The opening session of the 2017 JHRA (Japan Horse Racing Association) Select Sale saw prices soar and the aggregate increase .

Day one of trading saw 216 lots sell (from 242 offered) and gross ¥8,634,500,000 –a six percent increase on last year’s total of ¥8,130,600,000.

Champion sire and former Japanese Triple Crown winner Deep Impact (Sunday Silence) was again was all the rage at the first session of the sale, which ends on Tuesday. The five times Japanese champion sire was responsible for the top four lots sold on Monday’s opening session, and eight of the top fifteen lots sold overall.


Top lot sold on Monday’s sale was a son of Deep Impact out of former Gr1 Meon Valley Stud Fillies Mile winner Listen (Sadler’s Wells) who was knocked down to leading Japanese owner Hajime Satomi for ¥270 000 000 (the equivalent of US $2,364,189).
The sales topping colt, an own brother to the JPN Gr2 winner Touching Speech (whose wins included the Gr2 Kansai Telecasting Corporation Roses Sho Stakes and who also ran third in the Gr1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup). The well related Listen is a sister to Gr1 Moyglare Stud Stakes winner Sequoyah-herself the dam of four time Gr1 winning sire Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo).

Top priced filly on Monday was a Deep Impact filly out the well bred mare Loves Only Me (Storm Cat) who was knocked down to DMM.com Co., Ltd.  for ¥160,000,000.

The filly, whose relatives include successful South African sire Judpot, is a full-sister to Gr1 Dubai Turf winner Real Steel.

The Select Sale continues on Tuesday where the focus moves to foals.