2014 NAR Grand Prix

2014 NAR
Grand Prix Awards

RACEHORSES

Summit Stone

  • Horse of the Year
  • Best Thoroughbred Older Colt

Summit Stone

  • Horse of the Year
  • Best Thoroughbred Older Colt

Jajauma Narashi

  • Best Thoroughbred 2-Year-Old Colt

Jajauma Narashi

  • Best Thoroughbred 2-Year-Old Colt

Lalabel

  • Best Thoroughbred 2-Year-Old Filly

Lalabel

  • Best Thoroughbred 2-Year-Old Filly

Happy Sprint

  • Best Thoroughbred 3-Year-Old Colt

Happy Sprint

  • Best Thoroughbred 3-Year-Old Colt

Toko Nike

  • Best Thoroughbred 3-Year-Old Filly

Toko Nike

  • Best Thoroughbred 3-Year-Old Filly

Pitch Shifter

  • Best Thoroughbred Older Filly or Mare

Pitch Shifter

  • Best Thoroughbred Older Filly or Mare

Infinity

  • Best Ban-ei (Draft) Horse

Infinity

  • Best Ban-ei (Draft) Horse

Satono Tiger

  • Best Thoroughbred Sprinter or Miler

Satono Tiger

  • Best Thoroughbred Sprinter or Miler

Pray and Real

  • Best Thoroughbred Turf Horse

Pray and Real

  • Best Thoroughbred Turf Horse

Hokko Tarumae

  • Dirt Grade (Principal Dirt) Race Special Prize

Hokko Tarumae

  • Dirt Grade (Principal Dirt) Race Special Prize

Raiden Leader

  • Special Award

Raiden Leader

  • Special Award

Adjudicating

  • Special Award

Adjudicating

  • Special Award

TRAINERS &JOCKEYS

Masamitsu Saika

  • Best Trainer (Races Won)

Masamitsu Saika

  • Best Trainer (Races Won)

Satoshi Kokubo

  • Best Trainer (Money Earned)

Satoshi Kokubo

  • Best Trainer (Money Earned)

Tsuyoshi Kawanishi

  • Best Trainer (Winning Average)

Tsuyoshi Kawanishi

  • Best Trainer (Winning Average)

Manabu Tanaka

  • Best Jockey (Races Won)

Manabu Tanaka

  • Best Jockey (Races Won)

Norifumi Mikamoto

  • Best Jockey (Money Earned)

Norifumi Mikamoto

  • Best Jockey (Money Earned)

Isao Yamaguchi

  • Best Jockey (Winning Average)

Isao Yamaguchi

  • Best Jockey (Winning Average)

Ikuyasu Kurakane

  • Grand Prize Jockey

Ikuyasu Kurakane

  • Grand Prize Jockey

Yamato Ishikawa

  • Best Apprentice Jockey

Yamato Ishikawa

  • Best Apprentice Jockey

Chiaki Iwanaga

  • Best Female Jockey

Chiaki Iwanaga

  • Best Female Jockey

Takeshi Kimura

  • Best Fair Play Jockey

Takeshi Kimura

  • Best Fair Play Jockey

Kazuo Okawara

  • Special Award

Kazuo Okawara

  • Special Award

Takeshi Kimura

  • Special Award

Takeshi Kimura

  • Special Award

Maki Mukoyama

  • Special Award

Maki Mukoyama

  • Special Award

Masayuki Kawashima

  • Special Award

Masayuki Kawashima

  • Special Award

Katsuhiko Yoshida

  • Special Award

Katsuhiko Yoshida

  • Special Award

NAR Grand Prix 2014 Winners Announced; Summit Stone awarded Horse of the Year

The National Association of Racing (NAR), the national level regulatory body for the Racing by Local Governments in Japan, has announced the 2014 NAR Grand Prix Awards for the year’s outstanding horses, trainers, jockeys, and others within the industry.

Winning Horses

Horse of the Year was Summit Stone, winner of the Urawa Kinen and top finisher from among NAR-registered horses in the Tokyo Daishoten (G1). The 6-year-old, Funabashi-based Summit Stone turned in a gallant performance to finish third in the Tokyo Daishoten. He is trained by Yoshiyuki Yano. Summit Stone was also awarded Best Thoroughbred Older Colt or Horse.

Summit Stone (JPN)

6-y-o horse

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) Roses in May / Taiki Applause (Devil’s Bag)
Owner Goichi Kawasaki
Trainer Yoshiyuki Yano (Funabashi)
Wins / Starts in 2014 3 / 10
Career Wins / Starts 14 / 46 (including 4 / 27 JRA)
Principal Wins in 2014

Best Thoroughbred 2-Year-Old Colt went to Jajauma Narashi, who won the principal dirt race the Hyogo Junior Grand Prix. Jajauma Narashi is trained by Satoshi Kokubo and is based at Urawa.

