2018 News

Summary of thoroughbred sales in 2017

By Masayuki Ito, The Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association (JBBA)

General overview of thoroughbred foal sales in 2017

Total sales were 9,387,900,000 yen, reflecting a 27.6% increase from the previous year.

The highest price was paid for a colt whose sire was Deep Impact and whose dam was Elusive Wave (IRE), purchased for 626,400,000 yen.

For thoroughbred foal sales in 2017, only the Select Sale under the auspices of the Japan Racing Horse Association (JRHA) was held. Out of 220 head (153 colts, 67 fillies) put up for auction, 190 head (129 colts, 61 fillies) were sold. This corresponded to a sales vs. offered ratio of 86.4%, marking an increase of 11.8 points from the previous year. Total sales were 9,387,900,000 yen, reflecting a 27.6% increase from the previous year. The average price was 49,410,000 yen, a 16.2% increase from the previous year, and the median price of 34,020,000 yen was a 12.5% increase from the 30,240,000 yen of the previous year, an outcome that showed some signs of overheating.

The highest price was paid for a colt whose sire was Deep Impact and whose dam was Elusive Wave (IRE), purchased for 626,400,000 yen by Mr. Riichi Kondo from Osaka. Among fillies, the highest price was paid for all female foals of sire Deep Impact and dam Donna Blini (GB), purchased for 399,600,000 yen by DMM.com in Tokyo.

Reviewed by each sire, Deep Impact was tops, whose foals (14 out of 15 head put up for auction) were sold at an average price of 180,205,714 yen. The next sires in the ranking (each 3 or more head sold) were Heart's Cry at 76,140,000 yen, Lord Kanaloa at 68,148,000 yen, and Black Tide at 62,370,000 yen, with the latter making a remarkable advance. In the case of sires that produced their first generation, the focus of attention was on Spielberg at 52,920,000 yen (8th place overall), followed by Kizuna at 33,283,636 yen, and Gold Ship at 31,590,000 yen. 

General overview of thoroughbred yearling sales in 2017

Total sales were 19,778,904,000 yen, reflecting a 15.9% increase from the previous year and setting a record for the 8th consecutive year.

The highest price was paid for a colt whose sire was Deep Impact and whose dam was Listen (IRE), purchased for 291,600,000 yen.

Thoroughbred yearling sales in 2017 were held at 6 auctions across the country for 12 days, from the Kyushu Yearling Sale held on June 27 to the Hokkaido Autumn Sale held on October 4. In the overall yearling sales, a total of 2,407 yearlings (1,234 colts, 1,173 fillies) were put up for auction, and 1,896 yearlings (1,022 colts, 874 fillies) were sold, which renewed the sold head record for the 9th consecutive year. Total sales were 19,778,904,000 yen (a 15.9% increase from the previous year), setting a record for the 8th consecutive year and reflecting a rapid growth pace (in just five years, sales nearly doubled from the level seen in 2012, when total sales first topped the 10 billion yen mark). The average price was 10,431,911 yen (a 4.3% increase from the previous year), remaining above the 10 million yen mark for the second consecutive year. The average price for a colt was 13,419,052 yen (an increase of 2.4% from the previous year), the average price for a filly was 6,938,938 yen (an increase of 12.6% from the previous year), and the median price was 4,536,000 yen (an increase of 5.0% from the previous year). Thus, all main sale indices trended upward.

As for the Select Sale by the Japan Racing Horse Association (JRHA), total sales were 9,325,260,000 yen, a 6.2% increase from the previous year, setting a record and accounting for 47.1% of the overall Yearling Sales.

In the Hokkaido sales under the auspices of the Hidaka Horse Breeders' Association (HBA), out of 2,110 head put up for auction, 1,641 were sold, corresponding to a sales vs. offered ratio of 77.8%. Total sales were 10,327,392,000 yen (a 26.1% increase from the previous year), and the average price was 6,293,352 yen, a strong outcome that reflected an 11.7% increase from the previous year.

The highest price paid for a male yearling was for a colt whose sire was Deep Impact and whose dam was Listen (IRE), purchased for 291,600,000 yen by Mr. Hajime Satomi of Tokyo. The highest price paid for a female Yearling was for a filly whose sire was Deep Impact and whose dam was Loves Only Me (USA), purchased for 172,800,000 yen by DMM.com of Tokyo. Both transactions took place in the Select Sale.

Reviewed by each sire, Deep Impact was tops, whose foals (21 head sold) were sold at an average price of 126,565,714 yen. King Kamehameha occupied the second spot (8 head sold) at an average price of 70,740,000 yen. Among new sires, Just a Way was tops (24 head sold) at an average price of 19,471,000 yen (No. 11 overall), followed by Tosen Ra (6 head sold) at an average price of 12,834,000 yen (No. 20 overall), and JBBA sire Cape Blanco (IRE) (32 head sold) at an average price of 10,945,125 yen (No. 25 overall). 

General overview of thoroughbred two-year-old sales in 2017

Total sales were 2,104,596,000 yen, reflecting a 2.2% increase from the previous year. In the Hokkaido Training Sale, sales increased a sharp 14.9%, setting a record.

The highest price was paid for a colt whose sire was Hard Spun (USA) and whose dam was Toko Yuzuki, purchased for 55,080,000 yen.

Thoroughbred two-year-old sales in 2017 were held at 3 auctions over 3 days. For the 3 auctions, a total of 292 head (144 colts, 148 fillies) were put up for auction, and 220 head (109 colts and 111 fillies) were sold, reflecting a sales vs. offered ratio of 75.3%, a record for two-year-old sales. Total sales were 2,104,596,000 yen, an increase of 2.2% from the previous year. The average price was 9,566,345 yen, an increase of 0.8% from the previous year, and the median price was 7,452,000 yen, an increase of 21.1%, with the outcome continuing to reflect firm performance.

In the Hokkaido Training Sale held for the third time at the JRA Sapporo racecourse, out of 208 head (111 colts, 97 fillies) put up for auction, 155 head (84 colts, 71 fillies) were sold, resulting in a sales vs. offered ratio of 74.5% (an 11.4 point increase from the previous year). Total sales were 1,285,092,000 yen (a 14.9% increase from the previous year), setting a record for the 8th consecutive year. The average price was 8,290,916 yen, and the median price was 6,480,000 yen (an increase of 20.0% from the previous year), topping the 6 million yen mark for the first time. In the Chiba Thoroughbred Sale, out of 72 head (30 colts, 42 fillies) put up for auction, 57 head (23 colts, 34 fillies) were sold, corresponding to a ratio of sales vs. offered of 79.2%. Total sales were 785,592,000 yen (a decrease of 12.7% from the previous year), the average price was 13,782,315 yen, and median price was 10,800,000 yen.

The highest price paid consisted of a transaction in Hokkaido Training Sale for a two-year-old colt whose sire was Hard Spun (USA) and whose dam was Toko Yuzuki, purchased for 55,080,000 yen by Mr. Yeung Kin Man. The highest price for a female two-year-old was for a filly whose sire was Workforce (GB) and whose dam was Step Light, purchased for 33,480,000 yen by Mr. Tetsuji Yamamoto of Kagoshima Prefecture in the Chiba Thoroughbred Sale.

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