Equinox’s first foals deliver extraordinary results at foal session of JRHA Select Sale
The JRHA Select Sale birthed a dancing star on Tuesday as the first foals by Equinox sold for a combined Y3,565,000,000 (A$36,780,105) during a record smashing renewal of the sale.
The 23 foals sold by Shadai’s six-time Group/Grade 1 winner made up a remarkable 20 per cent of the record-breaking turnover of Y17,154,000,000 (£86,198,850 / €99,390,276 / A$176,720,508), a 19 per cent increase on last year’s sale.
Tuesday’s foal average of Y75,236,842 (£378,215 / €435,847 / A$775,089) grew by 20 per cent year-on-year and JRHA chairman Teruya Yoshida expressed his astonishment at the demand.
He said: “This is an unbelievable market, I am amazed to see this. I’ve seen very strong markets all over the world in the past but I have never seen such a market where it is so deep with strength at every level.
“I have to thank our long established clients. I am very happy to see many new players coming into this market and I am impressed with how they don’t hesitate to invest such a lot of money in horses that we’ve bred.
“Japanese breeders have been investing a lot of money to buy the highest quality mares from all over the world and now those mares we bought from America and Europe are producing nice foals who are selling well, so we can now afford to buy even nicer mares.”
Mystery buyer pounces for $6 million foal by world champion Equinox
Mystery surrounds the buyer of the Equinox colt out of Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), who sold for Y580,000,000 (A$5,998,492) in front of a rapt audience during the foal session of the JRHA Select Sale on Tuesday.
Nebraska Racing was listed as the buyer of the impeccably-bred colt, the same entity who signed for the yearling session-topper on Monday, but the new owners once again did not want their identity to be disclosed.
All that is known about Nebraska Racing is that the principal in the ownership is an existing owner in Japan. Their sole purchase during Monday’s yearling session was the colt by Kitasan Black (Black Tide) out of the four-time Australian Group 1 winner Mosheen (Fastnet Rock) for Y450,000,000 ($4,344,842).
Their second strike at the Select Sale was even more audacious than their first but both colts were bred and consigned by Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm, who also bred Kitasan Black’s son Equinox, the six-time Group/Grade 1 winner and world champion of 2023.
This colt, foaled at Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm on March 1, was anticipated to steal the show with his perfect combination of champion parents, excellent conformation and an athletic walk.
Bidding for the third foal out of Midnight Bisou, whose five Grade 1 triumphs included the Santa Anita Oaks and Personal Ensign Stakes, began at Y100,000,000 and the good-humoured bidding battle continued with remarks by the auctioneer greeted with ripples of laughter.
A murmur of anticipation grew louder as the price jumped higher and there was a collective gasp when Y500,000,000 was reached. When the hammer came down at Y580,000,000 many watching reacted with applause and the colt, alongside his mother, was led out of the ring to have their official sales portrait taken.
He will return to Northern Farm to be weaned, and may continue to live there until it is time to begin his racing career, as many owners prefer to board their purchases and have them pre-trained at the major studs where they were bred.
The price remains shy of the sale record of Y600,000,000 set back in 2006. The record is held by a daughter of King Kamehameha (Kingmambo) and To The Victory (Sunday Silence), successful in Hong Kong’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. That filly, subsequently named Daoine Sith, was also bred and sold by Northern Farm.
Katsumi Yoshida went to $5,500,000 at Keeneland’s November Breeding Stock Sale for Midnight Bisou. The mare was purchased in foal to Tapit (Pulpit) and that two-year-old filly has been named Mitilini.