Jajauma Narashi (JPN)

2-y-o colt

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) Asakusa Den’en / Silk Juliet (Marvelous Sunday)
Owner Eriko Ueda
Trainer Satoshi Kokubo (Urawa)
Wins / Starts in 2014 4 / 9 (including 0 / 1 JRA)
Career Wins / Starts 4 / 9 (including 0 / 1 JRA)
Principal Wins in 2014

Best Thoroughbred 2-Year-Old Filly was awarded the Oi-based, Katsunori Arayama-trained Lalabel, who won both the Laurel Sho for select NAR-registered horses and the Tokyo Nisai Yushun Himba.

Lalabel (JPN)

2-y-o filly

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) Gold Allure / Breezy Woods (Timber Country)
Owner Teruya Yoshida
Trainer Katsunori Arayama (Oi)
Wins / Starts in 2014 3 / 4
Career Wins / Starts 3 / 4
Principal Wins in 2014 Laurel Sho
Tokyo Nisai Yushun Himba

Best Thoroughbred 3-Year-Old Colt was won by Happy Sprint, an Oi-based colt trained by Junpei Morishita. Happy Sprint captured two jewels of the southern Kanto region, the Haneda Hai and the Tokyo Derby and just missed out on the winner’s circle by a nose as runnerup in the Japan Dirt Derby.

Happy Sprint (JPN)

3-y-o colt

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) Ammirare / Margone (Dayjur)
Owner Tsuji Bokujo
Trainer Junpei Morishita (Oi)
Wins / Starts in 2014 3 / 6
Career Wins / Starts 8 / 13 (including 0 / 2 JRA)
Principal Wins in 2014 Haneda Hai
Tokyo Derby

Toko Nike was named Best Thoroughbred 3-Year-Old Filly. Toko Nike is based in Hyogo and trained by Tatsuho Yoshiyuki. The filly topped, as second-place finisher, the NAR-registered runners in the Kanto Oaks, a principal dirt race for 3-year-old fillies and part of the Grandame-Japan, a series of principal races for females.

Toko Nike (JPN)

3-y-o filly

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) King Kamehameha / Narita Flora (Sunday Silence)
Owner Toji Morita
Trainer Tatsuho Yoshiyuki (Hyogo)
Wins / Starts in 2014 5 / 9
Career Wins / Starts 7 / 17

Best Thoroughbred Older Filly or Mare went to Pitch Shifter, a 4-year-old filly trained by the Aichi-based Tsuyoshi Kawanishi. In addition to winning three principal races, Pitch Shifter also turned in fine showings against male runners in two principal dirt races. She turned in a second-place finish the Summer Champion and a fourth in the Kakitsubata Kinen.

Pitch Shifter (JPN)

4-y-o filly

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) Suzuka Mambo / Sandy Sifter (Crafty Prospector)
Owner Grand Bokujo Co. Ltd.
Trainer Tsuyoshi Kawanishi (Aichi)
Wins / Starts in 2014 4 / 9
Career Wins / Starts 12 / 30 (including 0 / 2 JRA)

Best Ban-ei (Draft) Horse was awarded Infinity, an 8-year-old trained by Isami Kaneta. Infinity won Ban-ei racing’s pinnacle event, the Ban-ei Kinen, as well as the principal race Dream Age Cup.

Infinity (JPN)

8-y-o horse

Owner Tetsuo Komai
Trainer Isami Kaneta (Ban-ei)
Wins / Starts in 2014 2 / 27
Career Wins / Starts 34 / 256
Principal Wins in 2014 Ban-ei Kinen
Dream Age Cup

Satono Tiger, a 6-year-old trained by the Urawa-based Satoshi Kokubo, was named Best Thoroughbred Sprinter or Miler. Satono Tiger shone in short-distance events with a second-place run that tied the winner's time of 1 minute 9 seconds in the JBC Sprint, the pinnacle of dirt sprint racing, and a second-place in the JRA G3 Capella Stakes.

Satono Tiger

6-y-o horse

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) King Kamehameha / Fabulous Turn (Sunday Silence)
Owner Hajime Satomi
Trainer Satoshi Kokubo (Urawa)
Wins / Starts in 2014 2 / 9 (including 0 / 2 JRA)
Career Wins / Starts 7 / 34 (including 5 / 29 JRA)
Principal Wins in 2014

Pray and Real won Best Thoroughbred Turf Horse for the second year in a row after last year becoming the first NAR-registered horse since Heart of Queen in 2007 to be recognized with the award. The 3-year-old, Hiroaki Kawazu-trained Pray and Real of Kawasaki captured the JRA’s turf G3 Keisei Hai

Pray and Real (JPN)

3-y-o colt

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) Durandal / Silk Venus (Timber Country)
Owner Shigeyuki Okada
Trainer Hiroaki Kawazu (Kawasaki)
Wins / Starts in 2014 1 / 1 (including 1 / 1 JRA)
Career Wins / Starts 3 / 5 (including 1 / 3 JRA)
Principal Wins in 2014

Dirt Grade (Principal Dirt) Race Special Prize went to Hokko Tarumae for the second year in a row. The 5-year-old Hokko Tarumae notched the Kawasaki Kinen, as well as the Tokyo Daishoten (G1). The JRA-registered Hokko Tarumae is trained by Katsuichi Nishiura and is based at Ritto Training Center.

