2017 JRA Awards

Danon Premium(JPN)

Video (Danon Premium)
Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	2 (April 3, 2015)
Sex / Color	Colt / Dark Bay or Brown
Sire	Deep Impact
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Indiana Gal (Intikhab)
Owner	Danox Co., Ltd.
Breeder	K. I. Farm
Trainer	Mitsumasa Nakauchida
Jockey	Yuga Kawada
Season Record / Earnings	3 starts, 3 wins / ¥ 111,799,000
Principal Win in 2017	Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1) Saudi Arabia Royal Cup (G3)

Danon Premium captured this year’s Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in 1:33.3, a race record last renewed back in 2015. Undefeated in all three career starts, he has been able to find another gear each time and use his outstanding speed to chase the pace close up early and clear the wire by a comfortable margin.

The Deep Impact colt showed potential in his career debut in June over 1,800 meters, which he won by an overwhelming four-length margin. In October, he landed his first grade-race challenge, the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup, where he renewed the 1,600-meter turf-course record (two-year-olds) while outrunning the race favorite by 1-3/4 lengths. Sent to post as the race favorite in his next start, the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, Danon Premium broke sharply from an inside draw and stalked the leaders in third while saving ground along the rails. Entering the stretch, he immediately grabbed the spotlight and pulled away with a fastest finish, covering the last three furlongs in 33.6 seconds. His win by a margin of 3-1/2 lengths tied a record set back in 1993 by Narita Brian, who went on to become a Triple Crown winner in his following season.

Lucky Lilac(JPN)

Video (Lucky Lilac)
Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	2 (April 3, 2015)
Sex / Color	Filly / Chestnut
Sire	Orfevre
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Lilacs and Lace (Flower Alley)
Owner	Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.
Breeder	Northern Racing
Trainer	Mikio Matsunaga
Jockey	Syu Ishibashi
Season Record / Earnings	3 starts, 3 wins / ¥ 102,820,000
Principal Win in 2017	Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1) Artemis Stakes (G3, 1,600m)

Lucky Lilac capped off a perfect two-year-old season with her first G1 title in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies to become the 2017 champion two-year-old filly. The win also crowned her as the inaugural G1 winner in the first crop of legendary Orfevre, a winner of six G1 titles in Japan and a two-time Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up (2012 and ‘13).

Debuting in August, the Orfevre filly broke her maiden with a convincing 1-1/2-length victory after chasing the pace in fifth position. Two months later she scored her second win, this time in the graded Artemis Stakes, where she scored the fastest finish from racing close up in around fourth or fifth position to win by 3/4 length.

Sent to post second favorite in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, Lucky Lilac struggled to find space early and then ran conservatively in mid-field before making her move to chase Lily Noble into the stretch. The chestnut filly ran powerfully down the lane once her path ahead cleared, catching the eventual runner-up 100 meters out for a 3/4-length victory thanks to a time-tied fastest last-three-furlong drive.

Rey de Oro(JPN)

Video (Rey de Oro)
Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	3 (February 5, 2014)
Sex / Color	Colt / Bay
Sire	King Kamehameha
Dam (Sire of Dam)	La Dorada (Symboli Kris S)
Owner	U. Carrot Farm
Breeder	Northern Racing
Trainer	Kazuo Fujisawa
Jockey	Christophe Lemaire
Season Record / Earnings	4 starts, 2 wins, 1 second / ¥ 414,052,000
Career Record / Earnings	7 starts, 5 wins, 1 second / ¥ 498,822,000
Principal Wins in 2017	Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1) Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2)

Rey de Oro highlighted his three-year-old campaign with a victory in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) in late May. After another win in his fall debut, the Kobe Shimbun Hai, the three-year-old opted out of the last leg of the Triple Crown to face top older G1 rivals in the Japan Cup. Entered second favorite, he raced mid-field before unleashing an impressive late charge to tie for fastest over the last three-furlongs and place second at the wire, behind by more than a length but to no less than 2016 Horse of the Year Kitasan Black.

Trained by Kazuo Fujisawa, as a two-year-old Rey de Oro won all three of his starts by comfortable margins, including his first graded victory in the yearend Hopeful Stakes. Tagged as a serious candidate for the three-year-old classics, Rey de Oro was forced to skip the trial race and head straight to the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) due to a delay in conditioning, finishing fifth in his G1 debut.

Picking up his form in the following Tokyo Yushun where he was posted second favorite, the King Kamehameha colt was rated toward the rear but he took advantage of a slow pace to make an early move along the backstretch, advanced to second and then continued accelerating after taking the lead 200 meters out, giving him his first G1 victory and Fujisawa his first Derby title.

