The market was solid at the May 11 Hidaka Horse Breeders Association Training Sale of 2-Year-Olds at Sapporo Racecourse.
Since the sale was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the following figures are comparisons with the market in 2019:
The average price of ¥7,133,735 (US$64,852) was an 8.6% increase and the median price of ¥5.8 million ($52,727) was a 16% increase. As the 2021 catalog much smaller with 124 lots offered, while 234 lots were offered in 2019, gross sales came to ¥592.1 million ($5.38 million), a 44.3% decline. The buy back rate increased from 30.8% in 2019 to 33.1% in 2021. Nine out of 124 lots sold were bought through online bidding, which was introduced at the HBA Training Sale for the first time.
"I am glad local government allows us to organize live sale, under current status of COVID-19", said Mitsugu Kimura, representative director at HBA, at the post sale press conference. "This is the market which we expected and I am pleased (the) online bidding system worked properly."
The sales-topper was Hip 28, a filly by Maurice, who was bought at this sale in 2013 for ¥10 million, out of Kashima Flower, the third-place finisher in the Fairy Stakes (G3) and Hakodate Nisai Stakes (G3) in 2004. She was bought by Masuomi Yamamoto for ¥30 million ($272,727). Consigned by Kitajima Bokujo, she was clocked :10.98 for an eighth-mile, the fastest time at the May 10 under tack show at Sapporo.
