Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
When you consider the quality of US-bred stallions, not to mention the European-bred stallions, that have been imported for stud duty in Japan over the last 20 years, stallions such as Afleet, Blushing John, Captain Steve, Coronado’s Quest, End Sweep, Ferdinand, French Deputy, Forty Niner, Hawkster, Hector Protector, Housebuster, Mining, Mogambo, Ogygian, Polish Navy, Star of Cozzene, Tabasco Cat, Twining, War Emblem, etc., the list of Japan’s 2008 Champions (and their sires) announced at the JRA Awards this week might surprise you. They are:
Vodka (Horse of the Year & Older female) is by Tanino Gimlet (JPN)
Seiun Wonder (2-year-old male) is by Grass Wonder (US-bred, JPN-raced)
Buena Vista (2-year-old female) is by Special Week (JPN)
Deep Sky (3-year-old male) is by Agnes Tachyon (JPN)
Little Amapola (3-year-old female) is by Agnes Tachyon (JPN)
Screen Hero (Older female) is by Grass Wonder (US-bred, JPN-raced)
Sleepless Night (Sprinter or Miler) is by Kurofume (US-bred, JPN-raced)
Kane Hekili (Dirt Horse) is by Fuji Kiseki (JPN)
Five of these are sired by JPN-bred/raced stallions and three of them are sired by US-bred but JPN-raced stallions. Not one of these Champions is sired by US-bred and raced stallion.
Grass Wonder (Silver Hawk) and Kurofume (French Deputy), the US-bred sires of three of the Champions, both did all their racing and were multiple SWs in Japan, and their big racing reputations made them both desirable for Japanese breeders and well suited for the Japanese racing environment.What’s just as notable is seven of the eight champions trace to Hail to Reason, through Sunday Silence and Roberto (Grass Wonder is by Silver Hawk, and Tanino Gimlet is by Brian’s Time — both sons of Roberto!). French Deputy’s Kurofume is the exception.While there is little doubt that the success of Sunday Silence has fueled Japan‘s import frenzy since the early 1990s, finding another import of the stature of Sunday Silence has proven elusive.
The times, they are a changin’!
However, the good news for Japan is that their home-bred race horses are now dominating the country’s stallion lists, and in the years to come we will no doubt see many more Sunday Silence stallions (several already on the leading sire lists) getting champions, such as Fuji Kiseki, Agnes Tachyon, and Special Week — who together account for four of the eight champions!
('98 Silver Hawk-Ameriflora, by Danzig)
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Jack Werk (1944-2010)
