Foals from first crop of international megastars Flightline and Baaeed among stunning selection at JRHA Select Sale

Following on from the blockbuster edition of last year's JRHA Select Foal Sale, which saw Contrail fever grip Hokkaido's Northern Horse Park, another catalogue of distinction drawn from global influences has been assembled for the 2024 event.

If last year allowed buyers the opportunity to purchase the first foals of an internationally recognisable star, then the JRHA, along with Japanese breeders, have surpassed themselves this time around as the auction offers the first chance to buy at auction the progeny of the world's best racehorses in 2022.

Flightline and Baaeed ignited heated debates over who was the better performer as they collected top-level prizes as though they were trinkets throughout glittering careers that culminated for Flightline in a stunning Breeders' Cup Classic triumph and a Frankel-equalling 140 official rating, with Baaeed earning six Group 1 trophies and a mark of 135. 

Now they are set to spark bidding battles in Hokkaido, with three foals from Flightline's first crop due to come under the hammer, and they are joined by a colt from Baaeed's first crop. 

The appearance of foals by the two champions along with those by American Pharoah, Gun Runner, Justify and Wootton Bassett and the offspring of mares who were Group 1 winners in Europe, Australia, and North and South America is emblematic of the Japanese bloodstock industry's global approach. 

"The JRHA is very much proud of this year's catalogue, which is the best ever," said Naohiro Goda, the JRHA's representative for international clients.

"Japanese breeders have been very keen to introduce mares with the highest profile from Europe and the USA in recent years, and the catalogue includes many yearlings and foals out of those imported mares, in addition to yearlings and foals from successful Japanese families. And it's very exciting to have first-crop foals by Baaeed and Flightline."

Harry Sweeney's Paca Paca Farm holds the distinction of consigning the first Baaeed foal to be sold at auction anywhere in the world, lot 400, who is out of the English Channel mare Fahan Mura. Successful in the Grade 3 Robert J Frankel Stakes, she was bought by Paca Paca Farm for $450,000 at Fasig-Tipton in November 2019.

She has a three-year-old colt by Frankel named Capo Di Tutti Capo and her two-year-old is a son of Kingman called Ri Thir Chonaill.

Flightline's three foals in the catalogue are all colts and two come from the draft of Grand Stud.

First to take a turn in the spotlight is a son of Blue Stripe (347), who was champion older mare in her native Argentina before moving north and winning the Grade 1 Clement L Hirsch Stakes and running second to Malathaat in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. A day later, at Fasig-Tipton, she was sold for $4,000,000 to Narvick International.

This bay, born in February, is her first foal and the dam is a half-sister to the Breeders' Cup Distaff and dual Spinster Stakes winner Blue Prize, also winner of the Grade 1 Gran Premio Seleccion in Argentina.

Flightline: Three foals from his first crop are in the JRHA Select SaleCredit: Michele MacDonald/Full Stride Communications

Grand Stud also offers the first foal of Grade 1 Debutante Stakes winner Grace Adler (436), a Curlin half-sister to Grade 3 Pimlico Special Stakes winner and Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes second Pyrenees. Second dam Our Khrysty was a Grade 3 winner and is a Newfoundland half-sister to the Grade 1 Whitney Handicap winner and sire Bullsbay.

Grace Adler was another seven-figure Fasig-Tipton purchase by Narvick International, making $2 million at the 2022 'Night Of The Stars' sale.

From Northern Farm comes a Flightline colt (419) who is the first foal of Tan Gritona, Argentina's champion two-year-old filly of 2021, when she won the Gran Premio Jorge de Atucha and the Gran Premio de Potrancas.

Tan Gritona is a daughter of Full Mast, who was promoted to first in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in which Gleneagles was first past the post. The Juddmonte homebred by Mizzen Mast is out of the Flower Bowl Invitational and Ribblesdale winner and Irish Oaks second Yashmak, a Danzig half-sister to Warning, Deploy, Commander In Chief and Dushyantor.

It's not just the first crop of international stars taking their sales ring bow this week as Japan's 2021 Horse of the Year Efforia is represented by six of his first foals.

From the second crop of Epiphaneia, he is one of seven individual Group 1 winners by the sire, who is a rapidly rising star in Japan's stallion galaxy. This year alone Epiphaneia, a half-brother to Group 1 winners Saturnalia and Leontes out of Grade 1 American Oaks winner Cesario, has sired four individual Group 1 winners, including three-year-olds Danon Decile and Stellenbosch, successful in the Japanese Derby and 1,000 Guineas respectively.

