If we learned one thing from the record breaking JRHA Sale earlier this week it’s that Contrail is seen as the next big thing in Japan, so we thought we better take a closer look at why this stunning black stallion is seen as something special.
A colt foal from the first crop of Triple Crown hero Contrail topped the sale at ¥520m (A$5,468,000) with twenty of his foals grossing 2.6 billion yen (A$28million) at an average of A$1.4million.
There was little doubt Northern Farm's colt out of the Group I winning City Banker mare Conviction (ARG) was the star of the show and he was bought by Contrail's former trainer Koji Maeda to be prepared by the champion's former jockey Yuichi Fukunaga.
Born in 2017, Contrail arrived in the tenth crop of his champion sire Deep Impact (Sunday Silence), who has sired 197 stakes-winners worldwide, 59 of them Group I winners headed by champion mare Gentildonna, a two time Japan Cup winner and two time Japanese Horse of the Year.
Contrail is his best colt and was a Group I winner at two, three and four.
Contrail won all three starts as a juvenile over 1800 and 2000m with the Group I Hopeful Stakes the highlight and returned at three to win the Japanese Triple Crown – Guineas (2000m), Derby (2400m) and St Leger (3000m). His only defeat at three was a second placing in the Japan Cup and he returned at four to win the iconic race putting the seal on his greatness.
Contrail retired with eight wins and three placings from 11 starts and in many ways has a similar race record to his sire Deep Impact, the best son of his champion sire Sunday Silence.
Deep Impact won his only start at two over 2000m and then was the Champion Japanese 3YO Colt taking out the Triple Crown before returning at four to win the Japan Cup and then retired with 12 wins and a second from 14 starts.
On the pedigree front they differ dramatically as Deep Impact has European bloodlines through his female family, while Contrail is from US bred mare Rhodochrosite, an Unbridled’s Song daughter of US Group I Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Folkore.
The eyes of the bloodstock world will be on Contrail going forward as the bar for success is going to be set high!
