‘I am about to cry’ - an £18m bonanza as Equinox's first foals deliver extraordinary results

The JRHA Select Sale birthed a dancing star on Tuesday as the first foals by Equinox sold for a combined Y3,565,000,000 (£17,928,385 / €20,655,610 / 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."

Foal session sale statistics

Ozasa goes all the way

Equinox's colt out of Midnight Bisou was the headline act, bringing Y580,000,000 (£2,923,699 / €3,365,167 / A$5,998,492) from Nebraska Racing and delivering the second best result in the sale's history, but there were a galaxy of stars who shone for their sire.

Owner Yoshihisa Ozasa was emotional after being persuaded by trainer Yoshito Yahagi to go all the way to Y450,000,000 (£2,266,961 / €2,607,918 / A$4,649,359) for an Equinox colt out of dual Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes winner Going To Vegas. 

Ozasa said: “I am about to cry, because this is too expensive. My trainer, Yoshito Yahagi, suggested I bought this colt and, as he was sitting next to me, I could not stop bidding.”

Yahagi has shot to prominence through the worldwide success of horses such as Triple Crown winner and young sire Contrail, Forever Young, who defeated Romantic Warrior in an epic finish to this year's Saudi Cup, Cox Plate heroine Lys Gracieux and Real Steel, winner of the Dubai Turf.

The trainer became the first Japanese trainer to win a Breeders' Cup race with Loves Only You in the 2021 Filly and Mare Turf and promptly doubled up a few races later when Marche Lorraine struck in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. 

Yahagi said: “This is a very nice horse and has a gorgeous pedigree behind him. As I am convinced this is the best foal in today’s [Tuesday's] catalogue, I tried to save my budget until this colt went up at sales ring.

“I hope he will be competitive in three-year-old classic races in 2028."

Group 1 winner Global Beauty's Equinox colt was another star for his sire at the Select SaleCredit: JRHA

Katsumi Yoshida, owner of Northern Farm, purchased Going To Vegas for $1.5m at Keeneland in November 2022 from Taylor Made Sales. The daughter of Goldencents has a yearling filly by Frankel and this is her second foal.

YF Racing Club hold firm

Northern Farm also consigned the Equinox colt out of Argentinian Grade 1 winner Global Beauty, who made Y310,000,000 (£1,561,684 / €1,796,566 / A$3,202,891) to YF Racing Club.

Global Beauty is the dam of five-year-old Gun Runner mare Pulchritude, who was third in the Grade 3 Flower Cup, and her three-year-old son by Real Steel, Mikki Gold, has twice been Listed-placed. The mare has a two-year-old filly by Kitasan Black. 

The family is a truly international one, with her third dam Starlyte Girl having been foaled in Ireland and is a Fairy King half-sister to Yorkshire Cup winner Churlish Charm. 

The top price for an Equinox bred foal consigned by Teryuda Yoshida's Shadai Farm was Y260,000,000 (£1,309,603 / €1,506,631 /A$2,682,075) which the free-spending Fujita Susumu gave for the colt out of Mucho Unusual, another Rodeo Drive Stakes winner. 

Mucho Unusual's Equinox colt was the top foal for Shadai FarmCredit: JRHA

This was the second foal out of the Mucho Macho Man half-sister to Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes winner and Grade 1 Hollywood Derby third Big Score. Now a nine-year-old, she was bought by Shadai for $1.1m at Fasig-Tipton in November 2022. She has a yearling colt by Kizuna and this is her second foal.

A special distinction

It was another of Northern Farm's Equinox foals who was the sale's first shooting star for his sire. The brown colt is out of French Group 3 winner Camprock and, despite being only six months old, has already earned a couple of distinctions: he was the first Equinox foaled at Northern Farm - by the bare six hours - and he was also the first foal by the champion to come under the hammer at the JRHA Select Sale.

His imminent arrival was signalled by a gathering crowd in the auditorium, a mixture of serious bidders and those who wished to witness a small slice of sales history.

The auctioneer asked for an opening bid of Y70,000,000 which received an immediate and positive response but bidding was slow to take off, but got going once the Y100,000,000 mark was reached. Bids flew from across the auditorium and the price rocketed to Y200,000,000, but from that point it slowed again and the hammer eventually came down at Y230,000,000 (£1,158,694 / €1,333,820 / A$2,376,522).

Kaneko Makoto Holdings was listed as the buyer and the group's principal, Makoto Kaneko, is most famous in racing circles as the owner of legendary racehorse and sire Deep Impact.

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Kitasan Black all the rage at the JRHA Select Sale with buying frenzy for yearlings by Equinox's sire