2021 Japanese Racing

[mariasmon]

Good to see Drefong doing so well. Thanks for posting the list.

I'm also glad to see Drefong is off to a good start at stud. Do you expect will have a strong book of mares for 2022, @tachyon?

[tachyon]

Good to see Drefong doing so well. Thanks for posting the list.

I'm also glad to see Drefong is off to a good start at stud. Do you expect will have a strong book of mares for 2022, @tachyon?

Drefong(USA) started his stud career at Shadai with a fee of JPY 3,000,000- in 2018.
But with his first crop beating the expectations this year, his fee jumped up to JP¥ 7,000,000- for the 2022 breeding season and he has already been fully booked.
He is currently the 5th in the JRA Two-Year-Olds Sires ranking.
And he is going to be the outright winner in the JRA First Season Sires ranking this year!!
I'm sure that he will enjoy a stronger book of mares next year.

[tachyon]

NAKAYAMA 11R

THE ARIMA KINEN (THE GRAND PRIX)(G1)

December 26, 2021, 2500m, Turf, Post time 15:25
INT DSN, Special Weight, 3-Year-Olds & Up, Open Class, Value of race: 570,000,000 Yen



-- preview
https://japanracing.jp/_news2021/211221.html

Ouch! Titleholder drew the extreme outside.
Likely favorites Chrono Genesis and Efforia are in good barriers.

[tachyon]

Pixie Knight had a long surgery on Dec 22nd.
JRA has officially announced that Pixie Knight had a plate fracture in his radial carpal bone.
So it sounds like his injury was a bit more serious than what was thought as he left Hong Kong.
A big bone chip was fixed with a bolt. Smaller chips were removed.
They say it was a rare operation and will take considerable time for recovery.

[tachyon]

The Arima Kinen photo paddock --- win odds as of 17:30

Efforia 3/2


Chrono Genesis 2/1


Stella Veloce 8/1


Titleholder 8/1


Deep Bond 18/1


Kiseki 21/1


Akai Ito 21/1


Aristoteles 28/1


Pantalassa 32/1
Asamano Itazura 35/1
Win Kiitos 50/1
Persian Knight 51/1
Melody Lane 74/1
Mozu Bello 95/1
Shadow Diva 97/1
You Can Smile 98/1

[Ziggypop]

Thank you Tachyon. I love seeing the pictures.

[tachyon]

Thank you Tachyon. I love seeing the pictures.

Thank you Ziggypop.
I thought it was fun to see a variety of colors and shapes of the Arima Kinen starters.
It's a bit shame that we don't see any chestnut this year, though.

Panthalassa 32/1


Asamano Itazura 35/1


Win Kiitos 50/1


Persian Knight 51/1


Melody Lane 74/1


Mozu Bello 95/1


Shadow Diva 97/1


You Can Smile 98/1

[mariasmon]

Efforia

[Tessablue]

Watching the feed and I think Melody Lane is the tiniest racehorse I've ever seen. She's adorable!

[tachyon]

Efforia is the champion!!!

[tachyon]

-- replay (Japanese)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L1ok43IN6g
-- replay (English)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwWc962ZUs8
1st 10 Efforia(JPN) [Epiphaneia(JPN) x Katies Heart(JPN) by Heart's Cry(JPN)] C3 55 02:32.0
2nd 5 Deep Bond(JPN) [Kizuna(JPN) x Zephyranthes(JPN) by King Halo(JPN)] C4 57 02:32.1 3/4
3rd 7 Chrono Genesis(JPN) [Bago(FR) x Chronologist(JPN) by Kurofune(USA)] M5 55 02:32.2 1/2
4th 9 Stella Veloce(JPN) C3 55 02:32.3 1/2
5th 16 Titleholder(JPN) C3 55 02:32.5 1 1/2
6th 11 Aristoteles(JPN) C4 57 02:33.0 3
7th 13 Akai Ito(JPN) F4 55 02:33.1 1/2
8th 3 Mozu Bello(JPN) H5 57 02:33.5 2 1/2
9th 8 You Can Smile(JPN) H6 57 02:33.6 1/2
10th 15 Kiseki(JPN) H7 57 02:33.6 NK
11th 6 Win Kiitos(JPN) F4 55 02:34.3 4
12th 12 Shadow Diva(JPN) M5 55 02:34.3 NS
13th 2 Panthalassa(JPN) C4 57 02:34.4 1/2
14th 1 Persian Knight(JPN) H7 57 02:34.6 3/4
15th 4 Melody Lane(JPN) M5 55 02:35.2 3 1/2
16th 14 Asamano Itazura(JPN) C3 55 02:35.4 1 1/4

Efforia(JPN)
https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0001266977/
7: 6-1-0

Chrono Genesis will have her retirement ceremony in an hour at Nakayama.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHgAYEyq2d8 (live feed)

[Palace Malice]

Efforia is a beast

I hope they retire Persian Knight and Kiseki, they did enough and are not performing as well as they did in the past.

