The Dark Horse March 2011

Shiro Utsuri. Omosako. 20cm

Remember we count pattern the least when it comes to the purest judging of a Koi and it's potential. That said, very few ugly pattern Koi win prizes!

I chose this Koi as the dark horse for a few simple reasons. Starting with A, we can see good strong sumi making it's appearance at the tail of the Koi. This is where conventional thinking takes us when assessing sumi quality. This is still a very young Koi and so one would expect to want to see sumi develop a little later rather than sooner.

However, at the back of my mind is a similar age Shiro that I have seen as Tategoi Shiro Utsuri which was taken out of the bowl so rapidly it was barely there for a second or two whilst the breeder realised his mistake of putting one of his very best Shiro Utsuri in the bowl. On this fish the sumi was already up and so thick there is no way it could have sustained it for many years to come. I would have passed on this fish, but the breeder clearly disagreed and didn't want to give me the option! I have never forgotten it. Equally though, this fish and many, any others labelled as Tategoi (if there is such a thing at this age that would ever be sold to a dealer!) have always had underlying sumi. Perhaps the fish in Japan was just an anomaly as I have never seen such a reaction from a breeder ever again. 

Back to this Koi. The sumi at A is awesome. Very good quality indeed. B confirms the good motoguru on the little guy - I am guessing this fish to be a male but this is really a 49/51 call if I am perfectly honest. You can see hints of motoguru at C - and although one wants it to be balanced it is not that important on a small Koi, certainly not at this price point!

D gives us the awesomeness of the Shiroji - the Shiro part of Shiro Utsuri. Outstanding on such a young Koi and coupled with the excellent sumi this is a Koi that one has to get excited about.

The rest of the pattern is largely self explanatory. The Koi will be mostly white, with the patch of underlying sumi above D on the left hand side being of primary importance to balance the Koi. If this comes out and is good and strong the Koi will look simply superb with the head pattern especially coming to the fore to balance the Koi.

The dorsal fin is pure white. The pectoral fins are larger and the leading bones look straight and true.

The slightly yellowish head might put novices off a bit. My advice is to forget about the head. When this Koi is a bit older the skin will thicken and we can see how good the white on the skin is already. I anticipate that this Koi will go snow white all over and I would love to see it in a few years time.

I would value this Koi at between R800 and R1200. It sold on auction for R420. Well done - that was a steal.