Spirited bidding on a March colt by Neo Universe pushed his final price to ¥250 million (US$3,048,781) July 12 during the foal session of the Japan Racing Horse Association Select sale. The colt out of Wind In Her Hair is a three-quarter brother to two-time Japanese Horse of the Year Deep Impact and is the ninth-most expensive weanling in JRHA history.
The foal session offered 220 horses, of which 161 sold for a gross of ¥4,447,200,000 ($54,234,146). The gross jumped 33.2% from the gross sales ¥3,339,000,000 ($40,719,512) for the 2010 foal session. The average price rose 15% to ¥27,622,360 ($336,858) and the median was up 8% to ¥20 million ($243,902). Overall the yearling session and the foal session combined generated ¥9,173,200,000 ($111,868,293) in gross sales, a remarkeable 41.2% increase over last year’s sale.
A filly by a Japanese Horse of the Year and out of a Japanese Horse of the Year commanded a record-setting price of ¥360 million ($4,390,243) July 11 during the yearling portion of the JRHA sale held on the island of Hokkaido. The previous high mark for the auction’s yearling portion was ¥250 million, established in 2007.
Global Equine Management, who purchased the top-selling foal, also purchased the record-priced daughter of 2005 and 2006 Horse of the Year Deep Impact and out of the Tony Bin mare Air Groove, who was Horse of the Year in 1997. Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm consigned the filly, which is a half sister to Japanese champion Admire Groove (by Sunday Silence) and Japanese group II winners Forgettable (by Dance in the Dark) and Rulership (by King Kamehameha)
JRHA Vice Chairman and Shadai Farm owner Teruya Yoshida told Racing Post he could not pinpoint a reason why the sale was so strong considering Japan’s national economy remains soft and the country is still wrestling with the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster in March. He did suggest the 1-2 finish in the $10 million Dubai World Cup by Japanese-bred champions Victoire Pisa and Transcend was a major boost to the industry. Like the foal session-topping colt, Victoire Pisa is by Neo Universe, a son of Sunday Silence.
“Now Japanese-breds are of world-class standards,” Yoshida said.