Soul Stirring(JPN)

Video (Soul Stirring)
Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	3 (February 13, 2014)
Sex / Color	Filly / Dark Bay or Brown
Sire	Frankel
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Stacelita (Monsun)
Owner	Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd.
Breeder	Shadai Farm
Trainer	Kazuo Fujisawa
Jockey	Christophe Lemaire
Season Record / Earnings	6 starts, 2 wins, 1 third / ¥ 187,680,000
Career Record / Earnings	9 starts, 5 wins, 1 third / ¥ 277,178,000
Principal Wins in 2017	Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (G1) Tulip Sho (G3)

Soul Stirring continued with another stellar season following 2016, a year in which the Frankel filly gave her sire his first post-retirement G1 victory by claiming the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies to be named Best Two-Year-Old Filly. This season, the talented filly validated her champion title with a win in the three-year-old classic title, the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks). In the fall, when tested against a mixed field of top G1 runners, she was short of the money but proved well up to the competition and showed much potential for her four-year-old season.

Debuting in July 2016, Soul Stirring won her first career start to live up to expectations as one of Frankel’s first crop and out of multiple-G1 winner Stacelita. She then proceeded to win the Ivy Stakes by 1-3/4-length margin to Persian Knight, the subsequent Mile Championship victor. Her G1 title in the following Hanshin Juvenile Fillies earned her the JRA’s Best Two-Year-Old Filly title.

After extending her winning streak to four in her three-year-old kick-off, the Tulip Sho, she was sent to post as the heavy favorite in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas). Slow to adapt to her experience in softer goings, she was defeated to third for the first time. But Soul Stirring followed this with a dominating performance in the Yushun Himba, where she was positioned nicely among the leaders and drew away to a comfortable victory. In her fall challenges, however, she ran into bad luck—first by tiring after making the pace in the Mainichi Okan, then having to plough her way over testing ground in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and finally, less than a month after this hectic effort, she faced an international field of G1-level runners in the Japan Cup. Nevertheless, the powerful filly demonstrated her power in adapting well to various goings and exhibiting her outstanding stretch run.

Vivlos(JPN)

Video (Vivlos)
Dubai Turf (G1) Video

Age (Foaling)	4 (April 9, 2013)
Sex / Color	Filly / Black
Sire	Deep Impact
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Halwa Sweet (Machiavellian)
Owner	Kazuhiro Sasaki
Breeder	Northern Racing
Trainer	Yasuo Tomomichi
Jockey	Joao Moreira
Season Record / Earnings	4 starts, 1 win, 1 second / ¥ 459,228,000
Career Record / Earnings	11 starts, 4 wins, 3 seconds / ¥ 584,534,000
Principal Win in 2017	Dubai Turf (G1)

The 2016 Shuka Sho winner, Vivlos landed her second G1 victory by going overseas to win the 2017 Dubai Turf against a mixed field of G1 turf runners. Running around tenth, she accelerated with a fine turn of speed after angling out from a ground-saving trip along the rails, and then snatched the lead with 50 meters to go for a 1/2-length victory. A full sister to two-time Victoria Mile winner Verxina and also from the same mare as 2017 Japan Cup champion Cheval Grand, the superbly bred Vivlos is hoped to return to Dubai for a consecutive victory in the Dubai Turf prior to which she will follow the same program as in 2017 and run in the Nakayama Kinen (G2, 1,800m) on February 25 as a prep race.

After a win and a second out of two starts as a two-year-old, Vivlos did not make it into the first two legs of the three-year-old fillies’ classics at the grade-race level, finishing 12th in the first two starts of her 2016 campaign. But then a win in July and a runner-up effort in the Shion Stakes in September qualified her for the last leg of the fillies triple, the Shuka Sho. Sent to post third choice, the Deep Impact filly showed her potential as a first-class middle-distance runner with plenty of stamina by making an early move from halfway, turning wide into the stretch, mowing down her rivals and pinning the leader in the last strides for her first G1 title.

Red Falx(JPN)

Video (Red Falx)
Sprinters Stakes (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	6 (April 12, 2011)
Sex / Color	Horse / Gray
Sire	Swept Overboard
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Vermouth (Sunday Silence)
Owner	Tokyo Horse Racing Co., Ltd.
Breeder	Shadai Farm
Trainer	Tomohito Ozeki
Jockey	Mirco Demuro
Season Record / Earnings	5 starts, 2 wins, 2 thirds / ¥ 213,432,000
Career Record / Earnings	24 starts, 10 wins, 2 seconds, 3 thirds / ¥ 459,150,000
Principal Win in 2017	Sprinters Stakes (G1) Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2)

Red Falx successfully defended his Sprinters Stakes title to become the third horse in JRA history to win back-to-back titles in this race, after Sakura Bakushin O (1992-93) and Lord Kanaloa (2012-13). Third in the spring version of the JRA-sprint G1, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, the son of Swept Overboard then competed strongly when stepping up to a mile in the Yasuda Kinen, finishing just 0.1 second behind the winner in third.

Raced twice as a two-year-old, Red Falx broke his maiden in his three-year-old debut and raced on both dirt and turf thereafter. In the first half of his five-year-old season he registered two wins—one at 1,200 meters and another at 1,400—out of seven starts on turf in addition to 4-1-1 out of nine dirt starts between 1,200 and 1,400 meters.

