Japan’s Select Sale of foals and yearlings at Hokkaido this week attracted several Victorians headed by agent Robert Roulston.

Acting on behalf of Rifa Group chairman Wu Jae, he bought filly foals by Heart’s Cry and Novelist for a combined total of AUD 502,935.

The Heart’s Cry filly made 19 million yen and is the first foal of French stakes performer Ipswich (Danehill Dancer).  The dam is a three-quarter sister to Mike Moroney’s last-start Flemington winner Loyalty Man.

The Novelist filly sold for 21 million yen and there’s also an Australian connection through her dam To The Happiness (Symboli Kris S).   Her half-brother To The World (King Kamehameha) was a Group 2 winner in Japan and was also runner-up in last year’s G1 BMW at Rosehill.

The Rifa Group has a permit to race in Japan and Wu Jae was also active at the Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale in March for stock to race in Australia.  Roulston bought him a So You Think filly from Burnewang North Pastoral for $300,000 at Oaklands.

Roulston was also on the lookout for Limerick Lane owner Gerry Ryan but came up empty-handed.  Three Bridges owners Peter and Toby Liston attended the Japan Select Sale for the first time as a study tour to eventually bring sought-after pedigrees to their Victorian farm.

HEART’S CRY
Japanese filly is from a three-quarter sister to Loyalty Man.