Northern Farm

by Jessica Martini, Brian DiDonato, and Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton November Sale opened Tuesday afternoon with strong returns for its weanling offerings before exploding with frenetic bidding from an internationally diverse buying bench on a wide selection of superstar mares that ultimately produced a sales record gross of $103,699,000 for 149 head. That figure bested the auction's previous record of $89,473,000 which was set in 2018. The average of $695,966 was the second highest in sale history, falling short only of the 2008 average of $772,297, while...

Peter Callahan's Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil--Expo Gold, by Johannesburg) didn't turn a single hair for the entirety of the five minutes and change that she stood in the ring at Fasig-Tipton November Tuesday evening, and when the dust had settled, the chestnut filly had sold for $4.7 million to the bid of Northern Farm's Shingo Hashimoto. It took just a bit more than the 1:53 required for Swiss Skydiver to win last year's COVID-delayed GI Preakness S. for the bidding to wander into the $3-million territory, with interested parties both inside...

Over the last quarter-century, horses based in Japan have increasingly made their presence felt on the international stage, winning top races on the European continent, the Middle East, Hong Kong and places as far afield as Australia. Though clearly possessed of the horseflesh to make an impression--no matter the port of call--the Breeders' Cup had eluded the island nation, but history was made Saturday at Del Mar when the well-traveled Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) sliced her way between rivals in the dying strides to salute in the...

Frankel (GB) is having a stellar season and currently holds a narrow lead over his sire Galileo (Ire) on the European sires' table, and his proficiency has extended to Japan; in fact, it was there that he posted his first Group 1 win as a sire with the subsequent Classic winner Soul Stirring (Jpn) in the 2016 G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, and he now has three Group 1 winners in Japan with Mozu Ascot (Jpn) and Grenadier Guards (Jpn) also making the grade. It should have come as no surprise,...

Though he is gone, Deep Impact (Jpn) is far from forgotten, Shadai's breed-shaping sire having this year provided Classic winners in both his native country and in Britain in the form of the 16-length G1 Cazoo Oaks winner Snowfall (Jpn). He retains his position atop the Japanese sire standings, where he has sat uninterrupted since 2012, and the presence of four of his last-crop yearlings in Monday's opening session of the JRHA Select Sale were unsurprisingly among the very highest draws for buyers at Hokkaido's Northern Horse Park. His colt...

Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) justified 4-5 favouritism and took her second consecutive G1 Takarazuka Kinen title at Hanshin on Sunday. The 2200-metre contest is a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar in November, as well as the Oct. 23 G1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Down Under. Unicorn Lion (Ire) (No Nay Never) led the charge into the first turn while shadowed by Lei Papale (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Chrono Genesis sat third a few lengths back. A touch keen, pilot...

Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm has continued his association with French-raced mares with the purchase of G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Coeursamba (Fr) (The Wow Signal {Ire}) and G1 Prix Saint-Alary scorer Incarville (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Jour de Galop reports. Bloodstock agent Emmanuel de Seroux said the two 3-year-old fillies would remain with their respective trainers, Jean-Claude Rouget (Coeursamba) and David Smaga (Incarville), before being exported to Northern Farm in Japan at the end of their racing careers. "Coeursamba is a Classic winner and victorious in the Poule...

Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) denied heavy 3-5 favourite and G1 Japanese 2000 Guineas hero Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) by the narrowest of margins to take the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) at Tokyo on Sunday. It was the record-setting seventh win in that Classic for a son of Deep Impact, whose earlier successes include Deep Brillante (Jpn) (2012), Kizuna (Jpn) (2013), Makahiki (Jpn) (2016), Wagnerian (Jpn) (2018), Roger Barows (Jpn) (2019) and Triple Crown victor Contrail (Jpn) last term. Sent off at 10-1, Shahryar was rank and tugging for...

Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) put her stamp on the G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo on Sunday, a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The 2020 Japanese Champion Sprinter/Miler was winning her fifth Group 1 race when drawing off to win by four lengths over the good to firm ground. Bet down to 30 cents on the dollar, Gran Alegria perched in midfield as Christie (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) set a demanding tempo. Beginning to make inroads toward the front inside the final...

Sunday Racing's Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}) closed late to take the G1 NHK Mile Cup in a bobbing finish on Sunday, his first black-type victory. Second choice in the wagering at 5-2 behind Group 1 winner Grenadier Guards (Jpn) (Frankel {GB}), the Sunday Racing colourbearer broke well from one of the widest draws and punched the breeze out in the centre of the course while unhurried early. Up front, Pixie Knight (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) led under minimal pressure from Ho O Amazon (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), with Grenadier Guards...

Saturday's G2 Tulip Sho, a prep for the upcoming G1 Japanese 1000 Guineas next month, resulted in a dead heat between Nagoya Keiba's Meikei Yell (Jpn) (Mikki Isle {Jpn}) and Shadai Race Horse's Elizabeth Tower (GB) (Kingman {GB}), with the latter the first black-type winner in Japan for her sire. Very headstrong through the early stages against the fence, Meikei Yell raced just inside a tugging Elizabeth Tower. Yutaka Take gave the signal and Meikei Yell burst through the field to decisively take command with a half-mile remaining and entered...

Japanese Horse of the Year Jungle Pocket (Jpn) (Tony Bin {Ire}-Dance Charmer, by Nureyev) passed away at Breeders' Stallion Station in Japan, Tokyo-Sports reported on Tuesday. The grandson of GII Del Mar Debutante S. heroine Skillful Joy (Nodouble) was 23. Bred by Northern Farm and campaigned by Katsumi Yoshida, the May foal won two of three starts at two including the Sapporo Sansai S. in September of 2000 before a second-place finish in the Radio Tampa Hai Sansai S. Back in the winner's circle in the Kyodo News Service Hai,...