Guided to victory on the front end by jockey Katsumi Ando, favored Daiwa Scarlet became the first female winner of the Arima Kinen (Jpn-I) in 37 years before a crowd of 110,000 at Nakayama Race Course in Japan Dec. 28.
Front-running Eishin Deputy held off favored Meisho Samson by a head to win the $2.4 million Takarazuka Kinen at Osaka's Hanshin Racecourse June 29 in the final grade I race on the Japanese Racing Association spring calendar.
Admire Jupiter, one of four horses entered by owner Riichi Kondo, held off defending champion Meisho Samson by a head to win the US$2.4 million Tenno Sho (Spring) before 81,760 at Kyoto Racecourse May 4.
Admire Moon, winner of three grade I races in his final season, was presented Jan. 28 with the Japan Racing Association's top honor of Horse of the Year, as well as older male.
Admire Moon took the lead at the top of the stretch, and then hung on bravely while three rivals challenged from his outside, taking the $4.6-million Japan Cup (Jpn-I) by a head on Nov. 25 at Tokyo Racecourse.
Favored Meisho Samson avoided traffic problems in the straight that compromised several leading contenders and drew away late for a 2 1/2-length victory in the 136th running of the US$2.45 million Tenno Sho (Jpn-I) Oct. 28 at Tokyo Race Course.
International traveler Admire Moon earned his first group I victory on Japanese soil Sunday when he defeated an outstanding field in the 48th Takarazuka Kinen by a half-length at Hanshin Race Course.
Meisho Samson, Japan's 3-year-old colt of the year in 2006, showed that he was back to his best with a hard fought nose victory in Sunday's Tenno Sho (Spring) (Jpn-I) contested over 3,200 meters at Kyoto racecourse.
Deep Impact collected 287 of a possible 289 (97.9%) total votes in winning the 2006 Japanese Racing Association's Horse of the Year Award for the second year in a row.
Deep Impact demolished a field of Japan's best horses to record his seventh grade I win and end his career on a tremendous high in the Arima Kinen Sunday over 2,500 meters at Nakayama racecourse.
Japanese Horse of the Year Deep Impact makes the final start of his career in Sunday's Arima Kinen (Jpn-I), the nation's biggest race and the only one Deep Impact has lost on his home soil.
Japanese Horse of the Year Deep Impact makes the final start of his career in Sunday's Arima Kinen (Jpn-I), the nation's biggest race and the only one Deep Impact has lost on his home soil.
