The Japan Racing Horse Association enjoyed record sales July 8 at its opening session and yearling sale, which saw great demand for the offspring of leading sire Deep Impact.
Six of the 10 highest-priced horses, including the top four, are by two-time Japanese Horse of the Year and Shadai Stallion Station resident Deep Impact, whose colt out of U.S. graded stakes winner Shes All Eltish brought the overall highest price of ¥180,000,000 ($1,764,706) from Riichi Kondo.
Sales of 226 horses from 257 offered on the day reached a record aggregate of ¥6,160,700,000 ($60,399,020 in U.S. funds), marking a 13% increase from last year's auction. The average price of ¥27,259,735 ($267,253) is 1% higher than in 2013.
The buy-back rate of 12.1% improved from 16.5%.
Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm consigned the sale-topping colt, who is a full brother to two winners from as many to race out of Shes All Eltish, winner of the 2008 Bonnie Miss Stakes (gr. II). The 8-year-old daughter of Eltish is a full sister to stakes-placed Elizabul and is from the family of South African champion Blossoming Fields.
Kondo, who has been a mainstay since the sale was inaugurated in 1998, was pleased with his purchase, who is a full brother to Kondo's two-time winning 3-year-old Admire Oja.
"This is a much better individual than his full brother, which I own", Kondo said. "The price is more expensive than I expected, however, today's market is very strong and I needed to pay this amount to buy very good one."
The underbidder on the sale-topping colt was Takaya Shimakawa, who earlier in the day enjoyed success in landing the sale's second-highest price, a Deep Impact colt out of U.S. grade I winner Persistently for ¥170,000,000 ($1,666,667).
Also offered by Northern Farm, the dark bay or brown colt is the first foal out of 2010 Personal Ensign Stakes (gr. I) winner Persistently, by Smoke Glacken. Second dam Just Reward is out of U.S. champion Heavenly Prize and is half sister grade I winner and sire Good Reward and grade II winner and sire Pure Prize.
Teruya Yoshida's Shadai Farm consigned the co-third-highest priced yearlings, both Deep Impact colts, for ¥110,000,000 ($1,078,432).
Hajime Satomi secured the first foal out of multiple French group III winner La Boum, by Monsun, and Yoichi Aoyama went to the same price for the first foal out of 2010 Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes (gr. I) winner Ave, by Danehill Dancer.
Three yearlings by Shadai resident King Kamehameha made the top 10, including the sale's highest-price filly, who is out of Japanese champion To the Victory, by Sunday Silence. Bought by Shimakawa for ¥105,000,000 ($1,029,412) from of the Northern Farm consignment, the bay filly is a full sister to multiple Japanese group winner To the Glory.
The sale continues July 9 with a foal session, beginning at 10.00 a.m. at Northern Horse Park at Tomakomai City in Hokkaido.
