Tag: Tetsuya Kimura

Equinox Crowned Longines World’s Best Racehorse 

LONDON, UK — Japan stole the show at the Longines World Racing Awards in London, with Silk Racing's Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) named the Longines World's Best Racehorse for 2023 while the G1 Japan Cup claimed the title of Longines World's Best Horse Race. The top-rated three-year-old filly in the world was Japan's Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}).

Equinox's top rating of 135 – the highest ever awarded to a Japanese horse – was achieved in his four-length romp in the Japan Cup, his final appearance on a racecourse in which he had Liberty Island and her fellow Classic winners Stars On Earth (Jpn) and Do Deuce (Jpn) behind him. Such a strong first four meant that the 2023 running of the Japan Cup was awarded a rating of 126.75.

Trainers, jockeys, owners and breeders from across the racing world attended the ceremony at the Savoy to celebrate the 11th time that Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) had joined forces to celebrate the best in the sport. 

The Tetsuya Kimura-trained Equinox was the second Japanese horse to receive the accolade after Just A Way (Jpn) in 2014. Ridden throughout his career by Christophe Lemaire, he was unbeaten in 2023, with his other victories coming in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, G1 Takarazuka Kinen (G1), and G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn).

“To be honest it was quite enjoyable,” said Lemaire with no little understatement of his association with Equinox as he accepted his award on Tuesday.

“Each time he ran there was a big expectation but on that horse I had such confidence. I tried to do my job as well as possible and I will miss him a lot. Like most top athletes he had a combination of physical strength and mental strength. His physical strength allowed him to run fast and use his beautiful stride. Also he was very clever, is he understood very quickly what he had to do to win. My job was just to get a good start and put him in a good position to let him express his talent.”

He added, “He was nearly the perfect racehorse and we have to congratulate the breeder for producing such a beautiful horse and the trainer for allowing him to mature and getting the best out of him. 

“Equinox was something special. He had an aura. Most of the people first discovered him in Dubai but in Japan he was already a rising star.”

Masashi Yonemoto, the CEO of Equinox's 300-strong ownership group Silk Racing, was in London to collect his award along with Kimura and Lemaire. A strong Japanese contingent was bolstered by the presence of Masayoshi Yoshida, the president of the Japan Racing Association (JRA), and Masayuki Goto, the JRA's executive adviser of international affairs, who received the trophy for the world's best race, which was a first for the Japan Cup in its 43-year history.

Equinox was rated 7lbs clear of last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, the unbeaten Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}), who was joint-second in the ratings with the G1 Prince of Wales's S. and Juddmonte International winner Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) on 128. They were thus Europe's top-rated runners for 2023, a pound clear of G1 Queen Elizabeth S. winner Big Rock (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) who were joint fourth on 127.

Hukum's runner-up at Ascot, Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), and Hong Kong's champion Golden Sixty (Aus) were next on 126, while the dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) was awarded a mark of 125 for his victory in the G1 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, the same as Lucky Sweynesse (NZ), who was judged to have run to that mark on three occasions at Sha Tin and was the top-rated sprinter in the world.

There was a five-way tie for tenth place with a rating of 124 having been awarded to White Abarrio (Race Day), Cody's Wish (Curlin), Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) and Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}).

In total, 36 horses achieved a rating in excess of 120. Of these, nine were trained in Britain, seven in Japan, seven in the USA, four in Hong Kong, and three each in France, Ireland and Australia. Frankel was the sire of four of the top 15 horses in Europe – Mostahdaf, Westover, Onesto (Ire) and Triple Time (Ire) – and grandsire of the co-top-rated Ace Impact, who was also the highest-rated three-year-old in the world. 

It was a particularly good year for European three-year-old colts, with Ace Impact being joined by Big Rock, Auguste Rodin, Paddington and King Of Steel among the top 20 horses globally. 

Three of the four top-rated fillies or mares in the world were also trained in Europe and all hail from the Newmarket stable of John and Thady Gosden. Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was awarded a mark of 121 for her G1 Dahlbury Coronation Cup win, while Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was on 120 for her success in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, the same mark given to Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for her G1 Falmouth S. win. The aforementioned Liberty Island tied with Emily Upjohn on a mark of 121.

Also on 121 was the top-rated stayer, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who started his career with Simon and Ed Crisford in Britain before switching to the Australian stable of Anthony and Sam Freedman. With Lucky Sweynesse leading the way for the older sprinters, the top three-year-old sprinter in the world for 2023 was the G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 July Cup winner Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) on 120.

