By Michael Cox
Given Lord Kanaloa's (Jpn) meteoric rise, opportunities to secure affordable offspring of Japan's newest super sire might soon become scarce and Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young jumped at the chance to secure Lot 266.
The bay colt was the first lot of day two and perhaps that muted bidding as the Cranbourne-based partnership secured the only Lord Kanaloa in the sale for $300,000.
"We actually really love the Lord Kanaloas and we tried to get one here in June but we missed out on him, so we weren't going to miss out on this one." - Natalie Young
"We actually really love the Lord Kanaloas and we tried to get one here in June but we missed out on him, so we weren't going to miss out on this one," Young said. "He is just a typical Japanese-bred horse and he looked like a nice buy. We have already got a few people in him. I think the Japanese horses are just fantastic, they are superior horses."
The modest purchase price may look even better in years to come if Lord Kanaloa's stock continues its meteoric rise as his third crop begin racing in 2019.
From his first crop, the 2018 Triple Tiara and Japan Cup-winning filly Almond Eye (Jpn) is obviously Lord Kanaloa's banner horse but the dual Hong Kong Sprint winner has also produced a number of two-year-old winners and another of his first crop, Stelvio (Jpn), beat the older horses in the 2018 G1 Mile Championships at Kyoto.
Lord Kanaloa's service fee has risen accordingly, jumping from ¥8m (A$103,000) to ¥15m (A$194,000), second only to seven-time champion sire Deep Impact.
Lord Kanaloa
"We are really happy with what we paid for him," Young said. "At that price, considering what he stands for and especially being eligible for a $10m raceday over the next two years, we had to take him at that price."
"At that price, considering what he stands for and especially being eligible for a $10m raceday over the next two years, we had to take him at that price." - Natalie Young
Lord Kanaloa was not only a great sprinter but counts one of the toughest mile contests in the world, the 2013 G1 Yasuda Kinen, among his six Group Ones.
Still, perhaps the biggest surprise has been the versatility of his progeny, with Almond Eye excelling at staying trips and now being aimed at the 2019 G1 Sheema Classic and G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
As such Young is keeping an open mind to what the new purchase will be suited to.
Almond Eye
"We can't wait to get him back into the barn," she said. "Going off the pedigree we think he will be a middle distance type, but we will give him plenty of time. Let's see what he tells us, but he is a valuable, good-looking horse so we will be taking our time with him."
Lot 266's vendor Arrowfield was an early adopter of Lord Kanaloa, breeding several yearlings on Southern Hemisphere time through their joint venture with Northern Farm.
Lord Kanaloa provides an intriguing outcross to Australian mares and Arrowfield manager Paul Messara is looking forward to his progeny hitting the track.
"Hopefully one of these horses we have bred can become a stallion, we would love to have a son of him here stand as he is a great outcross." - Paul Messara
"Lord Kanaloa is a horse we would have loved to stand in Australia, we haven't been able to yet, but hopefully one of these horses we have bred can become a stallion, we would love to have a son of him here stand as he is a great outcross," Messara said. "This was a lovely individual with a great pedigree."