As a son of such an exciting stallion and with the brilliant Heart's Cry as his broodmare sire, Efforia's foals are eagerly anticipated and Goda had encouraging reports.

"With regard to the first foals by Efforia, they have a good frame, are carrying a lot of muscle and all of them are very good movers," he said. 

Efforia's first crop are eagerly awaited by Japanese buyersCredit: Masakazu Takahashi

"Many of them have inherited the strength which Efforia and Epiphaneia have. And they're springy animals, which should be inherited from Heart's Cry, broodmare sire of Efforia."

Efforia's breeder Northern Farm consigns half of the first-crop foals by the Group 1 Arima Kinen, Tenno Sho (Autumn) and Satsuki Sho (2,000 Guineas) winner in the catalogue. On pedigree, the pick is the colt (544) out of Fillies' Mile winner and Moyglare Stud Stakes runner-up Listen.

The Sadler's Wells mare is the dam of nine winners from 11 runners, including the Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Touching Speech, who is the dam of Group 1 Hopeful Stakes third King's Reign, and the Listed winner and Kikuka Sho (St Leger) second Satono Lux. Listen is also the second dam of Japanese champion two-year-old filly Ascoli Piceno.

Listen is a full-sister to Moyglare winner Sequoyah, the dam of Henrythenavigator, and second dam Brigid is an Irish River full-sister to Or Vision, dam of Dolphin Street, Saffron Walden and Insight.

There are also six foals in the catalogue by Efforia's sire Epiphaneia, with four of them colts out of Group/Grade 1 winners; Gran Premio Copa de Plata winner Global Beauty (376), US Grade 1 winners Carina Mia (384) and Include Betty (414), and Whale Capture (499), successful in the Victoria Mile.

With the first crop of Contrail having such a massive impact on the sale 12 months ago, there will be enormous interest in the 25 foals from the second crop of Deep Impact's final Japanese Triple Crown hero.

A first crop son of Contrail out of Irish Group 3 winner Bye Bye Baby lit up the bid board

Grand Stud offers a colt (386) by Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Caledonia Road, a daughter of Quality Road and a half-sister to the multiple Grade 3 winner Officiating. She was another picked up by Narvick International at Fasig-Tipton's November Sale, in her case for $2.3m in 2018, and she has a four-year-old daughter and a three-year-old colt by Justify, a two-year-daughter by Kizuna and a yearling full-sister to this foal.

Group 3 Blue Wind Stakes winner and Oaks third Bye Bye Baby's filly foal is by Contrail (313) and the Galileo mare is a full-sister to Derby winner Serpentine and Group 2 winners Wedding Vow and Beacon Rock. Their dam, Remember When, is a Danehill Dancer three-parts sister to Dylan Thomas and Homecoming Queen, and a half-sister to Queen's Logic.

Consigned by Grand Stud again, she is a full-sister to the colt who made ¥330,000,000 (£1.6m/€1.9m) to Shinji Maeda, Contrail's owner, at last year's Select Sale, which was the second highest price for a Contrail foal and the third best achieved at the sale.

Bye Bye Baby was sold at Fasig-Tipton's 'Night Of The Stars' in November 2021 to Narvick International for $3.1m on behalf of Grand Stud.

With last year's astonishing trade fresh in the mind, breeders have been busy hosting a select group of buyers in recent days, and anticipation is building for the auction.

"Consignors have been having very busy days, having trainers and owners who come to their farms to inspect yearlings and foals," said Goda.

"In addition, the JRHA expects to have a certain number of international buyers from Europe, the USA and Australia. We hope the market will be as strong as last year, when it was record-breaking."

JRHA Select Foal Sale factfile

Where Northern Horse Park, Hokkaido

When From 10am Tuesday (2am BST)

Last year's stats From 230 offered, 219 sold (95 per cent) for turnover of ¥14,780,000,000 (up 15 per cent year-on-year), an average of ¥67,488,584 (up 18 per cent) and median of ¥41,000,000 (up three per cent)

Notable graduates Deep Impact (sold by Northern Farm, bought by Makoto Kaneko for ¥73,500,000), King Kamehameha (sold by Northern Farm, bought by Makoto Kaneko for ¥81,900,000), Suave Richard (sold by Northern Racing, bought by MMB Co Ltd for ¥167,400,000), Titleholder (sold by Okada Stud, bought by Hiroshi Yamada for ¥21,600,000), Ushba Tesoro (sold by Chiyoda Farm Shizunai, bought by Kenji Ryotokuji for ¥27,000,000)

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