2015 JRA Awards

Maurice (JPN)

Video (Maurice)
Mile Championship (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	4 (March 2, 2011)
Sex / Color	Colt / Bay
Sire	Screen Hero
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Mejiro Frances (Carnegie)
Owner	Kazumi Yoshida
Breeder	Togawa Bokujo
Trainer	Noriyuki Hori
Jockey	Ryan Moore
Season Record / Earnings	6 starts, 6 wins / ¥ 482,063,200
Career Record / Earnings	13 starts, 8 wins, 1 third / ¥ 515,198,200
Principal Wins in 2015	Hong Kong Mile (G1) Mile Championship (G1) Yasuda Kinen (G1)

Maurice concluded an incredible season with a perfect score of six wins out of as many starts after JRA Award-winning Nobuyuki Hori took over his training. The Screen Hero entire not only became the sixth horse to claim the Yasuda-Mile Championship double in the same year-last accomplished by Daiwa Major in 2007-but also won the Hong Kong Mile in December, validating his talent against an international field of high-class milers.

Maurice showed potential in his two-year-old debut with a dominating three-length margin and in record time for a two-year-old at Kyoto for former trainer Naohiro Yoshida. But after scoring another victory that season, he did not progress as expected in the spring of his three-year-old campaign and was unable to make the three-year-old Classics. He was moved to his present stable and, following a transforming six-month break, came back in January of this year at Nakayama for his third career win, an overwhelming victory reminiscent of his debut. He demonstrated a terrific turn of speed after missing his break and racing from behind in his next two starts-the latter being his first grade-race victory in the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy, where he broke the race record set by Daiwa Major in 2005 by 0.1 second.

Breaking smoothly in his first G1 challenge in the Yasuda Kinen, he secured a good position around fifth and prevailed by a neck after assuming command at the stretch to become the first horse sired by Screen Hero to claim a G1 victory. Sent to post fourth choice after coming off a five-month break and passing up a prep race prior to the Mile Championship, he proved any doubters wrong and exceled again under Ryan Moore, who gave him a clear run home to allow the four-year-old to cruise to a 1-1/4-length victory.

In his first overseas challenge in the Hong Kong Mile, the exceptional miler overcame the disadvantages of long travel and new surroundings to show great determination in regaining the lead from local hero Able Friend, who overtook the bay colt with less than 100 meters to go, to score a 3/4-length victory.

Leontes (JPN)

Video (Leontes)
Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	2 (January 29, 2013)
Sex / Color	Colt / Dark Bay or Brown
Sire	King Kamehameha
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Cesario (Special Week)
Owner	U. Carrot Farm
Breeder	Northern Farm
Trainer	Katsuhiko Sumii
Jockey	Mirco Demuro
Season Record / Earnings	2 starts, 2 wins / ¥ 78,162,000
Principal Win in 2015	Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1)

Leontes won the biggest title for two-year-olds in only his second career start, becoming the first colt in JRA history to accomplish the feat since the grade system was implemented in 1984.

Sired by 2004 Tokyo Yushun victor King Kamehameha, who won seven out of eight career starts between 2003 and 2004, and out of Cesario, a G1 Oaks winner in Japan and the U.S., the champion two-year-old is also half-brother to 2014 Japan Cup winner Epiphaneia. He garnered high expectations in his late two-year-old debut over 2,000 meters at Kyoto in November, living up to his pedigree by easily staying close to the leader despite breaking from stall 15. After keenly holding in the early stages, he still had plenty left in the closing stages and sped to a 1-1/2 length victory, covering the last three furlongs in 33.4 seconds.

His outstanding performance and superb pedigree were convincing enough to place him second favorite when he jumped up in class, only four weeks after his sensational debut, to challenge proven two-year-olds in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. Leontes was positioned at the rear of the 16-horse field under Mirco Demuro, but he gradually made headway with 800 meters to go. Approaching the last corner, the dark bay colt circled wide into the homestretch and unleashed a tremendous turn of speed that enabled him to race past the entire field and pin down race favorite Air Spinel soon after the 100-meter marker, then pull away to a 3/4-length victory.

Major Emblem (JPN)

Video (Major Emblem)
Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	2 (March 26, 2013)
Sex / Color	Filly / Chestnut
Sire	Daiwa Major
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Catchy Title (Opera House)
Owner	Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.
Breeder	Northern Farm
Trainer	Yasuhito Tamura
Jockey	Christophe Lemaire
Season Record / Earnings	4 starts, 3 wins, 1 second / ¥ 94,662,000
Principal Win in 2015	Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1)

Major Emblem lived up to expectations by winning the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies as race favorite and concluding her outstanding two-year-old debut season with three wins and a second out of four starts.

