A week removed from the Japan Racing Horse Association's Select Sale, sales action took place once again in Hokkaido on Tuesday with the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders Association's lower-key Selection Sale. Trade appeared to be strong, with the aggregate (¥2,525,904,000 {US$23,808,057}, +22.7%); average (¥14,433,737 {US$136,046}, +16.4%); and median (¥11,340,000 {US$106,890}, +5%) all up on last year. The clearance rate was 73.5%, up from 71.9% last year and the highest in the last 10 years.
While Shadai's perennial champion sire Deep Impact (Jpn) dominated proceedings last week at the Select Sale, it was Shadai young guns Rulership (Jpn) and Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), both sons of King Kamehameha (Jpn), who got their chances to shine on Tuesday. Rulership, who is making a good impression with his first runners this year, sired two of the top three lots, including the sale-topping colt (lot 46) hammered down to Gaen Kogyo Company Limited for ¥54,000,000 (US$509,002). Tusaka Soga also picked up a Rulership colt (lot 24), a half-brother to dual Group 3 winner Shoryu Moon (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), for ¥42,120,000 (US$397,021). Rulership was the sale's leading sire by aggregate (eight sold of nine offered for ¥227,880,000) and average with two or more sold (¥28,485,000).
The second-highest priced lot was a first-crop son of champion sprinter Lord Kanaloa (lot 229), a half-brother to Group 3 winner Leo Active (Jpn) (Admire Moon {Jpn}) bought by Yoshikazu Suzuki for ¥44,280,000 (US$417,381). Lord Kanaloa was also responsible for the first colt through the ring (lot 1), who made ¥33,480,000 (US$315,575) from KT Racing, which was active at last week's Select Sale.
Prominent American sire Hard Spun is represented by yearlings this year from his lone season standing at Darley Japan and one of those (lot 118) was picked up on Tuesday by Hajime Satomi, who signed for some of the priciest offerings at the Select Sale, for ¥42,120,000 (US$397,014). The chestnut is a half-brother to two stakes-placed winners.
Another first-season sire to post a good result was the 2012 G1 Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), another resident of Darley Japan. He had a colt (lot 167) sell to Keiji Nagai for ¥33,480,000.
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