Susumu Fujita’s rise among the leviathans of global bloodstock continued in earnest at the JRHA Select Sale on Monday as he led the list of buyers at the first day of Japan’s biggest auction.
Fujita was one of two buyers – along with Masahiro Noda’s Danox Co Ltd, whose horses all carry the Danon prefix – who topped ¥1 billion in expenditure during the yearling session of the JRHA Select Sale.
Among Fujita’s seven purchases were three over USD$1 million: a Flightline colt out of American Grade 2 winner Senselessly sold for 190 million yen (USD$1.28 million), a Contrail half-sister to Grade 1 winner Paris Lights made 280 million yen (USD$1.89 million) and, most notably, the Rey de Oro half-brother to Fujita’s champion dirt horse Forever Young reached 300 million yen (USD$2.03 million).
“I am actively trying to target horses with dirt pedigrees,” Fujita told Idol Horse. “Forever Young has earned me a lot of prizemoney and I’ve been able to travel and go to a lot of these overseas races and, given there is so much on offer, it makes sense to try and buy those types of horses.
“After we went so close in the Kentucky Derby, I would love to try and win that race and maybe this horse – or one of the others we bought – could do it.”
Yoshito Yahagi, who trains Forever Young and will also train his half-brother, believes that the yearling may be more a Tokyo Yushun type than a Kentucky Derby prospect, though.
“I strongly recommended to Mr Fujita that he should buy this yearling,” he said. “I have always said I want to see Forever Young on turf but I think this horse will be even better on turf. I think he is going to be a very strong turf runner!”
Watching it all unfold was American trainer Kenny McPeek, whose colt Mystik Dan defeated Forever Young to win the 150th Kentucky Derby last year.
McPeek, making his JRHA Select Sale debut, noted that he was at the auction more on a scouting trip. However, he hopes that one of the star lots – a Kitasan Black filly out of two-time American Grade 1 winner Photo Call – might end up in his barn after she was secured by John Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock for 170 million yen.
“The Photo Call filly was on our short list and I’m hoping John may ask us to train her,” he said. “All bloodstock is global now – for instance, we raced against Forever Darling in the US then Forever Young in the US last year and Saudi and Dubai this year – and this sale was on my bucket list, so it was great to make it here for the first time.
“I met Mr Yahagi and Mr Fujita earlier – they weren’t bitter about us beating them in the Derby, thankfully! I’d love to meet them again in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in November – whether with Mystik Dan or Thorpedo Anna.”
Stewart was bidding from home in Kentucky but was thrilled to add the filly to his growing global bloodstock portfolio.
“For us, it was all about the dam’s pedigree,” Stewart said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to bring some of those bloodlines home that have been exported from the US to Japan. Kitasan Black is doing really well too and this filly will make a nice broodmare for us.
“Our participation in this sale is a testament to the wonderful job the Japanese have done importing many top mares and stallions from around the world. We will be active tomorrow too, trying to buy a few foals.”
Another first-time buyer was the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s The Racing Club, who bought two yearlings at their maiden foray into Japan: a Rulership brother to Group 3 winner Fairy Polka for 68 million yen (HKD$3.63 million, USD$462,000) and a Kizuna colt out of four-time winner Cherry Heroine for 56 million yen (HKD$2.98 million, USD$380,000).
The two colts will be owned by the Hong Kong Jockey Club but will race on behalf of The Racing Club, an HKJC entity for entry-level Jockey Club members with a base now in excess of 1700 participants. They will carry the “Young” moniker when they are eventually named.
“For a long time, we’ve had a strong connection with Japan with their high-quality horses coming to Hong Kong,” said the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s head of racing commercial James Ross. “That’s something that’s certainly come to the fore here with Rulership, as a QEII Cup winner and the sire of Soul Rush, while Kizuna is the reigning champion sire and has had some top horses.
“We’ve taken a view with Japanese bloodstock that works in with our strategy for the Racing Club to look at high-quality horses in the future to ensure renewal year-on-year. We’re especially looking for horses with scope that could develop into proper milers or 2000-metre horses given our racing program in Hong Kong and we identified a few colts that could fit that bill. We had a fantastic bench to choose from and we are excited that we managed to land a couple.
“The Racing Club is another opportunity to take members on that journey that can lead, eventually, to outright ownership. It’s a part of giving them that experience. A number of our members are now actually part of syndicates and some are looking towards getting permits in the future, so hopefully these colts might inspire future owners as well.”
The highest-priced lot of the yearling session was set early when a Kitasan Black colt out of Australian Group 1 winner Mosheen sold for 420 million yen (USD$2.84 million). He was bought by Nebraska Racing, a name not seen before in Japan but widely reported to be a vehicle for amusement chain chief Masahiko Sugino, whose horses generally race under the M’s Racing banner.
It was the second time in four sales that a son of Mosheen has topped the yearling sale after her colt by Maurice, later named Danon Ayers Rock, fetched the highest price in 2022.
Kitasan Black continued to prove popular with buyers, cementing his position as the heir apparent to Deep Impact. His 11 lots sold for a total of 2.48 billion yen at an average of 225.5 million yen.
Trainer Takashi Saito, whose G1 Tokyo Yushun winner Croix du Nord is set to become Kitasan Black’s first runner in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October, said that his experience with the breed
“Kitasan Black was a horse who was very honest and he always tried so hard,” Saito said. “His horses are always so well put together, they are very adaptable to different distances and they have a great temperament, so he really is a wonderful stallion and it’s no surprise they are so popular.”
The top end of the sale proved extremely competitive with 23 lots selling for over USD$1 million – one more than the previous record of 22 in 2021.
A decade ago, only six yearlings reached USD$1 million; 15 years ago, the most spent on a yearling at this sale was below $750,000.
The JRHA Select Sale will continue on Tuesday with the foal session, when the first youngsters by world champion Equinox will be offered for sale along with weanlings by Westover, Cody’s Wish, Ace Impact and Arcangelo. ∎
