Deep Impact Colt Brings Record Price at Chiba Sale

A Deep Impact colt was bought by Susumu Fujita for ¥470.1 million (US$4,257,525), the highest price ever paid at 2-year-old sales in Japan, at the Chiba Thoroughbred 2-Year-Old Online Sale May 21. The consignment from Shadai Farm belongs to the second to last crop of Deep Impact, a super sire who died July 30, 2019, and is out of Premier Steps (IRE) who placed in three graded/group stakes including Wilshire Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park. The colt breezed at Shadai May 12 where he was clocked in :35.2, the fastest time for three furlongs. Susumu Fujita, 48, is CEO of Cyber Agent, which provides internet advertising services and media services including internet, TV, and smartphone games. One of the most popular games provided by Cyber Agent is Uma Musume or "Horse Girl" in English, which features horse breeding and horse racing. While Fujita himself has been a supporter of horse racing for years, he is a relatively new player on the bloodstock market. "The price is much more than I expected," Teruya Yoshida of Shadai Farm said. “The colt is very nice and breezed superbly. He is definitely No. 1 in my consignments. But I still did not dream that price." Every single lot from 53 offered were sold for a total of ¥1,389,600,000 ($12,752,000). The average price was ¥26,723,077 ($243,158) and the median price was ¥15.5 million ($141,037). The totals represent increases of 69.8%, 89.3%, and 37.2% over 2020, respectively.