2017 News

January 11, 2017

RSS


Winners of the 2016 JRA Awards announced

On Jan. 10, Kitasan Black was announced as a double winner for the JRA Awards for 2016. Kitasan Black won both the Japan Racing Association's Horse of the Year for 2016 and Best Older Colt or Horse award. In the voting for the Horse of the Year award, Kitasan Black received 134 votes out of 291, with Maurice and Satono Diamond receiving 90 and 66 votes, 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 30.

Note: All information, including ages and race performances, are as of December 31, 2016, unless otherwise indicated.

■RACEHORSES

Horse of the Year and Best Older Colt or Horse:

Kitasan Black(JPN)

4-Year-Old, Bay, Colt
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
Black Tide
Sugar Heart (Sakura Bakushin O)
Owner Ono Shoji
Trainer Hisashi Shimizu
Jockey Yutaka Take
Breeder Yanagawa Bokujo
Wins / Starts in 2016 3 / 6
Earnings in 2016 711,930,000 Yen
Principal Wins in 2016 Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1)
Japan Cup (G1)

Video
Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1 - English) play
Japan Cup (G1 - English) play

2016 Horse of the Year Connection Comments

Owner: Ono Shoji (Mr. Saburo Kitajima)
“I am deeply thrilled and thankful that my horse, Kitasan Black, has been recognized with the prestigious Horse of the Year award. On this occasion, I wish to express my thanks to not only those in the horse racing industry, but also to all the racing fans who rooted for him. We will continue to give it our best with Kitasan Black again this year, so I thank you in advance for your ongoing support.”

Trainer: Hisashi Shimizu
“I am thrilled to have been given the Horse of the Year honor. Rarely do we come across a horse of his caliber, and I am extremely grateful for it. Throughout the year, he was able to run in all the races that we had planned for him – he really is something special. Last year, he had the honor of running in the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) and the Arima Kinen (G1) as the fan’s top pick, and now being selected as the Horse of the Year, I hope he will live up to the expectations this year.”

Jockey: Yutaka Take
“I was able to partner with him throughout the year, so I am extremely thrilled to hear that he has been chosen as the Horse of the Year. I am grateful for Kitasan Black who ran his best throughout the whole year. Having been selected for this award amid all the other candidates who had great performances makes it even more special. He is a horse loved by many fans, so I hope to live up to the expectations that come with the award and continue to give our best this year as well.”


Best Two-Year-Old Colt:

Satono Ares(JPN)

2-Year-Old, Dark Bay, Colt
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
Deep Impact
Satono Amazones (Danehill)
Owner Hajime Satomi
Trainer Kazuo Fujisawa
Jockey Hirofumi Shii
Breeder Hajime Satomi
Wins / Starts in 2016 3 / 5
Earnings in 2016 91,347,000 Yen
Principal Wins in 2016 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1)

Video
Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1 - English) play

Best Two-Year-Old Filly:

Soul Stirring(JPN)

2-Year-Old, Brown, Filly
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
Frankel
Stacelita (Monsun)
Owner Shadai Race Horse Co. Ltd.
Trainer Kazuo Fujisawa
Jockey Christophe Lemaire
Breeder Shadai Farm
Wins / Starts in 2016 3 / 3
Earnings in 2016 89,498,000 Yen
Principal Wins in 2016 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1)

Video
Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1 - English) play

Best Three-Year-Old Colt:

Satono Diamond(JPN)

3-Year-Old, Bay, Colt
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
Deep Impact
Malpensa (Orpen)
Owner Hajime Satomi
Trainer Yasutoshi Ikee
Jockey Christophe Lemaire
Breeder Northern Racing
Wins / Starts in 2016 4 / 6
Earnings in 2016 660,764,000 Yen
Principal Wins in 2016 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) (G1)
Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) (G1)

Video
Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) (G1 - English) play
Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) (G1 - English) play

Best Three-Year-Old Filly:

Sinhalite(JPN)

3-Year-Old, Dark Bay, Filly
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
Deep Impact
Singhalese (Singspiel)
Owner U.Carrot Farm
Trainer Sei Ishizaka
Jockey Kenichi Ikezoe
Breeder Northern Racing
Wins / Starts in 2016 4 / 5
Earnings in 2016 279,426,000 Yen
Principal Wins in 2016 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (G1)

Video
Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (G1 - English) play

Best Older Filly or Mare:

Marialite(JPN)

5-Year-Old, Dark Bay, Mare
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
Deep Impact
Chrysoprase (El Condor Pasa)
Owner U.Carrot Farm
Trainer Takashi Kubota
Jockey Masayoshi Ebina
Breeder Northern Farm
Wins / Starts in 2016 1 / 6
Earnings in 2016 200,768,000 Yen
Principal Wins in 2016 Takarazuka Kinen (G1)

Video
Takarazuka Kinen (G1 - English) play

Best Sprinter or Miler:

Mikki Isle(JPN)

5-Year-Old, Bay, Horse
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
Deep Impact
Star Isle (Rock of Gibraltar)
Owner Mizuki Noda
Trainer Hidetaka Otonashi
Jockey Suguru Hamanaka
Breeder Northern Racing
Wins / Starts in 2016 2 / 5
Earnings in 2016 228,469,000 Yen
Principal Wins in 2016 Mile Championship (G1)

