg, Came Home, Bago, Aldebaran and Charismatic next year. Stallions who stood at the JBBA’s Hokkaido base in the past include Dancing Brave, Stravinsky, Warning, Opera House, Generous, Alamshar, Forty Niner, Silver Charm, Dehere, Cornado’s Quest, Summer Bird, Boston Harbour, David Junior, Captain Steve and Squirtle Squirt,