2016 News

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Winners of the 2015 JRA Awards announced

On January 6, Maurice was announced as a double winner for the JRA Awards for 2015. Maurice won both the Japan Racing Association's Horse of the Year for 2015 and Best Sprinter or Miler award. Maurice dominated the voting for the Horse of the Year award with 291 votes out of 215. Lovely Day and Duramente had received 55 and 19 respectively.

The Horse of the Year title is the highest honor given to JRA-registered race horses and is selected by the Horse of the Year Selection Committee represented by journalists of various dailies and magazines.

The JRA Awards ceremony will be held on January 25.

Note: All information, including ages and race performances, are as of December 31, 2015, unless otherwise indicated.

■RACEHORSES

Maurice(JPN)

Video
Yasuda Kinen (G1 - English)
Mile Championship (G1 - English)

2015 Horse of the Year – Maurice -- Connection Comments

Owner: Kazumi Yoshida
“I wish to express, on behalf of Maurice, my thanks for having been recognized with such an award. And, I would like to express my appreciation foremost to trainer (Noriyuki) Hori and all those persons associated with Maurice.”

Trainer: Noriyuki Hori
“It is a great honor to be selected as the Horse of the Year. Last year, (Maurice) gave us results in a number of varied environments and I am most grateful for, not only this horse’s being blessed with great racing ability and a great capacity to learn, but for all the people who have worked with him to bring this ability to fruition. I will continue to pursue this horse’s potential to the utmost, and bring out the ability he has been born with, which will, I believe, bring yet more racing pleasure to the fans.”

Jockey: Ryan Moore
“Last year was a hugely successful year. (Maurice) is a very honest horse and with his having matured physically he was able to win the Yasuda Kinen (G1) and the Mile Championship (G1), then prove himself as a top-class horse on the world stage in going to Hong Kong and beating some very strong competition.”

Best Two-Year-Old Colt:

Leontes(JPN)

Video
Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1 - English)

Best Two-Year-Old Filly:

Major Emblem(JPN)

Video
Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1 - English)

Best Three-Year-Old Colt:

Duramente(JPN)

Video
Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) (G1 - English)
Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1 - English)

Best Three-Year-Old Filly:

Mikki Queen(JPN)

Video
Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (G1 - English)
Shuka Sho (G1 - English)

Best Older Colt or Horse:

Lovely Day(JPN)

Video
Takarazuka Kinen (G1 - English)
Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1 - English)

Best Older Filly or Mare:

Shonan Pandora(JPN)

Video
Japan Cup (G1 - English)

Best Dirt Horse:

Copano Rickey(JPN)

Video
February Stakes (G1 - English)

Best Steeplechase Horse:

Up to Date(JPN)

Video
Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1)
Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1)

■TRAINERS & JOCKEYS

*Best Trainer (races won): Noriyuki Hori (56 wins)

*Best Trainer (winning average): Noriyuki Hori (0.234%)

*Best Trainer (money earned): Yasutoshi Ikee (1,931,479,600 Yen)

*Best Trainer (training technique): Mikio Matsunaga

JRA Best Jockey (races won): Keita Tosaki (130 wins)

JRA Best Jockey (winning average): Christophe Lemaire (0.195%)

JRA Best Jockey (money earned): Mirco Demuro (283,146,000 Yen)

**MVJ - Most Valuable Jockey (newly established category): Keita Tosaki 54 points

Best Steeplechase Jockey: Yusuke Igarashi (11 wins)

Best Jockey (newcomer): Katsuma Sameshima (39 wins)

*Trainers’ figures include National Association of Racing (NAR; Racing by Local Governments) and overseas race results.

**The MVJ is determined by points allotted a jockey for his or her ranking in four different categories for designated JRA, NAR and overseas races. The four categories are "number of wins," "win average," "earnings," and "number of rides for the year." The MVJ award is bestowed upon the jockey with the highest total points.

 

■2015 JRA Equine Cultural Award

Winner: Gufu no O, or “Lord of the Tempest” (book)

Recipient: Akiko Kawasaki

Recipient Profile:
Akiko Kawasaki – Born in Hokkaido in 1979. Sheep raiser. After graduating Hokkai-Gakuen University, Dept. of Economics, studied sheep husbandry in New Zealand for one year. Presently works at own farm in Hokkaido raising sheep.

In 2012, received the Hokkaido Shimbun Cultural Award for Tosui Iji, or “Tosui Memories” in the Creative Writing – Critical Essay division.

In 2014, Gufu no O, or “Lord of the Tempest,” won the Ayako Miura Cultural Prize, a one-time prize awarded as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of Miura’s novel Hyoten.

Winner Summary:
A moving tale set in Japan’s northern Tohoku region and Hokkaido depicting one family’s intricately interwoven life with horses spanning six generations from the Meiji Period to the present. It is a work brimming with energy and imbued with the feel of the ages it covers.

Reason for Recognition:
The work is acclaimed for its depiction of the relationship between horse and human, a depiction drawn in intricate detail. One can feel the power of nature, a power beyond the measure of human intellect. The story’s scale is grand and full of vitality and this is a work that will leave a deep impression long after it is read.

(Note)
The JRA Equine Cultural Award and Award of Merit recognize those persons (or organizations) that have contributed to the development of equine culture through such mediums as literature, critique, art, film and music, photography and performance.

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Results of the 2015 JRA Awards (Total Votes: 291)

Horse of the Year

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Maurice (JPN)	215
2	Lovely Day (JPN)	55
3	Duramente (JPN)	19
4	Kitasan Black (JPN)	1
4	None	1
Total		291

Best Two-Year-Old Colt

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Leontes (JPN)	289
2	Hartley (JPN)	2
Total		291

Best Two-Year-Old Filly

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Major Emblem (JPN)	291
Total		291

Best Three-Year-Old Colt

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Duramente (JPN)	285
2	Kitasan Black (JPN)	6
Total		291

Best Three-Year-Old Filly

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Mikki Queen (JPN)	291
Total		291

Best Older Colt or Horse

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Lovely Day (JPN)	174
2	Maurice (JPN)	114
3	A Shin Hikari (JPN)	1
3	Gold Actor (JPN)	1
3	None	1
Total		291

Best Older Filly or Mare

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Shonan Pandora (JPN)	213
2	Straight Girl (JPN)	74
3	Marialite (JPN)	3
4	Sambista (JPN)	1
Total		291

Best Sprinter or Miler

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Maurice (JPN)	245
2	Straight Girl (JPN)	43
3	None	2
4	Aerovelocity (NZ)	1
Total		291

Best Dirt Horse

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Copano Rickey (JPN)	147
2	Sambista (JPN)	73
3	Hokko Tarumae (JPN)	28
4	None	16
5	Nonkono Yume (JPN)	14
6	Sound True (JPN)	13
Total		291

Best Steeplechase Horse

Place	Horse	Votes
1	Up to Date (JPN)	289
2	Sanacion (JPN)	1
2	None	1
Total		291