Video
Mile Championship (G1 - English) play

Best Dirt Horse:

Sound True(JPN)

6-Year-Old, Chestnut, Gelding
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
French Deputy
Kyoei Truth (Fuji Kiseki)
Owner Hiroshi Yamada
Trainer Noboru Takagi
Jockey Takuya Ono
Breeder Okada Stud
Wins / Starts in 2016 1 / 7
(NAR 0/ 6)
Earnings in 2016 174,634,000 Yen
(NAR 74,400,000 Yen)
Principal Wins in 2016 Champions Cup (G1)

Video
Champions Cup (G1 - English) play

Best Steeplechase Horse:

Oju Chosan(JPN)

5-Year-Old, Bay, Horse
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
Stay Gold
Shadow Silhouette (Symboli Kris S)
Owner Chosan Co. Ltd.
Trainer Shoichiro Wada
Jockey Shinichi Ishigami
Breeder Naoyoshi Nagayama
Wins / Starts in 2016 4 / 5
Earnings in 2016 208,824,000 Yen
Principal Wins in 2016 Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1)
Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1)

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

Special Award:

Maurice(JPN)

5-Year-Old, Bay, Horse
Sire
Dam (Sire of Dam)
Screen Hero
Mejiro Frances (Carnegie)
Owner Kazumi Yoshida
Trainer Noriyuki Hori
Jockey Ryan Moore
Breeder Togawa Bokujo
Wins / Starts in 2016 3 / 5 (Oversea 2 / 2)
Earnings in 2016 568,487,500 Yen
(Oversea 345,249,500 Yen)
Principal Wins in 2016 Champions Mile (G1)
Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1)
Hong Kong Cup (G1)

Video
Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1 - English) play


■TRAINERS & JOCKEYS

*Best Trainer (races won): Yoshito Yahagi (61 wins)

*Best Trainer (winning average): Noriyuki Hori (0.201%)

*Best Trainer (money earned): Noriyuki Hori (1,945,108,600 Yen)

*Best Trainer (training technique): Noriyuki Hori

JRA Best Jockey (races won): Keita Tosaki (187 wins)

JRA Best Jockey (winning average): Christophe Lemaire (0.237%)

JRA Best Jockey (money earned): Christophe Lemaire (4,040,748,000 Yen)

**MVJ (Most Valuable Jockey): Keita Tosaki 58 points

Best Steeplechase Jockey: Shinichi Ishigami (15 wins)

Best Jockey (newcomer): Takuya Kowata (45 wins)

***Special Award (jockey): Shigefumi Kumazawa


*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.

***In recognition of Kumazawa's longtime performance both on flat and steeplechase racing (1,008 career wins, including 215 in steeplechase races)


■2016 JRA Equine Cultural Award

Winner: Satta no Kuroi Kouma (book)

Recipient: Mugiho Omata (Author) / Yuki Sasameya (Illustration)

(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.




Results of the 2016 JRA Awards (Total Votes: 291)

Horse of the Year
Place Horse Votes
1 Kitasan Black(JPN) 134
2 Maurice(JPN) 90
3 Satono Diamond(JPN) 66
4 None 1
Total   291

Best Two-Year-Old Colt
Place Horse Votes
1 Satono Ares(JPN) 280
2 Rey de Oro(JPN) 11
Total   291

Best Two-Year-Old Filly
Place Horse Votes
1 Soul Stirring(JPN) 290
2 Rieno Tesoro(USA) 1
Total   291

Best Three-Year-Old Colt
Place Horse Votes
1 Satono Diamond(JPN) 286
2 Makahiki(JPN) 5
Total   291

Best Three-Year-Old Filly
Place Horse Votes
1 Sinhalite(JPN) 277
2 Jeweler(JPN) 6
3 Vivlos(JPN) 3
3 Major Emblem(JPN) 3
5 None 2
Total   291

Best Older Colt or Horse
Place Horse Votes
1 Kitasan Black(JPN) 201
2 Maurice(JPN) 90
Total   291

Best Older Filly or Mare
Place Horse Votes
1 Marialite(JPN) 233
2 Queens Ring(JPN) 46
3 Straight Girl(JPN) 5
4 None 4
5 Mikki Queen(JPN) 2
6 Rouge Buck(JPN) 1
Total   291

Best Sprinter or Miler
Place Horse Votes
1 Mikki Isle(JPN) 169
2 Maurice(JPN) 52
3 Big Arthur(JPN) 29
4 Red Falx(JPN) 23
5 None 13
6 Logotype(JPN) 2
7 Jeweler(JPN) 1
7 Danon Legend(USA) 1
7 Major Emblem(JPN) 1
Total   291

Best Dirt Horse
Place Horse Votes
1 Sound True (JPN) 156
2 Awardee(USA) 82
3 Copano Rickey(JPN) 28
4 None 15
5 Moanin(USA) 6
6 Apollo Kentucky(USA) 4
Total   291

Best Steeplechase Horse
Place Horse Votes
1 Oju Chosan(JPN) 291
Total   291