Four of the top ten races in the world in 2023 were staged in Japan, with the Takarazuka Kinen in fifth spot, the Tenno Sho (Autumn) joint-sixth and the Arima Kinen in eighth. The Equinox factor had a firm say in the rankings of the races, with the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic ranked second with an average rating of 126.50. The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a regular winner of this title, was third on 124.75, just ahead of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on 124.50. The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion S was co-sixth, while the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois was ninth and the Juddmonte International tenth. 

The official rankings are compiled by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee, which is co-chaired by Nigel Gray and Dominic Gardiner-Hill, and they are published by the IFHA.

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Shin Emperor Has Much In His Favour In Hopeful

Perfect in two starts, including a victory over 2000 metres already at this early stage in his career, Susumu Fujita's Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) can well and truly stamp himself a leading contender for next year's Japanese Classics when he takes on a full field in Thursday's G1 Hopeful S. at Nakayama, the final top-level event on the JRA circuit for 2023.

Bred by Ecurie des Monceaux, the chestnut is–as has been well documented–a full-brother to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) and was hammered down to trainer Yoshito Yahagi for a sales-topping €2.1 million at last year's Arqana August Sale in Deauville. The colt has done little to suggest his connections' lofty opinions are misguided, as he was visually impressive in taking out his maiden at first asking over 1800 metres at Tokyo Nov. 4 and he made it two-from-two with a half-length success in the G3 Kyoto Nisai S. Nov. 25, successfully stretching out to Thursday's distance. Yahagi has tabbed Bauyrzhan Murzabayev to ride.

“He has a lot of potential and it's not often you get to work with a horse with a pedigree like he has, so I'm feeling the pressure,” said assistant trainer Yusaku Oka. “He's still mentally immature, but he has shown a high level of ability and with his European bloodline, I think the tough turf at Nakayama will suit him. He has a lot of power and he should be able to handle the hill in the stretch. He already experienced the trip to Kanto for his debut, so I'm not worried there. I'm hoping he'll do his best.”

 

 

 

Regaleira (Jpn) (Suave Richard {Jpn}), one of two fillies taking on the boys here, graduated in a July 9 newcomers' event at Hakodate and most recently resumed with a sound third-place effort behind the talented JRHA Select Yearling Sale topper Danon Ayers Rock (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) in the Listed Ivy S. at Tokyo Oct. 21. Christophe Lemaire sticks with the filly for Equinox (Jpn)'s trainer Tetsuya Kimura.

Bricks and Mortar is in a good battle for second spot on the list of leading first-crop sires in Japan by progeny earnings behind Suave Richard, and Gonbade Qabus (Jpn) stands a good chance to solidify that position Thursday. The dark bay colt opened his account at first asking in a 1600-metre newcomers' contest at headquarters June 10 and was not seen for four months thereafter, returning to cause a mild upset in the G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over the identical course and distance Oct. 7. He must negotiate an extra two furlongs here, but on pedigree it is clearly well within his reach.

Velociraptor (Jpn) (Suave Richard {Jpn}) also brings an unblemished record into the Hopeful, having won his maiden over nine furlongs at Tokyo June 24 before adding a Sept. 23 conditions test at Hanshin over the same trip.

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Equinox Obliterates Tokyo Course Record In Tenno Sho

There had been hints that reigning Japanese Horse of the Year Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) was not your average champion, most especially with his geared-down tour-de-force in the desert in March, but the Silk Racing Company's colourbearer was in a zip code all his own with his course-record breaking performance in defence of his G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) title at Tokyo on Sunday. He covered the 2000-metre trip over a firm Tokyo course in 1:55.20, 0.9 seconds faster than the previous record.

Carrying a rating of 129 on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings making him the world's highest-rated racehorse since demolishing a classy international field in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan, the blaze-faced dark bay became only the third horse to win back-to-back Tenno Shos. Notable sire Symboli Kris S. (Jpn) (Kris S.) first accomplished that feat in 2002 and 2003, and he was followed by fellow Silk Racing representative and Japanese Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) in 2019 and 2020.

He defeated the closing Justin Palace (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), a half-brother to GI Belmont winner and Grade I sire Palace Malice (Curlin) and a winner of the 3200-metre G1 Tenno Sho (Spring), by 2 1/2 lengths. It was another quarter-length back to Prognosis (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in third. The latter, a winner of the G2 Sapporo Kinen in the lead up to this contest, was second to Saturday's G1 Cox Plate victor and Hong Kong's leading middle-distance horse Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup in April.