[tachyon]

Efforia is a beast

I hope they retire Persian Knight and Kiseki, they did enough and are not performing as well as they did in the past.

I believe that Efforia will be voted the Horse of the Year.
He is going to be the first 3yo colt to win the most prestigious award in Japan since Orfevre in 2011.
I really look forward to seeing his 4yo campaign next year.
Chrono Genesis failed to become the first horse to win four consecutive Grand Prix G1 races (Takarazuka Kinen and Arima Kinen).
But I thought she ran great in her finale and she would be remembered as one of the toughest Japanese middle-distance mares all time.
Kiseki ran his final race today, too, to retire to stud.
We don't know yet about Persian Knight's future plan.

[tachyon]

Efforia and Takeshi Yokoyama




Thank you & sayonara Chrono Genesis!!

[Starine]

Efforia ran a great race, though I admit I was hoping Chrono Genesis would go out a winner. Have they announced who she will be bred to?

[tachyon]

Have they announced who she will be bred to?

Fumihiko Nakajima, General Manager of Northern Farm, said yesterday; ''Well, her partner will be decided in the morning of the mating day.''
I think that Epiphaneia is mostly likely. The son of Cesario seems ready to take all next year.
But I wouldn't be surprised if Katsumi Yoshida picks up the freshman Contrail to give him a boost.

Epiphaneia x Chrono Genesis
https://www.jbis.jp/topics/simulation/r ... ?x=44&y=15
Inbreeding -- [Sunday Silence(USA) : S4×M4] [ Northern Dancer(CAN) : S5×M5] [Mr. Prospector(USA) : M5×M5]

Contrail x Chronno Genesis
https://www.jbis.jp/topics/simulation/r ... ?x=34&y=25
Inbreeding -- [Sunday Silence(USA) : S3×M4] [Highclere(GB) : S5×M5] [Mr. Prospector(USA) : M5×M5]

Which do you like?

[Starine]

I like Contrail, but I will always favor Epiphaneia because he's the the son of two old favorites, Symboli Kris S and Cesario.

[Missbeholder]

I like Contrail, but I will always favor Epiphaneia because he's the the son of two old favorites, Symboli Kris S and Cesario.

Could someone (Tachyon or anybody else) attempt to give me a phonetic dictionary-style pronunciation of this name? My guess is that it would be E-pi-fan-nay-a, with the main accent on the 4th syllable (nay). My pronunciation might be anglicized too much though, so I'd really like to know, if possible. I'm interested in this stallion, and would really like to be able to say his name correctly. TIA!

[CorridorZ75]

I like Contrail, but I will always favor Epiphaneia because he's the the son of two old favorites, Symboli Kris S and Cesario.

Could someone (Tachyon or anybody else) attempt to give me a phonetic dictionary-style pronunciation of this name? My guess is that it would be E-pi-fan-nay-a, with the main accent on the 4th syllable (nay). My pronunciation might be anglicized too much though, so I'd really like to know, if possible. I'm interested in this stallion, and would really like to be able to say his name correctly. TIA!

Yes, as a Greek word that is how it would typically be pronounced, although some will put more emphasis on second syllable, separating it from the phi while others will elide it into the third syllable. The good news is, since ancient Greek is a dead language, no one really knows for certain how most of it was pronounced. It comes from phaino- the Greek verb "to shine" with epi- as prefix it takes on the meaning to shine upon or appear. Which is why Epiphany is the celebration of the acknowledgment of the baby as Christ, the son of God- with the 3 kings showing up at the stable. Epiphany is one of my favorite words because not only does its meaning infer a positive occurrence, a "light turning on" moment so to speak, but it is pretty much impossible to speak it out loud in anything except a positive manner because of its pronunciation. See, that ancient Greek does come in handy once in a blue moon.

[Missbeholder]

I like Contrail, but I will always favor Epiphaneia because he's the the son of two old favorites, Symboli Kris S and Cesario.

Could someone (Tachyon or anybody else) attempt to give me a phonetic dictionary-style pronunciation of this name? My guess is that it would be E-pi-fan-nay-a, with the main accent on the 4th syllable (nay). My pronunciation might be anglicized too much though, so I'd really like to know, if possible. I'm interested in this stallion, and would really like to be able to say his name correctly. TIA!

Yes, as a Greek word that is how it would typically be pronounced, although some will put more emphasis on second syllable, separating it from the phi while others will elide it into the third syllable. The good news is, since ancient Greek is a dead language, no one really knows for certain how most of it was pronounced. It comes from phaino- the Greek verb "to shine" with epi- as prefix it takes on the meaning to shine upon or appear. Which is why Epiphany is the celebration of the acknowledgment of the baby as Christ, the son of God- with the 3 kings showing up at the stable. Epiphany is one of my favorite words because not only does its meaning infer a positive occurrence, a "light turning on" moment so to speak, but it is pretty much impossible to speak it out loud in anything except a positive manner because of its pronunciation. See, that ancient Greek does come in handy once in a blue moon.

Thank You Corridor!! That was very beautifully explained!!