Susumu Fujita

Japanese and American champion Forever Young will target either the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on dirt in September or the G1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on turf that same month, according to connections. Depending on which path the son of Real Steel takes, his long-term goal is either an attempt to win the GI Breeders' Cup Classic for a second time and become the second dual winner after Tiznow, or take in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in early October. No Japanese horse...

Jockey Ryusei Sakai, who rode Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) to a narrow third-place effort in the 2024 GI Kentucky Derby and has since piloted him to four top-level victories, has picked up the ride on G2 UAE Derby winner Wonder Dean (Jpn) (Dee Majesty {Jpn}) for this year's Run to the Roses on May 2, NetKeiba reported Saturday. Sakai, who turns 29 on May 31, will also renew his partnership with Forever Young owner Susumu Fujita's Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf...

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 Kyoto Racecourse: Saturday, January 17, 2026 6th-KYO, ¥15,200,000 ($96k), Allowance, 3yo, 1800m BOOM BAP BEAT (c, 3, Into Mischief--Point of Honor, by Curlin), a $1.25-million Keeneland September acquisition for owner Susumu Fujita, has acquitted himself well in his two previous...

Susumu Fujita's Shin Emperor has been ruled out of the upcoming G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe next month due to a respiratory illness, trainer Yoshito Yahagi posted on X. A Group 2 winner in Saudi Arabia and a Group 3 winner in Japan, the full-brother to 2020 Arc hero Sottsass will target the G1 Japan Cup in November, a race he finished second in last year. Third in the 2024 G1 Irish Champion Stakes, he ran sixth in the 2025 edition of the race. The post read, "Shin Emperor...

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 weekend running at Chukyo and Niigata Racecourses: Saturday, August 2, 2025 8th-CKO, ¥29,890,000 ($203k), Allowance, 3yo/up, 1200m T O ELVIS (c, 3, Volatile--Stopshoppingdebbie, by Curlin), a good third to the very talented Natural Rise (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) in the Cattleya Stakes (allowance) at...

HOKKAIDO, Japan -- "I expected it would be lively," said Katsumi Yoshida, in what may have been the understatement of the day at the conclusion of the yearling section of the JRHA Select Sale. Even by its own lofty standards, Japan's premier sale of bloodstock managed to raise the bar higher still, with only two of the 227 yearlings to pass through the ring on Monday failing to find a buyer. A 99 per cent clearance rate would be the envy of any sales house, and with the turnover of...

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 Sunday and Monday running at Chukyo Racecourse: Sunday, January 5, 2025 3rd-CKO, ¥10,600,000 ($67k), Maiden, 3yo, 1900m HUG (JPN) (c, 3, Justify--Fleet Bertie, by Afleet Alex) made a single visit to the races as a 2-year-old, finishing a good second over 1800 meters...

Twice a winner at group level on foreign soil and placed in two of America's greatest races in 2024, Susumu Fujita's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) patched the one hole that existed in an already remarkable career, coming from just off the speed before proving comfortably best in a high-class renewal of the G1 Toyko Daishoten at Ohi Racecourse. In defeating the consistent Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) and fellow 3-year-old Ramjet (Jpn) (Majestic Warrior), the son of US Grade II winner Forever Darling (Congrats) was succeeding for...

Favoured at 90 cents on the dollar, Eri King (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) ran to the money, winning the G3 Radio Nikkei Hai Kyoto Nisai Stakes at Kyoto on Saturday by 1 1/4 lengths over the closing Giovanni (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}). Claudiai (Jpn) (Saturnalia {Jpn}) was third, another length behind. Breaking widest of all in stall eight, the near-black colt soon found himself punching the breeze out by his lonesome in a tracking fifth as Water Clark (Jpn) (Water Build {Jpn}) showed the way into the right-handed bend. The pace was...

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 Niigata and Sapporo Racecourses. Horses of interest for Sunday's program at Niigata will appear in Saturday's TDN: Saturday, August 3, 2024 3rd-NII, ¥13,720,000 ($92k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m SHIN BELIEVE (c, 2, Constitution--Sand Puce {Arg}, by Footstepsinthesand {GB}) was bought back...

Veni, vidi, vici. He came, he saw, he conquered. Like Julius Caesar, Susumu Fujita's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}--Forever Darling, by Congrats) came prepared for battle and lived up to the hype, stamping himself as a potential superstar and giving Japan a third consecutive victory--and fourth since 2016--in the $1-million G2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse on Dubai World Cup Day. The pacesetter Auto Bahn (Arg) (Asiatic Boy {Arg}) held second, while the sole U.S. representative, Pandagate (Arrogate), was third. The UAE Derby offers GI Kentucky Derby points on...

[tdn-newsletter-embed]Three of the four previous runnings of the $1.5-million G3 Boutique Group Saudi Derby had been decided by less than a length, including a them-versus-us showdown last year when the locally based Commissioner King (Commissioner) outlasted America's Havnameltdown (Uncaptured) by a head in a real war of attrition. Susumu Fujita's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) had been the recipient of as much lip service as any horse on the grounds in Riyadh over the past several days, his latest seven-length romp in the Listed Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun stamping him...