'It's an amazing market' - Kitasan Black colt out of classy European mare sets JRHA Select Sale record at £2.86m

The expected fireworks at the yearling session of the JRHA Select Sale were even more spectacular than anticipated, with an all-time record price set and both the average and aggregate climbing to historic highs.

A colt by Kitasan Black was the roman candle in the pyrotechnics display, with Northern Farm's stunning offering coming almost at the midway point of the sale. Sharing his sire with last year's blazing champion Equinox, the March-born colt has inherited his sire's dark brown, almost black, colouring and has a pedigree which includes the outstanding champion and source of Derby winners Montjeu.

Little wonder then that Rodeo Japan smashed the auction's record price for a yearling when pushing the bid board to ¥590,000,000 (£2.86m/€3.38m) and denying Susumu Fujita the grandson of Galileo.

“It's an amazing market,” said Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm, the biggest consignor at the sale and seller of the record-breaking top lot. 

“The number of buyers registered at this year’s sale is the biggest ever, and the number of owners and trainers who visited my farm before the sale was the biggest ever. I'm so glad to see so many people joined and supported the market.”

Rodeo Japan's record acquisition is the third foal of Delphinia, who won the Listed River Eden Stakes at Lingfield for the Coolmore partners, and was runner-up in two Group 1 contests; the Prix de Royallieu and British Champion Fillies & Mares Stakes.

Exported to Japan, the now eight-year-old has produced a winner with her first runner, Best Me Ever, a three-year-old daughter of No Nay Never who has been third in the Listed Sweetpea Stakes. Delphinia has a two-year-old colt by Kizuna named Lila Emblem in training.

The sale-topping Kitasan Black colt is out of a Group 1-placed daughter of GalileoCredit: JRHA

Delphinia is a full-sister to Listed winner Indian Maharajah and the Group 2 and Group 3-placed Delano Roosevelt, in addition to the unplaced Falling Leaves who is the dam of Listed Prix la Camargo winner Autumn Starlight.

They are out of Irish 1,000 Guineas and Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Again, a Danehill Dancer sister to Aris, who is the dam of Group 1 Prix de la Foret winner and sire Aclaim.

Third dam Cumbres is an unraced half-sister to Montjeu.

Fujita, whose colt Forever Young came close to making a historic breakthrough for Japan in this year's Kentucky Derby, was a leading purchaser at each of the previous two yearling sessions of the JRHA Select Sale and was in the thick of the action once more on Monday.

Although disappointed to miss out on the record-breaking top lot, he did secure another impeccably bred colt with a European pedigree, namely the Epiphaneia son of Ger Lyons' 2020 Irish Oaks heroine Even So, by Camelot.

Offered by Northern Farm, the colt made ¥340,000,000 (£1.65m/€1.95m) and is by the coming force in Japanese racing and breeding. Epiphaneia is the sire of seven individual Group 1 winners, including Classic heroes Danon Decile and Stellenbosch, triumphant in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and Oka Sho (1,000 Guineas) this year and of triple Group 1 winner Efforia, whose first foals come under the hammer at Northern Horse Park on Tuesday.

Even So was bred by Lynch Bages and possesses a European Classic pedigree. Her dam Breeze Hill is a Danehill Dancer half-sister to Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Dewhurst winner Dr Devious and to Rain Flower, dam of Oaks winner Dancing Rain and third dam of 2,000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior and last year's St Leger hero Continuous, who is a son of Efforia's broodmare sire Heart's Cry.

Fujita bought a total of five yearlings for ¥850,000,000 (£4.12m/€4.88m), including a white colt by Maurice from the family of Group 1 winner and global equine celebrity Sodashi, which he was particularly pleased to acquire for an outlay of ¥190,000,000 (£922,000/€1.09m).

Lot 127 is a son of Maurice and related to 'unicorn' SodashiCredit: JRHA

“As it has been one of my dreams to add a white horse in my string, I'm very happy to buy this colt," said Fujita. “And this is from a very successful Japanese family. I hope he runs well and becomes a popular horse which racing fans like to support. 

"As it's still regrettable for me to miss Hip 100, I'm so happy to win the battle for this lot.”

Northern Farm were the vendors of the four most expensive yearlings, including the top-priced filly in the sale, who, as with the session's most expensive colt, is by triple Group 1 winner Kitasan Black and has a familiar European pedigree, although her immediate family has been in Japan for nearly two decades and become successful there.

She also looks incredibly familiar with her dark brown coat and white blaze reminiscent of Kitasan Black's champion son Equinox, and she will carry the same colours as the aforementioned Danon Decile following her purchase at ¥400,000,000 (£1.94m/€2.3m) by Masahiro Noda of Danox Co Limited.

The filly is a half-sister to Japan's reigning champion two-year-old filly Ascoli Piceno and to Listed winner Ascoltare, and her dam, Ascolti, is a winning Danehill Dancer half-sister to Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Touching Speech, and to Satono Lux and Mr G T, both Listed winners. The trio are by Deep Impact, the famous full-brother of Kitasan Black's sire Black Tide.

