22 October, 2008
On Tuesday, July 22, Dr. K.C. Tan of Singapore purchased a filly (born 2007) sired by Fuji Kiseki out of Daiwa Lovely for JPY 30,450,000, the highest price of the yearling session of the Hokkaido Selection Sale held at the JBBA Hokkaido Sales Complex.
Dr. Tan says that he was keen on the horse after seeing it displayed early in the morning, but only finally decided to buy it at the auction in the afternoon. The Fuji Kiseki filly is a full sister to Fuji Silence, who won the Tokyo Shimbun HAI (GIII). After securing the horse following some fierce bidding, Dr. Tan said, "I'm excited and delighted that I was able to purchase the horse I liked the most, and I'm satisfied that I paid a fair price for what is a top-class horse."
Dr. Tan is the best known Singapore racehorse owner at Japan's training and yearling sales. During 2006, he has purchased three 2-Y-Os and 11 yearlings. At the Hokkaido Autumn Sale in 2006 he bought a filly sired by Jolie's Halo (USA) out of Endearing Quality (USA), which, racing under the name of Jolie's Shinju and so far having run seven races, with three wins, two seconds and a third.
Since 2006, buyers from Singapore have been increasingly making their presence felt. Dr. Tan has spent a total of JPY 140,385,000 on 15 horses, while Mr. Jayven See has spent a total of JPY 23,625,000 on three horses. In addition, Mr. Masatsugu Otani, an owner, who along with trainers Mr. Hideyuki Takaoka and Mr. Susumu Nigishi, are racing in Singapore, spent a collective total of JPY 62,895,000 on 16 horses.