Equinox

A glittering cast has been assembled for the Japan Racing Horse Association Select Sale with 270 yearlings and 252 foals listed for the two-day showpiece which takes place at Northern Horse Park between July 13 and 14. The biggest catalogue in recent years features 14 yearlings by the six-time Group 1 winner Equinox as well as three foals by Coolmore's Auguste Rodin.  Forever Young, who was handed an entry in this year's Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe last week, is the poster boy for the sale.  There are also...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Saturday running at Tokyo Racecourse: Saturday, May 2, 2026 9th-TOK, ¥35,570,000 ($227k), Allowance, 4yo/up, 2100m REALIZE CAMION (JPN) (c, 4, American Pharoah--Spiced Perfection, by Smiling Tiger) has amassed a record of 3-1-0 from five starts to date and makes his first start since...

HOKKAIDO, Japan -- Via a select bunch of his first foals, Equinox made a JRHA Select Sale debut every bit as explosive as his killer turn of foot on the track, with 23 of his youngsters sold for an average of ¥155m ($1.04m/€897,450). As widely tipped, the group was led by the colt out of Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), a champion herself on the dirt of America, and the first winner of the world's most valuable race, the Saudi Cup. She had herself topped the Keeneland November Sale of 2022...

HOKKAIDO, Japan -- At the Shadai Stallion Station, it's not so much a changing of the guard, more a succession plan. In 2023, the late Duramente caused a temporary break in the passing of the baton from Sunday Silence to Deep Impact to Kizuna. But that was rectified last year, and Kizuna is now the reigning champion sire of Japan. He only has to achieve that 10 more times to match the reign of his father, or 12 to equal Sunday Silence's long run of championships. Signs were promising from...

HOKKAIDO, Japan -- At Northern Horse Park, one of the great tourist attractions of Hokkaido, the next few days will be all business.  Japan's most prestigious bloodstock auction, the JRHA Select Sale, springs back to action with a session of yearlings on Monday, but what many observers will be waiting to see is the reception given to the first foals of world champion Equinox.  Twenty-five of his debut crop are set to sell on Tuesday, including a colt from American champion dirt mare Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute). His reserve, which...

This year's JRHA Select Sale is set to feature 25 foals from the first crop of Equinox, the world's top-rated horse of 2023 who retired to Shadai Stallion Station for a record fee for a freshman sire. The yearling session on Monday, July 14, features 233 lots, followed by the next day's sale of 251 foals, which, uniquely, are offered alongside their dams before being weaned. The action takes places at Northern Horse Park in Hokkaido.  The Equinox youngsters include colts out of the G1 Oka Sho winner Reine Minoru...

HOKKAIDO, Japan-"The world is getting smaller," MV Magnier remarked when discussing some of the pedigrees on offer at this year's JRHA Select Sale, and so it proved when a Kitasan Black (Jpn) colt out of the multiple Group-1 placed Galileo (Ire) mare Delphinia (Ire) set a new record at ¥590 million [roughly €3.34 million] for the highest-priced yearling ever sold at the premier Japanese sale.   It was Rodeo Japan-a guise for an anonymous Japanese owner-who came out on top in the bidding war for lot 100, who boasts a strong...

HOKKAIDO, Japan-One thing the Japanese breeders are not short on is patience. It is here where the middle-distance horse is truly admired and cultivated arguably better than any other racing nation.  That patience will come in handy, according to Shadai Stallion Station's Naohiro Hosoda, when it comes to getting the best out of Equinox (Jpn) at stud.  Officially the best horse that the county has ever produced, having retired with a rating of 135 following a four-length triumph in the Japan Cup, Equinox is arguably the most exciting addition to...

The Longines World Racing Awards were held in London last week, but it could just as easily have been in Tokyo, such was the level of support from visitors from Japan. It is easy to understand why. For as well as this event being in part a coronation for Equinox (Jpn), the best horse in the world in 2023, it was also the first time in the 43-year history of the G1 Japan Cup that it was awarded the accolade of the Longines World's Best Horse Race. The line-up for...

LONDON, UK -- Japan stole the show at the Longines World Racing Awards in London, with Silk Racing's Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) named the Longines World's Best Racehorse for 2023 while the G1 Japan Cup claimed the title of Longines World's Best Horse Race. The top-rated three-year-old filly in the world was Japan's Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}). Equinox's top rating of 135 - the highest ever awarded to a Japanese horse - was achieved in his four-length romp in the Japan Cup, his final appearance...

I wish I had met Paul Mellon. He does seem to have been a rather good egg. Mill Reef was born the year before me and though I wasn't precocious enough to have enjoyed his racing career live, for some reason, since I started taking a serious interest in racing, he has long been one of my favourite horses. I think a lot of it has to do with Mellon himself.  Can you imagine a modern-day Gimcrack-winning owner writing a poem about his horse, as Mellon did for Mill Reef...

Japan's Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) has been named Horse Of The Year by Timeform--besting G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Ace Impact (Ire) (Cracksman {GB}) and GI Breeders' Cup Turf winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn})--in the inaugural Timeform Awards, it was announced Wednesday. Trained by Tetsuya Kimura, the colt earned a 136 rating in his career finale in the G1 Japan Cup. Equinox, who also stood atop of the Leading Male 3yo/up category, also garnered the Champion Of The Rest Of The World award, ahead of...