The Equinox Effect: First Foals Set to Shine at JRHA Select Sale

Equinox & Christophe Lemaire - picture from netkeiba.com

Equinox took the racing world by storm, and now his first foals are ready to do the same in the sales ring. All eyes will be on the upcoming JRHA Select Sale, where the champion’s debut crop goes under the hammer for the very first time. With breeders, buyers, and fans buzzing about the potential of Japan’s next superstar sire, this sale could mark the beginning of a new era for Japanese bloodstock.

There are a total of 25 foals catalogued by the 2023 Japan Cup winner, with 15 of those out of Group-winning mares. Below, I'd like to highlight some of the standouts of those 15 foals.

Lot 324 - Equinox x Reine Minoru (Daiwa Major) Colt - Consigned by Fujiwara Farm

This guy, born on March 5th, is out of shock 2017 Group 1 Oka Sho winner Reine Minoru, trained by Masaru Honda. A smart two-year-old, she won the Group 3 Kokura Nisai Stakes before placing in both the Group 2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes and Group 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies - finishing third behind Soul Stirring and Lys Gracieux.

Reine Minoru got her revenge less than four months later, landing the 1000 Guineas ahead of both Lys Gracieux and Soul Stirring.

Her stud career has been modest so far, producing two winners from three runners. Her first foal, a Leontes filly, never made it to the track. Her second foal, Gloria Minoru, failed to win in six JRA starts,  but has since found her stride on the NAR circuit, winning two of eight since transferring to Takahiro Arai. Her three-year-old filly, Angel Breeze, looked promising when winning on debut in March. She was highly-tried in the Group 2 Sho Flora Stakes but finished a disappointing 14th. That form, however, has aged well - Kamunyak, the winner that day, went on to take out the Group 1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) on her next start. Tenyu, out of Reine Minoru, by Saturnalia, made his debut earlier this month for Takeshi Okumura, finishing seventh of nine over Tokyo's 1,600m. His yearling brother sold for ¥41.8m (approx. $260,000) at this sale last year, purchased by Hajime Satomi.

Lot 344 - Equinox x Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) Colt - Consigned by Northern Farm

Quite possibly one of the standout lots of the entire sale. His dam, Midnight Bisou, needs little introduction. Crowned Champion Older Dirt Female in 2019 for trainer Steve Asmussen, she captured three Grade 1s that year alone: the Apple Blossom, Ogden Phipps, and Personal Ensign. Over the course of her remarkable career, she won five Grade 1 races and placed in six more, establishing herself as one of the most consistent and dominant dirt fillies of her generation.

Following her retirement in 2020, Midnight Bisou was purchased by Chuck Allen for $5,000,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November Sale. Just a couple of years later, she returned to the ring at the Keeneland November Sale, where Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm secured her for $5,500,000.

Her first foal, a two-year-old Tapit colt named Mitilini, is currently in training with Tomokazu Takano at Ritto. His yearling half-brother, the colt on offer here, is already drawing major attention - and is expected to make headlines of his own when he eventually steps onto the track.

In a rare move, Northern Farm have already set a reserve price of ¥100,000,000 (approx. $636,000) for this colt - underscoring just how highly they rate him.

Lot 376 - Equinox x Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot) Filly - Consigned by Northern Farm

Another blue blood coming in from Northern Farm. His dam, Bella Sofia, won the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga as a three-year-old back in 2021 for trainer Rudy Rodriguez. In a career that consisted of just ten races, she won six of those ten starts that included, alongside her Test victory, two Grade 2 events and one Grade 3 contest.

At the conclusion of her racing career, the aforementioned Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm swooped to purchase her at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale for $1,185,000.

Her first foal bred in Japan is a yearling colt by Saturnalia, and he’s already got attention - not just for his pedigree, but because he’ll be trained at Miho by none other than Tetsuya Kimura, the man who guided Equinox to global stardom.

Lot 396 - Equinox x Mucho Unusual (Mucho Macho Man) Colt - Consigned by Shadai Farm

This colt, born on March 20th, is the second foal out of Mucho Unusual, a top-class racemare and Grade 1 winner in the U.S. Trained by Tim Yakteen and campaigned by longtime owner George Krikorian. Mucho Unusual built a reputation for toughness and consistency, rarely running a bad race across her 18-start career. She finished off the board just five times and racked up a string of notable performances at the highest level.

She was placed in both the Grade 1 American Oaks and the Grade 1 Gamely Stakes, before finally earning her richly deserved top-level victory in the Grade 1 Rodeo Drive Stakes at Santa Anita in September 2020 - a win that secured her status among California’s elite turf fillies.

After her retirement in 2022, Mucho Unusual was offered at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November Sale, where she was purchased by Shadai Farm for $1,100,000, adding further American class to their already stellar broodmare band.

Her first foal, a yearling by Kizuna, is set to be trained by Yoichi Kuriuowa for the Tokyo Horse Racing Co. Syndicate. With this second foal - a colt bred and raised on Japanese soil - there’s hope that Mucho Unusual’s winning legacy will continue to flourish on the international stage.

As the countdown to the JRHA Select Sale begins, the anticipation surrounding Equinox’s first foals is reaching a fever pitch. From world-class broodmares like Midnight Bisou and Bella Sofia to proven Japanese performers like Reine Minoru, this debut crop represents a potent fusion of global bloodlines and elite performance. Whether it’s headlines in the ring or heroics on the track, these foals carry not just the promise of their pedigree, but the weight of expectation that comes with being the first sons and daughters of a modern legend. The Equinox era has just begun.