Major Emblem ( ja, メジャーエンブレム, link=no, foaled 26 March 2013) is a Japanese

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than f ...

. As a juvenile in 2015 she was the best filly of her generation in Japan, winning three of her four races including the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and taking the

JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Filly The JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Filly is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Award The is given annually since 1987 by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to the outstandi ...

. In the following year she won two of her three races, adding a second major success when she defeated male opposition to take the

NHK Mile Cup The NHK Mile Cup () is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies, run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately one mile) on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse in May. The NHK Mile Cup is sponsored b ...

Background

Major Emblem is a chestnut mare with a white blaze and a long white

sock A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

on her left hind leg bred in

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

by Northern Farm. During her racing career she was trained by Yasuhito Tamura and carried the black, red and yellow silks of Sunday Racing. She was ridden in all of her major races by

Christophe Lemaire Christophe Patrice Lemaire (Japanese:, born 20 May 1979) is a French-born jockey. He has enjoyed much of his success on the Japanese flat racing circuit, with the most wins at Japan Racing Association racetracks for five consecutive years sinc ...

. She was from the fifth crop of foals sired by

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 ...

, an outstanding miler whose wins included 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 ...

Mile Championship The Mile Championship is an International Grade I flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) on the turf at Kyoto Racecourse in November. It was first run in 198 ...

and

Yasuda Kinen The Yasuda Kinen (English: Yasuda Memorial, Japanese and Chinese language: 安田記念) is a Japanese International Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at the Tokyo Racecourse in Tokyo. Raced annually each June, the Yasuda Kinen is run at a dis ...

. As a breeding stallion he has also sired Admire Mars, Curren Black Hill (NHK Mile Cup), Reine Minoru (Oka Sho) and Epice Arome ( Centaur Stakes). Major Emblem's dam Catchy Title showed good racing ability, winning five of her 20 races between July 2006 and March 2009. Catchy Title's female ancestry was not, technically

as it could not be traced to one of the foundation mares of the breed. She was a product of the half-bred Verdict family, whose ancestry could be traced no further back than an unnamed mare foaled in 1837. So many non-thoroughbreds from this family won major races that they were admitted to the

General Stud Book The ''General Stud Book'' is a breed registry for horses in Great Britain and Ireland. More specifically it is used to document the breeding of Thoroughbreds and related foundation bloodstock such as the Arabian horse. Today it is published ...

in 1969 as Half-Bred Family 3. Members of this family include

Quashed Quashed (foaled 1932) was a British-bred and British-trained racehorse, winner of The Oaks in 1935. For many years, the Verdict family was not accepted into the British Stud Book because Quashed's dam was effectively a half-bred and it was n ...

, Attraction and

Sonic Lady Sonic Lady (15 February 1983 – February 1996) was an American-bred, British-trained racehorse and broodmare. A temperamental filly who was often difficult to ride, she was a specialist miler who won seven Group races. After winning her only ...

Racing career

2015: two-year-old season

At Tokyo on 14 June Major Emblem began her racing career with a win in an event for previously unraced juveniles over 1800 metres. After the summer break she returned for the Aster Sho over 1600 metres at

Nakayama Racecourse is located in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 165,676. It was built in 1990. Physical attributes Nakayama Race Course has two grass courses, a dirt course, and a jump course. The turf's measures 1 ...

in September and won from Matera Arion and seven others. In the Grade 3 Artemis Stakes over 1600 metres at Tokyo on 31 October the filly started the 1.2/1 favourite against fourteen opponents but after looking likely to win she was caught in the final stride and beaten a neck by the 82/1 outsider Denko Ange. After the race her training regime was altered with Yasuhito Tamura explaining "we have changed her training pattern by giving her a horse to follow, and keeping her back and being patient with her. This makes her more controllable, and it's clear she's able to run like this with patience." On 13 December in the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies over 1600 metres at

Hanshin Racecourse is located in Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan. It has a capacity of 139,000 and it is used for horse racing. The land was originally owned by Kawanishi Aircraft Company, which manufactured combat planes during World War II. After the World War II, ...

Major Emblem started the 1.5/1 favourite ahead of Denko Ange, with the best fancied of the other sixteen runners being Blanc Bonheur (Hakodate Nisai Stakes) and the previously undefeated At The Seaside. Major Emblem broke quickly and settled just behind the leaders on the inside rail before moving to the front on the final turn. She opened up a clear lead and never looked in any danger of defeat, coming home two lengths in front of the outsider Win Fabulous. Christophe Lemaire commented "She surprisingly broke very well and I’m glad we drew an inner stall. She is easy to ride and was relaxed today. She ran strongly to the finish line and I’m very happy we were able to claim the G1 race. She's an amazing filly and I’m sure she’ll do well in the classics".

2016: three-year-old season

Major Emblem began her second campaign in the Grade 3 Daily Hai Queen Cup at Tokyo on 13 February. She started the odds-on favourite and had no difficulty justifying her position at the head of the betting market as she came home five

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the In ...

clear of Frontier Queen. At Hanshin on 10 April the filly started odds-on favourite for the Grade 1

Oka Sho The is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan. The race is restricted to three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies and is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) at the Hanshin Racecourse, Takarazuka, Hyōgo in April. It ...

over 1600 metres at Hanshin. She raced in sixth place before taking the lead in the straight but was overtaken in the closing stages and finished fourth behind

Jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...

Sinhalite Sinhalite is a borate A borate is any of several boron oxyanions, negative ions consisting of boron and oxygen, such as orthoborate , metaborate , or tetraborate ; or any salt with such anions, such as sodium metaborate, and disodium tetrab ...

and At The Seaside. Rather than stepping up in trip for the

Yushun Himba The , also known as the is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race for three-year-old thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 2,400 metres (approximately 1 mile 4 furlongs) at the Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo in May. History It was first run ...

, Major Emblem was matched against male opposition in the NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo Racecourse on 8 May. She was made the 1.3/1 favourite against seventeen opponents the best of whom, according to the betting market, were the colts Lord Quest (Niigata Nisai Stakes), Tizona and Tosho Drafter (Falcon Stakes). The filly took the lead from the start, shook of a challenge from Sigerunokogirizame on the final turn and kept on well down the straight to win by three quarters of a length and a neck from Lord Quest and the outsider Rainbow Line. After the race Lemaire said "She broke sharply today and I was able to place her in front. She has good speed and having already won a G1 title last year and another graded race earlier this year, I would say that she has confirmed her position as the top of her class with this G1 win". Major Emblem subsequently suffered from injury problems and did not race again.

Assessment and awards

In the

JRA Award The is given annually since 1987 by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to the outstanding horses and people in Japanese Thoroughbred horse racing. The awards originally started as the in 1954 and since 1972 the {{Nihongo, Yūshun Awards, 優駿� ...

s for 2015 Major Emblem topped the poll for the

taking all 291 of the votes. In the

s for 2016 Major Emblem finished third behind

in the voting for the

JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly The JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Award The is given annually since 1987 by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to the outstan ...

Pedigree

*Major Emblem was

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction Human reproduction is sexual reproduction that result ...

4 × 4 to Northern Dancer, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of her pedigree.

References

{{Reflist 2013 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family B3