After a disappointing 10th-place finish on dirt in the Negishi Stakes earlier in the season, in July 2016 he scored his first grade-race victory on turf in the CBC Sho, his second challenge at grade-race level. Just three months later, he became a G1 winner in the 2016 Sprinters Stakes. Entered the third favorite, he traveled wide in mid-field and exerted a powerful late charge to out-finish Mikki Isle by a head. He concluded the season with a disappointing 12th in the Hong Kong Sprint but regained his form in 2017 to register two wins and two thirds out of five starts.

Gold Dream(JPN)

Video (Gold Dream)
February Stakes (G1 - English) Video

Age (Foaling)	4 (April 19, 2013)
Sex / Color	Colt / Bay
Sire	Gold Allure
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Mon Vert (French Deputy)
Owner	Katsumi Yoshida
Breeder	Northern Farm
Trainer	Osamu Hirata
Jockey	Mirco Demuro
Season Record / Earnings	5 starts, 2 wins / ¥ 203,138,000
Career Record / Earnings	13 starts, 6 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third / ¥ 302,134,000
Principal Wins in 2017	February Stakes (G1) Champions Cup (G1)

Gold Dream became only the third horse to capture JRA’s two dirt G1 races in the same season in during 2017, following Wing Arrow in 2000 and Transcend in 2011. He registered his first G1 title in his kick-off start in the February Stakes but was unsuccessful in the following three starts. Undeterred, the son of Gold Allure bounced back in the Champions Cup, where he was entered eighth favorite under Ryan Moore and produced an impressive late charge after racing near the rear to nail the leaders for a neck victory.

Gold Dream won his only start as a two-year-old, racing exclusively on dirt that year. In his three-year-old season, he continued to utilize his strong late charge to extend his winning streak to three in the Hyacinth Stakes against a quality field. Finishing second in the following Hyogo Championship, he promptly captured his first graded title in the Unicorn Stakes.

He was posted race favorite in the following Japan Dirt Derby but was unable to launch a serious threat, finishing 5-3/4 lengths behind the winner in third. Fresh out of a four-month break, the bay landed a runner-up effort in his first challenge against older horses in the Musashino Stakes, crossing the wire 1-1/4 lengths behind Tagano Tonnerre, who set a track record. He finished a disappointing 12th as second pick in the following Champions Cup.

Oju Chosan(JPN)

Video (Oju Chosan)
Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1) Video

Age (Foaling)	6 (April 3, 2011)
Sex / Color	Horse / Bay
Sire	Stay Gold
Dam (Sire of Dam)	Shadow Silhouette (Symboli Kris S)
Owner	Chosan Co., Ltd.
Breeder	Naoyoshi Nagayama
Trainer	Shoichiro Wada
Jockey	Shinichi Ishigami
Season Record / Earnings	4 starts, 4 wins / ¥ 215,729,000 (steeplechases only)
Career Record / Earnings	19 starts, 11 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third / ¥ 466,653,000 (steeplechases only)
Principal Wins in 2017	Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1) Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1) Tokyo High-Jump (J-G2) Hanshin Spring Jump (J-G2)

Oju Chosan continued to dominate steeplechase racing in 2017 with four wins in as many starts, including both J-G1 titles for the second successive year, making him JRA’s undisputed Best Steeplechase Horse for the second year running. Despite sustaining a chip fracture in his right pastern following a 3-1/2-length victory in the Nakayama Grand Jump in April, the six-year-old immediately returned to form in winning his comeback start in October. In the year-end Nakayama Daishogai, he shortened the record set by Symboli Montreux in 1991 by 1.1 seconds after a fierce duel with 2015 champion steeplechaser Up to Date. He also marked his unprecedented fourth consecutive J-G1 victory and eighth successive jump graded win.
Winless in two starts on the flat as a two-year-old, the son of Stay Gold was given a year break to restart his racing career over obstacles. He was last in a field of 14 in his jump race debut, but after changing hands to current trainer Shoichiro Wada he turned in a runner-up effort in January 2015 and then two consecutive wins two months later. Progressing well throughout the season, he finished fourth in his first grade-race challenge, the 2015 Tokyo Jump Stakes under Shinichi Ishigami, who has ridden in all his starts since. The pair added another win prior to their first J-G1 challenge, the 2015 Nakayama Daishogai, where the bay raced far behind in 12th but showed a good change of speed to improve to sixth at the wire.
Coming off a runner-up effort in March 2016, Oju Chosan was positioned in the first four as the second favorite in the Nakayama Grand Jump, then used his exceptional finishing speed to wear down the pace setter and fly past the leader in the last 100 meters to win by 3-1/2 lengths for his first title at the highest level. He then extended his winning streak to four in the Nakayama Daishogai to become only the second horse besides Up to Date in 2015 to claim both J-G1 titles in the same year, helping to make him the unanimous choice for Best Steeplechase Horse of 2016.