Hokko Tarumae (JPN)

5-y-o horse

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) King Kamehameha / Madam Cherokee (Cherokee Run)
Owner Michiaki Yabe
Trainer Katsuichi Nishiura (JRA Ritto Training Center)
Wins / Starts in 2014 3 / 5 (including 1 / 2 JRA)
Career Wins / Starts 14 / 27 (including 6 / 16 JRA)
Principal Wins in 2014

Special Awards went to Raiden Leader and Adjudicating. Raiden Leader won the JRA’s Hochi Hai Yonsai Himba Tokubetsu in 1995, the year the JRA and the NAR began regular exchange races between the two bodies. Afterward, Raiden Leader, as the first NAR-registered horse to run in a JRA classic race, went on to finish fourth in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and became a significant presence and symbol of the JRA-NAR exchange. The U.S.-bred Adjudicating was also recognized. Adjudicating ruled as top sire for NAR-registered horses for eight years in a row from 2001 and produced many champions of NAR racing, including Adjudi Mitsuo, five-time winner of top-class races.

Raiden Leader (JPN)

horse, born in 1992

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) Wakao Raiden / Hikari Leader (Neptunus)

Adjudicating (USA)

horse, born in 1987

Sire / Dam (Sire of Dam) Danzig / Resolver (Reviewer)

Note: Horse ages are for 2014

Winning Trainers and Jockeys

For the fourth year in a row, Best Trainer (Races Won) went to Masamitsu Saika, who saddled 235 winners. The Urawa-based Satoshi Kokubo, who topped the earnings list with some 530 million yen to his name, won his first Best Trainer (Money Earned). The Aichi-based Tsuyoshi Kawanishi was recognized as Best Trainer (Winning Average) for his win average of 38.8 percent. Kawanishi received the award for the third time and the first time in two years.

There was no recipient of the Grand Prize Trainer award.

Best Jockey (Races Won) went to Manabu Tanaka. The Hyogo-based jockey received the award for the first time after bringing home 276 winners. Norifumi Mikamoto raked in the earnings and Best Jockey (Money Earned) award for the second time and the second year in a row. The Oi-based Mikamoto earned 710 million yen. Best Jockey (Winning Average) was bestowed upon Isao Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi, based at Saga, also won the award for his second time and for successive years. Yamaguchi had a win rate of 28.1 percent.

Ikuyasu Kurakane was named Grand Prize Jockey. Kurakane, who has ridden at the Korea Racing Authority-run Seoul Race Park since April 2013, became the first foreign rider to notch 100 wins in a year. Kurakane, who hails from Kochi, rode 101 winners from 679 mounts and was named champion jockey of 2014 at Seoul Race Park.

Best Apprentice Jockey went to Yamato Ishikawa, who was, in only the second year of his career, ranked No. 5 among Hokkaido jockeys after having notched 57 wins, including two wins of principal races.

Best Female Jockey was won by Chiaki Iwanaga of Saga for having brought home the winners of 53 races.

Takeshi Kimura of Hyogo was named Best Fair Play Jockey for the second year straight.

Special Awards for 2014 were bestowed on three jockeys who last year reached career totals of 3,000 wins in NAR racing each - Ban-ei racing’s Kazuo Okawara, Hyogo’s Takeshi Kimura and Maki Mukoyama of Kasamatsu. Also recognized with Special Awards were racing announcer Katsuhiko Yoshida and the late trainer Masayuki Kawashima. The Funabashi-based Kawashima, long a driving force in NAR racing, died last September. He had notched a career total of 139 wins of principal races and had amassed earnings of nearly 8.99 billion yen (both NAR records). Yoshida was the first person in 21 years, other than those directly connected to a stable or farm, to be recognized with a Special Award, and the first person since writer Hitomi Yamaguchi won in 1993. Yoshida, a track announcer for Sonoda and Himeji racing, was recognized by Guinness World Records on May 27 of last year as having the longest career as a race track announcer (from Dec. 1, 1955 to May 27, 2014).

* Note: Ban-ei (Draft) races: run by "heavy" horses such as the sturdy Percherons, Bretons and Belgians. Ban-ei Horses pull a sleigh weighing any where from 1,000 pounds to one ton, along a 200-meter separated straight track over two small hills, which are located along the course.