Cover image courtesy of JRHA
At A Glance
Of the 258 foals catalogued for the second day of the sale, 228 sold at a gross of ¥15.78 billion (AU$14 million), down from ¥17.1 billion (AU$15.2 million) in 2025. The average was ¥69.5 million (AU$616,000) and the median was ¥50 million (AU$443,000).
The Kitasan Black half-brother to Champion 3YO Filly Liberty Island, from dual Group 1 winner Yankee Rose, topped the foal session on day 2, selling for ¥410 million (AU$3.64 million).
G1 Queensland Oaks winner Youngstar (High Chaparral {Ire})’s Equinox (Jpn) colt topped the yearlings on day one at ¥420 million (AU$3.7 million).
The first day saw a 13% rise in the aggregate to ¥17.660 billion (AU$14.2 million). The average was ¥70 million (AU$622,000) and the median was ¥52 million (AU$462,000).
Yankee Rose colt tops foal session
The second day of the JRHA Select Sale for foals saw the half-brother to Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Duramente), by Kitasan Black, sold for ¥410 million (AU$3.64 million) to top the day. He is out of G1 Sires’ Produce Stakes and G1 Spring Champion Stakes winner Yankee Rose (All American).
Danox Co Ltd, which is the racing name used by owner and software executive Masahiro Noda, who purchased the top priced yearling on the first day from Youngstar (High Chaparral {Ire}) went to ¥310 million (AU$2.75 million) for the Equinox colt foal from Youngstar’s half-sister G1 Flight Stakes winner Funstar (Adelaide {Ire}).
He was the third topped priced foal on the day with the second top price going to the Equinox colt from 2020 Triple Tiara winner Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) for ¥330 million (AU$2.9 million)
Youngstar and Funstar are also half-sister to winning mare Baggy Green (Galileo {Ire}) who is the dam of Group 1 winners Tofane (NZ) (Ocean Park {NZ}) and No Compromise (NZ) (Pins) as well as stakes winners Benaud (Reliable Man {GB}) and Bradman (NZ) (Pins).
The first foal of G1 Robert Sangster Stakes winner Ruthless Dame (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}), a colt by proven sire Kizuna (Jpn), made ¥210 million (AU$1.8 million) to the bid of Susuma Fujita. Mosheen (Fastnet Rock)’s filly by Maurice (Jpn) sold to Toshihiko Tabata for ¥68 million (AU$604,000).
Of the 258 foals catalogued for the second day of the sale, 228 sold at a gross of ¥15.78 billion (AU$14 million), down from ¥17.1 billion (AU$15.2 million) in 2025. The average was ¥69.5 million (AU$616,000) and the median was ¥50 million (AU$443,000).
Youngstar’s Equinox colt tops day one
Equinox was responsible for the most expensive horse sold on the opening day of the JRHA Select Sale at ¥420 million (AU$3.7 million).
The top yearling belonged to lot 110, a colt out of Group 1 winner Youngstar consigned by Northern Farm, who ended the session as the leading vendor. It was Danox Co Ltd who struck the winning bid.
One of the best horses to carry the Danox silks is Danon Decile (Epiphaneia), winner of the Dubai Sheema Classic last year. The top lot is a half-brother to Eri King (Kizuna), winner of the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai and only beaten two lengths into second in the G1 Japanese St Leger back in October.
The other yearling out of an Australian Group 1 winner, Lot 3 by Contrail from G1 Thousand Guineas winner Amphitrite (Sebring) made ¥56 million (AU$497,000).
The first day saw a 13% rise in the aggregate to ¥17.660 billion (AU$14.2 million). Of the 262 horses offered, 250 sold at a clearance rate of 94%, which was down by 3.7% on last year. The average was ¥70 million (AU$622,000) and the median was ¥52 million (AU$462,000).
Northern Farm's Katsumi Yoshida said, “It was an incredible sale. We had a constant stream of people who visited the farm to see the horses, so we knew there was strong interest beforehand. The outstanding pedigrees are obviously the biggest factor, but it's not just that prices have gone up. The overall quality of the catalogue has improved and I genuinely believe it has become the world's premier sale.
Katsumi Yoshida | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“Kitasan Black's progeny have already proven themselves on the track, but the expectations for Equinox's crops – even before they've raced – are extraordinarily high. As for Efforia, his offspring have been performing very well, and they are outstanding physically as well.”
He concluded, “Japanese horses have been achieving outstanding results internationally, which has attracted a growing number of overseas buyers. Hong Kong, in particular, could see a new model emerge, where horses are first campaigned in Japan before being transferred to race there.”
