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The Japanese Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in Japanese thoroughbred horse racing. It is awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards. This award originally started as part of the Keishū Sha Awards in 1954 and since 1972 part of the Yūshun Awards.
Taiki Shuttle was an American-bred, Japanese-trained thoroughbred race horse and stallion. He won races at the highest level both home and abroad, most notably winning the Mile Championship (twice), Yasuda Kinen, and Sprinters Stakes in Japan and the Prix Jacques Le Marois in France. Taiki Shuttle was honored as the Japanese Racing Association's (JRA) Champion Sprinter in both 1997 and 1998, and was named the Japan Horse of the Year in 1998, along with Champion Older Male Horse.
The JRA Award (JRA賞) is given annually since 1987 by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to the outstanding horses and people in Japanese Thoroughbred horse racing. The awards originally started as the Keishū Sha Awards (啓衆社賞) in 1954 and since 1972 the Yūshun Awards (優駿賞).
The JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
The JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
Japanese Best Dirt Horse is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
The JRA Award for Best Steeplechase Horse is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
The JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
The JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
The JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Filly is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
The JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
Lord Kanaloa is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist sprinter, he recorded his first important success in 2011 when he won the Grade 3 Keihan Hai at Kyoto Racecourse. In the following year he won once from his first four starts but then emerged as a world-class performer with wins in the Sprinters Stakes and the Hong Kong Sprint, becoming the first Japanese horse to win the latter race. Lord Kanaloa was even better in 2013 winning the Takamatsunomiya Kinen before stepping up in distance to take the Yasuda Kinen. In the autumn he repeated his wins in the Sprinters Stakes and the Hong Kong Sprint and ended the year rated as one of the best racehorses in the world.
Maurice, is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing promise as a two-year-old he disappointed in 2014, being well-beaten in all four of his races. In 2015 he emerged as one of the best milers in the world with an unbeaten record of six wins from six races. After two minor wins early in the year he recorded his first important success in the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy before taking the Grade I Yasuda Kinen. He returned in autumn to win the Mile Championship and then defeated a strong international field in the Hong Kong Mile. His performances in 2015 saw him named Best Japanese Sprinter or Miler and Japanese Horse of the Year. In the following year he won the Champions Mile before moving up i distance in the autumn to win the Tenno Sho and the Hong Kong Cup.
Yuichi Fukunaga is a Japanese horse trainer and former jockey who has won 29 Grade 1 races in Japan and abroad. He is affiliated with the Japan Racing Association (JRA) in Rittō. His father is former jockey Yoichi Fukunaga who was said to be a "genius" during his active career, and his uncle is Takashi Kitamura, also a former jockey. His wife is former Fuji TV announcer Midori Matsuo. Since July 2016, he has a management contract with Horipro together with Yuga Kawada, the entertainment production in which his wife is also affiliated.
Mikki Isle is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After winning two of his three starts as a juvenile he emerged as a top-class performer in 2014 when his wins included the Nikkan Sports Sho Shinzan Kinen, Arlington Cup, NHK Mile Cup and Swan Stakes. He failed to win as four-year-old but ran well in defeat in major races such as the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the Sprinters Stakes. He reached his peak in 2016 when he won the Hankyu Hai and ran second in both the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the Sprinters Stakes before recording his biggest win in the Mile Championship. At the end of the year he took the JRA Award for Best Sprinter or Miler. He was a front-running racehorse and was often vulnerable to fast-finishing opponents.
Gran Alegria is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning a minor race on her debut in 2018 she won the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup before running third in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. On her first appearance as a three-year-old she won the Oka Sho. In 2020 and 2021 she was the dominator in sprinter and mile races in Japan, whilst also challenged mid-distance races in between. She won the Yasuda Kinen, Sprinters Stakes, Victoria Mile and Mile Championship, with the latter one winning twice.
Admire Mars is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. As a juvenile in 2018 he was undefeated in four races including the Daily Hai Nisai Stakes and the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes and won the JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt. In his first two races of 2019 he was beaten in the Tokinominoru Kinen and the Satsuki Sho before returning to winning form to take the NHK Mile Cup. In December he won the Hong Kong Mile. He failed to win in 2020 but ran third in both the Mile Championship and the Hong Kong Mile.
Loves Only You is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed promise as a two-year-old when she won both her races. In the following spring she took the Wasurenagusa Sho before extending her unbeaten run to four by winning the Yushun Himba in record time. She sustained he first defeat in November 2019 when she ran third in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. She failed to win in five starts as a four-year-old in 2020, but returned to her best form in 2021 when she won the Kyoto Kinen, Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf in the United States and the Hong Kong Cup. She was awarded an Eclipse Award as the American Champion Female Turf Horse for 2021, as well as the JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare of the same year.
Indy Champ is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning his only start as a juvenile in 2017 he showed good form in the following year when he won three races and finished third in the Mainichi Hai. He emerged as a top-class performer in 2019 winning the Tokyo Shimbun Hai in February and going to take both of Japan's open age Grade 1 mile races, the Yasuda Kinen and the Mile Championship. In the following years he won the Yomiuri Milers Cup and was placed in both the Yasuda Kinen and the Mile Championship.
Songline is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed some promise as a two-year-old in 2022 when she won a maiden race on the second of her two starts. She developed into a high-class miler in the following year, winning the Kobai Stakes and Fuji Stakes as well as running second in the NHK Mile Cup. In 2022 she improved again and recorded major successes in the 1351 Turf Sprint and Yasuda Kinen. She was awarded the JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare and JRA Award for Best Miler for 2023.
References
- ↑ "Winners of the 2017 JRA Awards announced". Horse Racing in Japan. 10 January 2018.
- ↑ "Winners of the 2020 JRA Awards announced". Horse Racing in Japan. 7 January 2021.
- ↑ "Winners of the 2021 JRA Awards announced". Horse Racing in Japan. 11 January 2022.
- ↑ "Winners of the 2022 JRA Awards announced". Horse Racing in Japan. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
- ↑ "「2023年度JRA賞」決定！年度代表馬はイクイノックス！ JRA". jra.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-09.