She Will Reign's yearling colt hits the heights at JRHA Select Sale

The first foal from G1 Golden Slipper S. winner She Will Reign (Manhattan Rain), a yearling colt by Heart's Cry (Jpn), has sold for ¥165 million, or just over AU$2 million, at the Japan Racing Horse Association Select Sale.

The She Will Reign colt by Heart's Cry was offered by his breeders at Northern Farm, who purchased the mare privately off the track from the syndicate of owners, headed by Darby Racing, in 2019.

The half-sister to the Group 2 winner and Kingstar Farm stallion Time To Reign, also won the G1 Moir S. as well as a G2 Silver Slipper S. in a 12-start career for trainer Gary Portelli that saw her win six races in all and earn over $3.2 million.

Danox Co Ltd, who race the 'Danon' horses and are backed by software executive Masahiro Noda, were the successful bidders on Monday, going to one of the Top 10 prices of the opening day for She Will Reign's yearling colt.

It was also the equal top-priced yearling on the day by Heart's Cry, the sire of a host of Japanese stars, including G1 Cox Plate winner and Japanese Horse of the Year, Lys Gracieux (Jpn). Heart's Cry was recently pensioned from duty at Shadai Stallion Station.

It's the second massive result for the progeny of a former Australian Group 1 winner at the JRHA Sale in three years, after Yankee Rose's (All American) filly by Deep Impact sold for ¥210 million, the equivalent of AU$2.55 million, in 2019.

Both mares raced in Darby Racing's ownership colours in Australia, and Scott Darby said it was another indication of the value of Australian bloodlines in the international market.

"It’s an amazing result and gee they sell well over there. Yankee Rose's first foal went for close to $3 million, so they certainly sell for big money," Darby told TDN AusNZ.

"What it highlighted to me, seeing Yankee Rose's progeny go through and now She Will Reign's, they might be spending big money buying our very best racetrack mares but you can see why. They put them to their good stallions and they make huge money on them."

Darby watched the colt be sold through the ring through an online stream and did notice a few similarities to his dam, who he picked out for $20,000 at the 2017 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.

"It was a good result I watched him go through the ring and he somewhat resembled She Will Reign in looks, colour and type. It’s a good result for the breeder," he said.

"You'd be hard pressed trying to get that sort of money here in Australia. You’d have to have a lot of things go right and have the right stallion to even hit the million-dollar mark."

Yankee Rose, also a dual Group 1 winner, was an even cheaper buy, costing just $10,000 through the 2015 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale and going on to win over $2 million on the track. Her colt by Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) is catalogued to sell as Hip 398, in Tuesday's foal section.

Following the breeding careers of his two star mares in Japan has not been easy for Darby, but he is pleased to see their progeny so well received by the market.

"They were such cheap buys here as yearlings and then were able to well and truly surpass what we paid for them, but to see them go to another level and become international, who would have thought?" he said.

Yankee Rose's Deep Impact filly is named Romneya (Jpn) and is yet to race, while she also has a Duramente (Jpn) yearling filly.

She Will Reign, meanwhile, foaled a filly by young stallion Satono Diamond (Jpn) in January.