Sired by two-time JRA Award winner (Best Sprinter or Miler, 2006 and 2007) Daiwa Major, Major Emblem won her debut at Tokyo Racecourse in June with a fast finish after racing close up for a comfortable 1-/1/2-length victory. She was even more impressive in her following race, demonstrating a terrific turn of speed after taking a wide trip behind a slow pace in mid-division and powering past the leader for a 2-1/2-length win.

The chestnut filly appeared to have her third consecutive victory in hand in her first grade-race start, the Artemis Stakes, in which she was on the bit along the outside from stall 15 and sustaining the lead in the straight after taking command at the third corner. But unaware that the eventual winner was creeping up further out, she was pinned at the last minute to miss by a neck.

Partnered with Christophe Lemaire, who is full of praise and confidence in the filly ever since her debut, Major Emblem did not disappoint in her G1 challenge, breaking sharply and racing close to the leaders in third, then taking control entering the stretch to sprint clear of the field for an unchallenged two-length victory.

Her three-year-old season will commence with the Queen Cup (G3, 1,600m) on February 13.

Duramente (JPN)

Video (Duramente)
Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	3 (March 22, 2012)
Sex / Color	Colt / Bay
Sire	King Kamehameha
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Admire Groove (Sunday Silence)
Owner	Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.
Breeder	Northern Racing
Trainer	Noriyuki Hori
Jockey	Mirco Demuro
Season Record / Earnings	4 starts, 3 wins, 1 second / ¥ 384,963,000
Career Record / Earnings	6 starts, 4 wins, 2 seconds / ¥ 392,763,000
Principal Wins in 2015	Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1) Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1)

Duramente was voted the season’s Best Three-Year-Old Colt by an overwhelming margin for a remarkable 2015 campaign that was cut short prior to a possible Triple Crown title or an overseas challenge. The King Kamehameha colt performed beyond expectations when sent to post third favorite in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas). In the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) he performed as advertised, storming home in record time for the second jewel in the Triple Crown.

Out of G1 winner Admire Groove, whose dam Air Groove was the 1997 Horse of the Year, the King Kamehameha colt attracted high hopes from the beginning of his career as a potential classic winner. Although beaten by 3/4 length in his two-year-old October debut, in his following start he proved to be of a different class when he broke his maiden by a dominating six-length margin.

He kicked off his three-year-old season with another five-length victory. In the Kyodo News Service Hai, he took hold early but didn’t have enough left after taking the front at the stretch and was outrun by the winner, finishing in second by a 1/2-length. He bounced back in his following start, the Satsuki Sho, where he was unhurried near the rails about three horses from the rear. He gradually made headway, then lost a fair amount of ground as he leapt to the outside rounding the last corner, but an explosive turn of foot quickly drew him level with the leaders with a less than 100 meters to go, and then suddenly he drew away for a 1-1/2-length victory.

Following his Tokyo Yushun victory, attention focused on whether Duramente would go for the Triple Crown in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) in October, or challenge the world’s best in the Arc, which is thought to be his best distance at over 2,400 meters. But then fractures in both forelimbs prompted surgery to remove bone chips, requiring him to take off the rest of the season for recovery.

The talented colt will begin his four-year-old campaign with the Nakayama Kinen (G2, 1,800m) on February 28, prior to an overseas challenge in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1, 2,410m) on March 26.

Mikki Queen (JPN)

Video (Mikki Queen)
Shuka Sho (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	3 (February 8, 2012)
Sex / Color	Filly / Bay
Sire	Deep Impact
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Musical Way (Gold Away)
Owner	Mizuki Noda
Breeder	Northern Farm
Trainer	Yasutoshi Ikee
Jockey	Suguru Hamanaka
Season Record / Earnings	6 starts, 3 wins, 2 seconds / ¥ 271,698,000
Career Record / Earnings	8 starts, 4 wins, 3 seconds / ¥ 279,498,000
Principal Wins in 2015	Shuka Sho (G1) Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1)

Winner of two legs of the season’s fillies’ Triple Crown, Mikki Queen concluded her outstanding three-year-old campaign by marking 3-2-0 out of six starts and a close eighth against top-class runners in the Japan Cup.

The Deep Impact filly registered a second in her debut as a two-year-old and notched her first win by a promising two-length margin in her next race two weeks later. Her first start of her three-year-old season was her first graded attempt, the G3 Queen Cup, in which she closed well, registering the fastest charge in the field from far behind, but came up a neck short to finish second.

Although well rested and ready for a challenge in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), she unfortunately missed out in the entry draw, but she scored an open-class win on the same race day and at same racecourse as the first leg of the fillies’ classics. Qualifying for the second leg, the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), Mikki Queen was sent off third favorite and raced wide in mid-pack before pinning front-runner Rouge Buck in the last half-furlong for a 3/4-length win. The filly gave trainer Yasutoshi Ikee his first G1 title for fillies/mares.

