Deep Impact Foals Shine at Japan Sale
The Japan Racing Horse Association had been very reserved on commenting on their July select sale, which started on Tuesday, 15 July 2008. Due to the very slow economy in Japan at the moment, it was feared that sales would be few and that the success of the sale was hanging in the balance. And even though the sales figures were a little down from last year, the sale was still a huge success, with the first line of Deep Impact offspring getting a lot of attention and one foal in particular hitting the mark with a record sale price.
Deep Impact was foaled in 2002 from Sunday Silence (sire) and Wind in Her Hair (Dam) and enjoyed tremendous success during his horse racing career. With no less than seven Grade 1 races on the Japanese domestic circuit under his belt and being unbeaten by the time he won the Japanese Triple Crown, Deep Impact was adored by thousands and had collected over 1.4 billion yen in career earnings before he retired in 2006. With such an outstanding horse racing career, it is no surprise that his progeny is sought after.
The Japan Racing Horse Association sale had a total of a hundred and sixty-five foals on offer, of which a hundred and twenty-four were sold. Of those, eighteen Deep Impact unweaned foals strutted their stuff next to their mares, and together, reached a selling price of 1,2 billion yen or $11 317 749. This means that the average selling price for these foals were 71 million yen. But one foal was on everyone’s minds before the sale, a colt out of the mare Biwa Heidi. Biwa Heidi was sired by Caerleon and by having Deep Impact as his sire, gave the foal favorable genes and being half brother to champions such as Admire Aura and Admire Japan definitely helped his cause. Businessman, Takaya Shimakawa paid 220 million yen for the colt, making it the record price for sale. International buyers such as Nathan Tinkler, from Australia, also took advantage of the sale to secure a Deep Impact filly out of Neon Delite.
With both local and international buyers flocking to the sale, organizers know that the main attraction to the sale was the unweaned progeny of Deep Impact. They brought in some of the highest selling prices and guaranteed the success of the Japan Racing Horse Association’s select sale. It is hoped that next year will bring an increase in purchases and everyone present at this coming out sale of Deep Impact’s offspring, buyers, photographers and spectators, will be watching closely to see how these foals perform in coming years.