Second dam Listen is by Sadler's Wells and won the Fillies' Mile for Aidan O'Brien. She's a full-sister to Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Seqouyah, dam of Group 1 winner Henrythenavigator. Other Group/Grade 1 winners in the family include Dolphin Street, Saffron Walden, Or Vision and Magician.

Noda purchased three of the session's top five most expensive yearlings, adding two colts by Epiphaneia to his Kitasan Black filly.

From Northern Farm came a half-brother to Danox Co Limited's Group 3 winner Danon Beluga, who has been placed in the last two runnings of the Group 1 Dubai Turf. At ¥390,000,000 (£1.89m/€2.240m) he was the second most expensive colt of the session.

Shadai Farm's top lot of the day was the Epiphaneia colt out of Grade 1 American Oaks winner Competitionofideas, who made ¥330,000,000 (£1.6m/ €1.9m) to Noda. He is the second foal of the Speightstown mare, who was purchased by Shadai Farm for $1.3m at Fasig-Tipton in November 2020.

The session's most expensive filly is a granddaughter of Fillies' Mile winner ListenCredit: JRHA

The session's most expensive yearling by Lord Kanaloa, who is now the sire of ten individual top-level winners, also came from the Shadai draft.

He is out of the Galileo mare Lily Of The Valley, who was victorious in the Group 1 Prix de l'Opera, and is the dam of five runners all of whom are winners. They are headed by the Group 2 Aoba Sho winner Vanquish Run, by Deep Impact.

Her yearling made ¥190,000,000 (£922,000/€1.09m) to Shorai Hayashida, who was delighted to be able to acquire such a nice yearling on his first buying trip to the sale.

“I fell in love with him at first sight when I visited Shadai Farm," Hayashida said of his purchase. “My trainer, Hiroyuki Uemura, recommended this colt by Lord Kanaloa strongly as well, and I was determined to buy him. 

"The price was almost my limit and I'm so happy to acquire this colt. This is my first visit to the JRHA Select Sale and everything is impressive here." 

Hayashida owns one of Lord Kanaloa's most recent Group 1 winners; Bellagio Opera, who was successful in the Group 1 Osaka Hai back in March. 

Lord Kanaloa's champion three-year-old son Saturnalia, a half-brother to Epiphaneia, has his first runners this year and his second crop were of much interest to buyers in Hokkaido on Monday.

First of them through the ring was Northern Farm's colt, the first foal out of Grade 2 Beldame Stakes winner and Grade 1 Cotillion and La Troienne Stakes winner Horologist, a granddaughter of Tiznow.

Her first foal made ¥210,000,000 (£1.02m/€1.2m) to TN Racing, while Masahiro Abe went to ¥135,000,000 (£655,000/€776,000) for the Saturnalia colt out of Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes winner So Many Ways, a daughter of the Pulpit sire Sightseeing.

“This is a very strong market, as expected," Masahiro Abe commented after he bought the colt by Saturnalia. 

“As I managed to buy one filly earlier today [lot 14 by Contrail out of Condo Commando for ¥88,000,000] I looked for a nice colt. Saturnalia is a young sire whom I expected a lot of, and I'm very happy to buy the colt by Saturnalia for this price, which is within my budget.”

The Epiphaneia colt out of Camelot's Irish Oaks winner Even So after selling at the JRHA Select SaleCredit: JRHA

The first crop of Contrail yearlings did not have the same impact on the market as they did at the foal sales last year with a slightly more solid look to their prices rather than the spectacular marks set by the foals.

However, Shadai Farm did sell a pair of colts for ¥250,000,000 (£1.21m/€1.44m) apiece, which was the best price achieved for Contrail yearlings.

One fascinating aspect of the sale was the emergence of Mike Repole as a purchaser. The racing owner of Uncle Mo, Stopchargingmaria, Stay Thirsty and Mo Donegal, among others, bought five yearlings through Alex Solis including a Contrail colt for ¥50,000,000 (£242,000/€287,000) and a filly by Kizuna and out of the six-time Grade 1 winner Ginger Punch for ¥68,000,000 (£330,000/€391,000).

Topping the list was a first-crop filly by Arkansas Derby winner Nadal, who stands at the Shadai Stallion Station, and out of Lelievre, a Lord Kanaloa half-sister to the quadruple Group 1 winner Lucky Lilac at ¥78,000,000 (£378,000/€448,000).

The session grossed ¥14,497,000,000 (£70.32m/€83.28m), which is an increase of almost nine per cent on last year, with the average of ¥64,718,750 (£314,000/€372,000) a leap of nine per cent on 2023, with both figures new records for the yearling session of the JRHA Select Sale. 

Monday's median of ¥41,000,000 (£199,000/€236,000) represents a decline of nine per cent year-on-year, while the clearance rate, at 96 per cent, was slightly behind that recorded in 2023, when it was 97 per cent.

Katsumi Yoshida pointed to two factors that are driving the interest and prices at the sale.

“The stock exchange market in Japan is active recently and I think it's one of the factors behind the strong market here today," he said. "And another factor is the success of Japanese runners at international races in recent years."

He added: "I'm proud of the quality of foals we offer tomorrow, and I hope the market tomorrow is as strong as today.”

The foal session of the JRHA Select Sale gets under way at 9.30am local time on Tuesday (1.30am BST).

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