Bet down to 30 cents on the dollar, Equinox jumped well and secured an ideal tracking position in third, as Jack d'Or (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) set out hard on the steel while tracked by Gaia Force (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}). The field was well spread out, with the frontrunner covering the first 800 metres in :46.30, 1000 metres in :57.70, and the 1200-metres in 1:09.10. It was, however, an unsustainable tempo, and Jack d'Or abruptly threw in the towel with a quarter mile to run after covering the 1600 metres in 1:32.10. Gaia Force briefly seized the advantage with a looming Equinox making his run three deep, but the grey had attended too closely to the hot pace and folded 100 metres later. Equinox steamed home with a pair of sub-12 second 200 metre splits, getting his final 400 metres in :23.10 to win as he pleased. Justin Palace made a brave run from well off the pace, but it was too little too late to catch the champ.

“First of all, I am relieved to have been able to show the world, which I know was watching how the race favorite would run, that he is indeed a deserving colt to be named the highest rated colt,” said regular rider Christophe Lemaire. “He's not exactly

what you call a horse with incredible speed but he was able to keep up with today's rapid pace and get into another gear at the end–but I was actually surprised when I realized that we had won in a record.

“He is a versatile horse that can run from any position, stay calm during the race and make use of his speed at the finish. He can also run at longer distances such as when he won the Arima Kinen, so although there was much pressure coming into such a prestigious race as race favorite, I was confident knowing what he is capable of.”

A crowd of 77,870 attended the Tenno Sho, including the Japanese Emperor Naruhito and the Empress Masako.

Never worse than second in his nine lifetime starts, Equinox was unbeaten at two with his season-ending victory in the G2 Hai Nisai S. Second in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) in his first two outings at three, he has yet to taste defeat since October of 2022. All five of his victories beginning with last October's Tenno Sho (Autumn) have occurred at Group 1 level. After taking the 2400-metre Arima Kinen (Grand Prix) in December, the Dubai Sheema Classic went his way this March. The Takarazuka Kinen was secured narrowly in June, his final start until Sunday's stirring effort.

Pedigree Notes

The Japanese Champion 3-Year-Old Colt of 2022, Equinox is one of seven stakes winners for his Shadai Stallion Station-based sire. Kitasan Black, who was a dual Japanese Horse of the Year in 2016/2017 with seven career Group 1 wins including the 2017 Tenno Sho (Autumn), also has the G1 Satsuki Sho hero Sol Oriens (Jpn) to his credit and three other group winners.

Equinox, a half-brother to G3 Radio Nikkei Sho winner Weiss Meteor (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), is the third foal of his dam, the G3 Mermaid S. heroine Chateau Blanche (Jpn) (King Halo {Jpn}), who also raced for Silk Racing. She has a 3-year-old filly by Just A Way (Jpn), a juvenile filly named Garza Blanca (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) and a full-sister to the winner born this year.

Out of the winning Blancherie (Jpn) (Tony Bin {Ire}), his dam is from the extended family of sires G3 Prix de la Jonchere winner Bellypha (Ire) (Lyphard), G1 Premio Ernesto Ayulo Pardo victor Run And Deliver (Danzig), and G2 Prix Eugene Adam hero Bellman (Fr) (Riverman).

Sunday, Tokyo, Japan
TENNO SHO (AUTUMN)-G1, ¥421,420,000, Tokyo, 10-29, 3yo/up, 2000mT, *1:55.20 (NCR), fm.
1–EQUINOX (JPN), 128, c, 4, by Kitasan Black (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Chateau Blanche (Jpn) (GSW-Jpn,
                                $1,096,970), by King Halo (Jpn)
                2nd Dam: Blancherie (Jpn), by Tony Bin (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Maison Blanche (Jpn), by Alleged
O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Tetsuya Kimura;
J-Christophe Lemaire. ¥222,394,000. Lifetime Record: HotY-
Jpn, Ch. 3yo Colt-Jpn, G1SW-UAE, 9-7-2-0, $12,558,118. *1/2
to Weiss Meteor (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), GSW-Jpn,
$820,531. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Justin Palace (Jpn), 128, c, 4, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Palace
Rumor, by Royal Anthem. (¥190,000,000 Ylg '20 JRHAJUL).
O-Masahiro Miki; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥88,684,000.
3–Prognosis (Jpn), 128, h, 5, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Velda (GB), by
Observatory. O-Shadai Race Horse; B-Shadai Farm (Jpn);
¥55,342,000.
Margins: 2HF, 1/4, HD. Odds: 0.30, 34.10, 10.40.
Also Ran: Danon Beluga (Jpn), Gaia Force (Jpn), Admire Hadar (Jpn), Do Deuce (Jpn), Echt (Jpn), Hishi Iguazu (Jpn), North Bridge (Jpn), Jack d'Or (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.

 

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