Kohei Matsuyama does not talk like someone chasing titles.
Spend time listening to him and the focus always drifts away from numbers, rankings or ambition and back toward something simpler: the horse beneath him and the relationship formed in the minutes before and during a race.
It is a philosophy Matsuyama articulates clearly when asked what matters most when he rides.
“Since there are so many different horses, each with their own personality and individuality, I try not to force my own will onto them,” he told Idol Horse last week. “I want to provide a ride that suits each individual horse.”
It is an attitude that has defined a long, quietly elite career – and one that still shapes his outlook as the 2025 JRA season draws to a close.
With one week remaining, Matsuyama is likely to finish third in the national jockey standings, behind Christophe Lemaire and Keita Tosaki. It would match his best-ever ranking, last achieved in 2021, and comes at the end of another season high on consistency and volume.
Matsuyama has 126 wins with two racedays remaining and is close to his personal best of 130 set in 2021. This season is the continuation of a pattern rather than an outlier: six consecutive seasons of 100 or more wins and a body of work built on durability.
Asked about the standings when speaking with Idol Horse, Matsuyama was realistic.
“With only one week left, I honestly think it will be difficult to take first place, so I expect things will stay as they are,” he said. “The top two are truly amazing people – it is only natural for them to be in first and second place.”
Even when he briefly led the table earlier this year, he says the idea of a title never really took hold.
“Regarding the leading jockey title, I don’t think I’m particularly conscious of it. It is not something you can simply get because you want it.”
That perspective is consistent with how Matsuyama has always framed success. From his first Japan Racing Association (JRA) Group 1 victory in the 2017 Satsuki Sho aboard Al Ain, to the historic unbeaten Fillies’ Triple Crown with Daring Tact in 2020, he has rarely spoken in terms of personal achievement.
“Rather than it being about my own efforts, I feel immense gratitude toward the horses,” he said.
Another recent highlight came earlier this month at Hanshin, where Matsuyama partnered Star Anise to victory in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, his seventh career JRA Group 1 success. It was a ride built on patience and feel rather than force – easing the filly into the race, circling wide to find clear running and trusting her stride when it mattered. In a season already defined by volume and consistency, it was another reminder that Matsuyama’s biggest moments are still arriving – another highlight in a career that has not reached its peak.
The same thinking applies to how he rides. He told Idol Horse rather than imposing himself on a race, that he prefers to adapt – to pace, temperament and feel.
It is an approach rooted in his childhood. Matsuyama first became interested in racing in elementary school, began riding at the Hanshin Racecourse equestrian centre and fell in love with the sport watching a golden generation of horses.
“When I started following horse racing, I really liked Special Week and others from that era. I was a fan of that entire generation, including horses like Silence Suzuka and Grass Wonder.”
Now 35, in his 17th professional season, Matsuyama has passed milestones that only reinforce his place among Japan’s modern greats. Earlier this year he became the fastest and youngest jockey to reach 13,000 JRA rides and in August joined an exclusive group by winning graded races at all 10 JRA racecourses.
Another horse closely associated with that journey this year has been Panja Tower. The colt was well beaten when fifth in the Golden Eagle in Sydney, but Matsuyama’s belief in him has not wavered. The partnership has already delivered significant moments, including a breakthrough Group 1 victory earlier in the year and valuable overseas experience.
“He allowed me to win a Group 1 for the first time in four years,” Matsuyama said. “I have gained various experiences through him, including in Australia. He is a horse that has made many things come true.”
The overseas campaign, he added, remains something he values rather than judges solely on results.
“Regarding overseas, I would like to ride in various places, but Randwick was a particularly great racecourse, so I hope to have the opportunity to go there again.”
There are still headline moments ahead. He rides Tastiera in the Arima Kinen – the colt’s final start. Matsuyama speaks of that opportunity with warmth rather than drama.
“I am very happy to have the opportunity to ride Tastiera in the Arima Kinen for his last race,” he said. “I would be delighted if we could finish his career on a high note together.”
Yet even with major races on the horizon, Matsuyama’s gaze is already drifting forward rather than upward. His goals for next year are modest, measurable and entirely in character.
“I have managed to achieve 100 wins annually for six consecutive years now, so my goal is to continue that streak next year,” he said.
No talk of titles. No declarations. Just another season, another set of horses and the same guiding principle that has carried him this far.
For Kohei Matsuyama, it has never really been about where he finishes.
It has always been about the horse. ∎
