The Gaijin Heads to Hokkaido

I have arrived and settled into base camp at Darley Japan. Located in Japan's horse capital, Hokkaido, Sheikh Mohammed's operation consists of five farms around the town of Hidaka on the southernmost part of the island. Cherry He and my days here so far have been spent on the farm rotating through work with the various divisions and spending time with the managers, vets, and farrier. I spent a quiet week with the yearlings, who are enjoying their time out in the paddocks. The yearling barns are right on the coast and one of the highlights of the day is bringing in horses and looking out onto the Pacific Ocean. The breeding season is winding down, but I have been attending every cover at the Darley Japan shed where they stand five stallions: Admire Moon, Furioso, King's Best, Monterosso, and Pyro. Similar to Europe, foals travel with their mares to the shed. After the covers are finished, I continue with the regular schedule of working with broodmares and foals.

Last week, I accompanied William Balding, Madoka Kamei, and Willie Brogan to several breaking and pre-training operations in the area that have Darley two year-olds. These facilities will work the young horses up to fitness until the time they are ready to ship to their allocated trainer. The first two year-old races only just took place the week after the Tokyo Derby, so juveniles are not pushed to race too quickly-giving them time to develop and lay down bone before being asked to go through high-speed work. The use of uphill gallops is widespread throughout Japan. In Hokkaido, most pre-training farms will have a covered gallop and uphill to shelter it from the harsh winters in the area. They experience significant snowfall and cover the gallops to mitigate freezing in the winter.

The following day, we took an hour and a half drive along the coast to Urakawa to the Bloodhorse Training Center where we inspected more Darley two-year-olds. The training center was beautifully nestled in the mountains and made for a spectacular backdrop. We first visited Yoshizawa Stables, one of the larger pre-training stables. I was very impressed with how organized the morning was down to the Darley horses wearing yellow polo wraps so we could identify them. The horses jogged and warmed-up in a covered ride by the stables before crossing the road to the BTC training grounds where they went in groups of threes up the three-furlong uphill gallop. There was a viewing area at the bottom of the gallop with several television screens showing different segments of the uphill, as well as a screen that showed the sectional times.

Willie Brogan informed me that I should make a point of trying a Japanese haircut while I am here and, at first, I thought he was subtly telling me that I needed a trim until he explained that it is quite the experience. I walked into the barbershop with some reservations about communicating instructions to the hairdresser. These concerns increased almost immediately when a book filled with pictures of hairstyles was laid on my lap. I nervously selected the photo that most closely resembled my traditional “crew cut,” sat back and told myself that, no matter the outcome, it would grow back. I quickly became aware that there is much more service included in a Japanese haircut than running some clippers over you. After the bulk of the scissor work was done, I was given a head massage followed by a shampoo and rinse. Then I was treated to a back and neck massage and I nearly fell asleep a number of times. Following the massage, I was given a hot towel and straight shave. All in all, the haircut took an hour and a half and, needless to say, it blew my usual $14, 15-minute trim out of the water. For 3,000 yen, around $30, it was worth every bit of it and I was amazed at the amount of service and value in the experience. I walked out of there feeling like a crisp hundred dollar bill with a sharp and satisfactory haircut.

When it comes to the Japanese cuisine, I have adopted the philosophy of try everything first before asking what it is I am eating. Although I was initially nervous about the fare, the food has been fantastic. Given that Hidaka is right on the coast, the seafood is spectacular. One of my favorite restaurants has been a small sushi restaurant near the town of Atsuga right by the ocean. Sushi here is far from the standard “dragon” and “volcano” rolls on western sushi menus, but rather mostly nigiri–placing the emphasis on the flavor and freshness of the fish. Another one of my favorite meals here in Hokkaido has been at a small, smoky Japanese barbeque and steakhouse. The restaurant had two small tables and an L-shaped bar that, in total, could seat 14 people max capacity. Platters of marinated meat was placed before us and we were given a small coal burning grill to cook the meat on along with a bowl of rice and vegetables to cook on the grill. Hokkaido is also known for its Wagu beef and the beef from this restaurant melted in your mouth.

Next we are going racing at Hakodate ahead of my week at Paca Paca Farm. I am looking forward seeing how horses are prepped ahead of Japan's premier foal and yearling sale in July. Japan continues to exceed my expectations at every turn, and I am grateful for this amazing opportunity.