The three-year-old was off slow in the Rose Stakes, her fall debut, but from the far rear she produced the fastest charge over the last three furlongs to catch all but the winner for a 1-1/2-length second. In the last leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown, the Shuka Sho, a start from the widest stall did not hinder her performance whatsoever. She demonstrated an amazing stretch run after powering through horses at the top of the straight to take command in the last 100 meters and prevail in record-breaking time, holding off a late charge by Queens Ring for a neck victory.

She is headed towards the Victoria Mile (G1, 1,600m) on May 15 for her 2016 spring campaign beginning with the Hanshin Himba Stakes (G2, 1,600m) on April 9.

Lovely Day (JPN)

Video (Lovely Day)
Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	5 (January 30, 2010)
Sex / Color	Horse / Dark Bay or Brown
Sire	King Kamehameha
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Popcorn Jazz (Dance in the Dark)
Owner	Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co., Ltd.
Breeder	Kaneko Makoto Holdings Inc.
Trainer	Yasutoshi Ikee
Jockey	Yuga Kawada
Season Record / Earnings	10 starts, 6 wins, 1 third / ¥ 615,312,000
Career Record / Earnings	27 starts, 9 wins, 3 seconds, 2 thirds / ¥ 748,095,000
Principal Wins in 2015	Tenno Sho (Autumn) Takarazuka Kinen (G1)

Lovely Day enjoyed his best season yet in 2015 as the late-developer claimed six grade-race titles, including two G1 victories. In the Takarazuka Kinen in June, he took the lead after pressing the pace in second and accelerated strongly in the last 200 meters for his first G1 title. In the Tenno Sho (Autumn) in November, the son of King Kamehameha was rated toward the front and easily stole the lead before the furlong pole to pull away, repelling a strong challenge from the runner-up for a half-length victory.

After winning his first two starts as a two-year-old, the dark bay made a runner-up effort in his first graded attempt in the Keio Hai Nisai Stakes. In his three and four-year-old campaigns, however, he was unable to score a grade-race victory despite turning in a number of runner-up efforts in G3 and G2 events.

Lovely Day’s big break came in the beginning of his five-year-old season, when he won his first two starts of 2015, the Nakayama Kimpai and the Kyoto Kinen, the former being his first grade-race victory. While unable to exert his ability in longer distances over 3,000m in his following two starts, he was back on the winner’s podium with four consecutive victories-all graded races-prior to a neck-and-neck third in the Japan Cup and a credible fifth in his tenth start of the season, the Arima Kinen.

After a long and fruitful season, the son of King Kamehameha will focus on his best distance at around 2,000 meters. He is due to return for his six-year-old campaign in the Sankei Osaka Hai (G2, 2,000m) on April 3 and then the Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1, 2,000m) on April 24.

Shonan Pandora (JPN)

Video (Shonan Pandora)
Japan Cup (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	4 (March 10, 2011)
Sex / Color	Filly / Bay
Sire	Deep Impact
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Cutie Gold (French Deputy)
Owner	Tetsuhide Kunimoto
Breeder	Shadai Corporation Inc.
Trainer	Tomokazu Takano
Jockey	Kenichi Ikezoe
Season Record / Earnings	6 starts, 2 wins, 1 third / ¥ 431,400,000
Career Record / Earnings	16 starts, 5 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third / ¥ 567,030,000
Principal Win in 2015	Japan Cup (G1)

Shonan Pandora became the eighth female runner to claim the Japan Cup title, securing her hold on the season’s JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare.

Following a runner-up finish in her only start as a two-year-old, Shonan Pandora broke her maiden in her kick-off start the next season, but was short of qualifying for the three-year-old fillies’ spring classics. However, after powering up during the summer, the Deep Impact filly demonstrated a convincing drive in record time down the Kyoto stretch to capture the final leg of the Triple Crown for fillies, scoring her first grade-race victory with a G1 win and giving trainer Tomokazu Takano his first G1 victory in his fourth year. She was sixth against more experienced rivals in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

In her first two starts of 2015, the Sankei Osaka Hai and the Victoria Mile, she was well beaten to ninth and eighth, respectively. Following a third-place finish in the Takarazuka Kinen, she took a three-month break and then improved significantly to become the first female in 18 years to land the G2 All Comers. Earning a place in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) lineup, she was sent to post fifth favorite but was forced to race wide and behind from an outside stall. Unable to reach the leader, she finished fourth despite recording the fastest finish over the last three furlongs.

Starting from stall 15 in the Japan Cup, jockey Ikezoe kept the filly more to the inside in mid-field and the bay filly found herself in tight quarters at the top of the straight, and then again 150 meters out. But she gained powerfully on Lovely Day to out-duel the favorite, then pinned Last Impact, who had held a brief lead along the rails, for a neck win.

