Taihei Presents An Impressive Offering For Upcoming Select Sale

13 July 2021

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Led by Saori Rokuroda, once again Taihei Stud Farm has exceeded expectations in terms of the quality of horses they hope to present at Japan’s premier Thoroughbred sale.

Taihei boasts of a long and distinguished history, so beautiful that it has been a place where the Showa Emperor has stayed in the past and many movies have been shot at the farm as well. The ‘Tai’ in the Taihei name was taken from the name of the original owner, Yoshio Ohkawa’s family name symbol, with the ‘Hei’ being taken from his father’s first name Heijiro.

Rokuroda’s vision for the farm is simply to continue producing quality racehorses.

“Over the next ten years, we would like to expand our vision globally, producing winning and quality racehorses for the future generations.”

The legacy that is Taihei is soon likely to be continued by the Saori’s children.

“Over the next ten years, the new generation of the family business will become involved, with my son Tom, and my daughter Ema,” he said, “The new ideas and skills they learn through their schooling and further education will no doubt be a great asset to the future of Taihei.”

“They are both greatly involved in horses, with Tom enjoying riding competitively (especially in show-jumping), and Ema finishing up with her equestrian academy,” concluded Rokuroda.

Saori Rokuroda chats with The Impact chats about their impressive Select Sale draft and the best practices the farm have developed when choosing mares and curating their drafts.

Q: You have a very impressive draft for the upcoming Select sale. Could you tell us more about each yearling and what makes them special?

A: Thank you very much. We are selling three impressive yearling fillies at the Select Sale this year. All of them are special for different reasons. We have outlined the details below:

Tourny X Daiwa Major 2020: In 2017 we bought Tourny, a Gr.3-winning mare, at the Tattersalls December Sale. She was in foal to Frankel and gave birth on our farm in Hokkaido. The colt (named ‘Knock On Wood’) was absolutely beautiful. We took him to the Select Sale 2018 as a foal and he was purchased by Mr Katsumi Yoshida. Currently, he is syndicated at the Silk Racing Club and won his debut in Tokyo last year. We have his half-sister, Tourny’s second foal, at the Select Sale this year. She looks very promising and is a well-proportioned, compact horse with good shoulders and strong hindquarters. You can definitely sense her speed as you watch her walk.

Great Page X Heart’s Cry2020: We bought Great Page, a Gr.3-winner, at the Tattersalls December Sale in 2018. She was in foal to Dark Angel. She foaled a filly on our farm in Hokkaido and we sold her in the 2020 Select Sale as a yearling. The foal is now called Dark Page and is a balanced horse of great caliber. The Great Page / Heart’s Cry 2020 is Great Page’s 3rd foal. She is also very well-balanced and of considerable caliber like her half-sister, and has a good supple walk with a lovely stride. I am pleased to note that she is a very athletic and excellent yearling.

Princess of The Stars X Daiwa Major 2020: The third filly I’m going to mention is Princess of The Stars/ Daiwa Major 2020. We bred the mare Princess of The Stars and raced her in England. She was trained by John Gosden. We have brought this winning mare back to Japan and we bred her to Daiwa Major. This colt was sold at the Select Sale 2018 as a foal. Shounan Lass Boss, now 3YO, won his debut and has been placed 5 times since. Princess of The Stars’ second foal by Heart’s Cry, Cardio Princess, was sold as a foal to Gary Barber in the USA at the Select Sale in 2019. I have heard very positive things about Cardio Princess. This filly at the Select Sale this year, like her full-brother, is precocious and moves very powerfully. She has a nice temperament.

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We would like to expand our sales selection internationally as it reflects the increasingly global nature of the racing world.

Q: As the owner of a family business that involves the breeding of horses at the highest level you must have immense love for horses. Which horse was/ is your favourite and why?

A: We at Taihei do have an immense love for horses. I personally love all the horses that we breed every year. The majority of these horses we look after for a long time, from their birth to their yearling stage, which is when they go to the sales. I would compare trying to choose a favourite horse at Taihei to trying to choose a favourite child – you can’t do it. These horses do grow on you. They have their own personalities and being there to get to know them as they develop is a unique experience. I believe that this is part of what makes our horses (and Taihei) special. As for non-Taihei horses, I would have to say Deep Impact. He was an amazing horse, an amazing sire, and is now known as a great broodmare sire. He was such an extraordinary horse, not only renowned in Japan but internationally.

Q: Please tell us how this draft is curated, selecting the best yearlings for the Select sale?

A: For Select Sale, we curate our selections by taking foals/yearlings from proven family and upcoming potential. At Taihei, we believe this facet is a very important factor in selling to our clients; we not only selling horses to new owners, but we are also selling dreams of winning horses to these owners. We have tried to take horses with international recognition as this reflects the growing interest of the international market in Japanese horses, especially at Select Sales.

We at Taihei do have an immense love for horses.

Q: When you buy broodmares for your farm, what is the process, and which is your preferred sale for the process?

A: I guess like most breeders, our broodmares come from the horses we breed, private sellers through bloodstock agents, and public auctions. For the last few years, before Covid-19, we have consistently travelled to Tattersalls as mentioned previously. I enjoy going to Tattersalls because there is a great selection of quality mares for sale and it proves to be very organized. There is the presence of English traditions and in the heart of horse town, Newmarket. As for the horses themselves, we look into the conformation, track record, and pedigree that could work well with the stallions standing in Japan. We would like to expand our sales selection internationally as it reflects the increasingly global nature of the racing world.