Hokkaido Autumn Sale Wraps Up Japanese Yearling Season

With the Hokkaido Autumn Sale’s conclusion on Oct. 22, it was a wrap for the 2020 yearling sales season in Japan. While the world reels from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, the Japanese yearling market held strong in 2020.

The Autumn Sale was in the spotlight this year thanks to 2018 graduate and G1 Kikuka Sho contender Babbitt (Jpn) (Nakayama Festa {Jpn}). He won G2 St Lite Kinen in September, setting him up to be one of undefeated Triple Crown hopeful Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn})’s biggest threats. Babbitt goes into the Kikuka Sho with a four-race win steak that includes two graded stakes victories, both of which came after the Japanese Derby. He will take to the lead and not look back, making him a new kind of rival for Contrail to contend with.

The 2020 Autumn Sale saw a rebound from a dip in the market last year, grossing ¥1,259,940,000 ($12,033,235/£9,224,051/€10,143,929), a 23.1% increase from 2019. A total of 365 yearlings sold for a record-breaking 78.3% clearance rate. The average and median of ¥3,451,890 ($32,967/£25,271/€27,791) and ¥3,190,000 ($30,466/£23,354/€25,683) also saw significant increases from 2019.

The sale topper, Hip 198, was an Espoir City (Jpn) filly out of Koyu Nomichi (Jpn) that sold to Yujiro Inutsuka for ¥12,100,000 ($115,562/£88,584/€97,418). A close second was Hip 174, a Pas de Trois (Jpn) colt out of Ocean Lady (Jpn) that was bought by Narutoshi Hasegawa for ¥11,220,000 ($107,158/£82,141/€90,333). The sale had six horses go over the ¥10,000,000 mark; considerably higher than the two that crossed that threshold in 2019.

Asia Express (Henny Hughes) saw all eight of his yearlings sell for an average of ¥5,678,750 ($54,235/£41,574/€45,720). He currently has a promising filly in the NAR, Solo Unity (Jpn), who won the Edelweiss Sho at Monbetsu against JRA company just a few days prior. It is a promising start for the young stallion’s first crop. Asia Express stands at Yushun Stallion Station alongside his sire Henny Hughes.

Also popular was World Ace (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). He had 13 out of 13 sold for an average of ¥3,469,230 ($33,133/£25,398/€27,931). With a pair of open class 2-year-old winners last year and a NAR stakes winner this year from his first crop, this young son of Deep Impact (Jpn) has proved versatile early on.

Espoir City (Jpn) was a champion dirt horse in his day and he has proved a powerhouse on the NAR circuit. With four crops to race, he continues to improve with 149 winners from 196 starters. His six lots at the Autumn Sale averaged ¥6,966,666 ($66,536/£51,003/€56,089).

Japan’s racing industry has been fortunate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through an early response and vigilant safety protocols racetracks, training centers and sales have managed to escape much hardship. The diligent efforts have allowed the Japanese racing industry as a whole to maintain a healthy cycle of life: betting, high purses, and buying horses.

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Records At Hokkaido Summer Sale

In a unique year where the Japanese yearling sale calendar has seen some reshuffling, the Hokkaido Summer Sale from Aug. 25 to 28 returned significant gains, especially across the first two days.

With a clearance rate of 77%, up from 71.8% last year, the sale overall saw healthy gains across the board. It set a new gross record of ¥5,721,870,000 ($53,901,091/£42,126,688/€45,495,755), a 15.9% increase from 2019. The average rose 22.7% to ¥6,935,600 ($65,334/£51,062/€55,146) while the median saw a 21.3% increase to ¥5,500,000 ($51,811/£40,492/€43,730), both records for this sale despite there being over 100 fewer horses offered than in 2019.

The sale topper came on day two of the sale when Hidaka Seaside Farm claimed Hip 828, a Heart’s Cry (Jpn) colt out of Nanyo Tiara (Jpn), for ¥52,800,000 ($497,385/£388,734/€419,823). The highest-priced filly of the sale was also sold on day two: Hip 1180, by Epiphaneia (Jpn) out of Pebble Garden (Jpn), bought by Taihei Bokujo for ¥26,400,000 ($248,692/£194,367/€209,911). Thirty-six different lots sold for over ¥10,000,000 and seven sold for over ¥20,000,000.

Young stallions performed exceedingly well in the Summer Sale this year with 32 lots by Asia Express averaging ¥6,630,937 ($62,464/£48,819/€52,723). Copano Rickey (Jpn), represented by his first crop here, sold 30 lots that averaged ¥6,185,666 ($58,270/£45,541/€49,183). The first crop of Satono Aladdin (Jpn) also made waves with an average of ¥9,020,000 ($84,970/£66,408/€71,719). Duramente (Jpn) and Epiphaneia (Jpn), both with well-performing crops on the track already, sold 12 and 11 lots respectively. Duramente averaged ¥13,649,166 ($128,577/£100,490/€108,527) while Group 1 sire Epiphaneia averaged ¥14,850,000 ($139,889/£109,331/€118,075).

One of the stars of the established sire ranks was Sinister Minister. While anything but a young sire, the 17-year-old sold 27 lots averaging a very strong ¥10,413,333 ($98,095/£76,667/€82,798). Year after year, he has proven to be a reliable stallion producing good-looking yearlings and a solid stream of dirt winners.

It seems the COVID-19 pandemic has yet to impact the internal workings of the Japanese Thoroughbred industry to any severe extent, though every precaution possible was taken to conduct the sale safely for all those in attendance. The Hokkaido sale season will continue on Sept. 22 with the three-day Hokkaido September Sale in Shizunai.

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