; born February 23, 2003) is a Japanese

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

who won the 2007

Dubai Duty Free Stakes The Dubai Turf, known as Dubai Duty Free 1996 to 2014. is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,800 metres (1 mile 1 furlong) on the turf at Meydan Racecourse in Du ...

Takarazuka Kinen The Takarazuka Kinen (宝塚記念) is a Grade I flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds where they run over a distance of 2,200 metres (approximately miles) at Hanshin Racecourse (阪神競馬場) in late June. It ...

and

Japan Cup The is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters (about miles) run under weight for age conditions wi ...

Background

Admire Moon was foaled on February 23rd, 2003 at Northern Farm in

Abira, Hokkaido is a town located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of 30 September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 8,323. Geography Located in the north-east of Iburi Subprefecture, and is a hilly area extending from the Yufutsu Plain ...

, Japan. He was bred by Katsumi Yoshida. He was sired by champion sire End Sweep and his dam was My Katies, a daughter of

Sunday Silence Sunday Silence (March 25, 1986 – August 19, 2002) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1989, he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but failed to complete the Triple Crown when he was defeated in the Belmont ...

. During the 2003 Japan Horse Racing Association Select Sale, Admire Moon was sold to Riichi Kondo for ¥16 million (roughly $135,000). He was trained by Ritto Training Center trainer Hiroyoshi Matsuda.

Racing career

2005: two-year-old season

In 2005, Admire Moon started four times. He won the Clover Cho and the Sapporo Nisai Stakes, and came second in the Radio Tampa Hai Nisai Stakes.

2006: three-year-old season

At the beginning of his three-year-old season, Admire Moon won the Tokinominoru Kinen. He then won the

Yayoi Sho The is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres at the Nakayama Racecourse, Funabashi, Chiba. The race is run in March and serves as a major trial race for ...

, a trial race for the Satsuki Sho. Admire Moon ran in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) later in 2006, his first Grade I race. He placed 4th to Meisho Samson. He then went to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

for the Japanese Derby, the Tokyo Yushun, where he placed 7th, also to Meisho Samson. That August, Admire Moon ran in the Sapporo Kinen, winning it. He returned to Tokyo in late October for the

Tenno Sho The is a horse race held twice a year in Japan, once in the spring and once in the autumn. "Tenno" means "Emperor of Japan". The races are both International Grade I races. Prior to the 2007 races, both Tenno Sho races were Japanese domestic Gr ...

, not the Kikuka Sho (the Japanese St. Leger), and finished 3rd to

Daiwa Major Daiwa Major ( ja, ダイワメジャー, link=no) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. A horse who excelled at distances of , he won the Satsuki Shō, the first leg of the Japanese Triple Crown in 2004. His greatest succ ...

. In December, he traveled to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

for the

Hong Kong Cup The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres (about miles or 10 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year ...

, his first-ever race outside Japan. He finished second to

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

by a nose.

2007: four-year-old season

In 2007, he raced in Kyoto Kinen and won. He then headed to Dubai for the

. He finished first by half a length, winning his first ever Group One race, over Linngari,

, etc. On June 24, ridden by jockey

Yasunari Iwata (born March 12, 1974; from Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture) is a Japanese jockey who rode the winner of the 2006 Melbourne Cup, Delta Blues. It was Iwata's first race outside Japan. He debuted in the Hyōgo Keiba, one of the racing organizations i ...

, he took on the

by a vote of fans and finished first by half a length ahead of Vodka (the 2007 Tokyo Yushun winner), Daiwa Major etc., winning his first Grade I race in Japan. In the middle of his four-year-old season, Admire Moon was sold by his owner Riichi Kondo to Godolphin for ¥4 billion ($33 million). The sale was confirmed on July 24th of that year. Admire then ran in the

the same year in November and won by a head over

Pop Rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

. With the Takarazuka Kinen win earlier in the year, Admire Moon earned a ¥130 million bonus in addition to over ¥250 million in prize money. Admire Moon retired after winning the Japan Cup. Overall, he raced 17 times, came first ten times, came second twice, and came third twice. After his retirement, he was named the

Japanese Horse of the Year The Japanese Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in Japanese thoroughbred horse racing. It is awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards. This award originally started as ...

for 2007, as well as top older male.

Stud record

At the end of his racing career, Admire Moon was retired to become a breeding stallion at

Darley Stud Darley Stud is located at Dalham Hall, the global breeding operation owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai and vice-president of the United Arab Emirates. It is on the outskirts of Newmarket, Suffolk, the internatio ...

. The best of his offspring have included the sprinters Fine Needle and Seiun Kosei, both of whom won the

Takamatsunomiya Kinen The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) at Chukyo Racecourse in late March. The forerunner of this race was the . It was started ...

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2003 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Japan Cup winners Japanese Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Thoroughbred family 7-f