Trainer Takano, who is careful to take each race one at a time, has the Takarazuka Kinen on June 26 in mind as her spring target, but may also start her in the Victoria Mile depending on her condition.

Copano Rickey (JPN)

Video (Copano Rickey)
February Stakes (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	5 (March 24, 2010)
Sex / Color	Horse / Chestnut
Sire	Gold Allure
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Copano Nikita (Timber Country)
Owner	Sachiaki Kobayashi
Breeder	Yanagawa Bokujo
Trainer	Akira Murayama
Jockey	Yutaka Take
Season Record / Earnings	6 starts, 3 wins, 1 third / ¥ 245,852,000
Career Record / Earnings	20 starts, 10 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds / ¥ 591,664,000
Principal Wins in 2015	February Stakes (G1) JBC Classic

Copano Rickey, who demonstrated a sensational breakthrough in 2014, accomplished another outstanding feat to claim the JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse. After securing the Tokai Stakes easily by four lengths, the five-year-old was sent to Tokyo aiming to become the first to defend a February Stakes title as the heavy favorite. Indeed, he did it with style by pressing the pace and quickly inheriting the lead two furlongs out for a half-length win. But during the race he sustained a minor fracture in his left foreleg, forcing him to the sidelines for over seven months. After marking a third in his comeback start in the Nippon TV Hai, he defended his JBC Classic title with an impeccable wire-to-wire win 2-1/2 lengths ahead of the closest pursuer.

Sired by 2002 Best Dirt Horse Gold Allure, Copano Rickey has raced exclusively on dirt since his two-year-old debut. He registered his first win in his three-year-old debut and scored his inaugural graded-stakes victory in the Hyogo Championship-a wire-to-wire win six lengths in front of the runner-up. But then he was diagnosed with a radial fracture in his right foreleg, and following a six-month recovery, his two starts at the end of the season were not as encouraging as hoped.

He kicked off the 2014 season with a stunning triumph to claim the February Stakes with a half-length win, upsetting a field of top dirt runners and holding off a persistent challenge from subsequent JRA Award-winner Hokko Tarumae. He followed up with two more G1 wins in the Kashiwa Kinen and the JBC Classic, where he set a new record on a track rated muddy, but was well beaten in the Champions Cup and was also beaten by Hokko Tarumae in votes for the season’s JRA Award.

In a vote that was divided among a number of horses, Copano Rickey,although beaten again in the Champions Cup, won the Best Dirt Horse award by a comfortable margin thanks to convincing results throughout the season.

Up to Date (JPN)

Video (Up to Date)
Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1) Video

Age (Foaling)	5 (February 18, 2010)
Sex / Color	Horse / Gray
Sire	Kurofune
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Linear Muse (Tony Bin)
Owner	Kazuo Imanishi
Breeder	North Hills Co,. Ltd.
Trainer	Shozo Sasaki
Jockey	Mitsuaki Hayashi
Season Record / Earnings	5 starts, 3 wins, 1 second / ¥ 171,400,000 *steeplechases only
Career Record / Earnings	8 starts, 5 wins, 2 seconds / ¥ 193,200,000 *steeplechases only
Principal Wins in 2015	Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1)Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1)

Up to Date claimed this year’s Nakayama Daishogai in a three grade-race winning streak starting with the Nakayama Grand Jump in April, thereby ensuring his JRA Award for Best Steeplechase Horse in 2015. He is the first horse to win both J-G1 races in the same year since the grading system was introduced to steeplechase racing in 1999. His victory in the Nakayama Grand Jump also renewed the race record previously set in 2004 by 0.4 second.

The son of 2001 Best Dirt Horse Kurofune broke his maiden in his two-year-old debut and concluded the season by registering 2-1-1 out of five starts. In his 2014 season, however, winless with just one fifth place in 10 starts, he was switched to obstacle racing in September. He won his first steeplechase start in his second career start, finished fourth in his first grade-race challenge in the 2015 Hanshin Spring Jump, and then scored a dominating victory in the Nakayama Grand Jump in which he was five to six lengths ahead at the last obstacle before drawing further away.

His second grade-race victory came in the Kokura Summer Jump, but an injury in the effort caused a minor change in his racing schedule and he was forced to miss his intended prep start prior to the Nakayama Daishogai in December, which turned out to be his first race in five months. Starting from an outside stall, which could not have helped, Up to Date moved smartly to secure a good position and made use of his stamina to outduel the up-and-coming race favorite, Sanacion, who had been undefeated in five starts since switching to steeplechase racing in April. The gray horse then held off a late charge by Acorn Path for a 1/2-length victory.

Up to Date is due to begin his 2016 season with the Hanshin Spring Jump in preparation for his bid to defend his title in the Nakayama Grand Jump on April 16.