Mick Dee’s Japan Impact Goes Beyond Wins
The Kiwi jockey has been praised for horsemanship that may have saved a beloved horse’s life and has earned a reputation for getting longshots to perform above expectations during his first stint in Japan.
MICHAEL DEE has two more weekends until his two-month licence to ride in the Japan Racing Association (JRA) comes to an end, and with less than a handful of wins in that time, he hasn’t quite set the place ablaze. Yet the New Zealander’s horsemanship has shone through, kindling well-earned respect: even in defeat, his attributes have been noted.
Seven weeks into his Japanese experience he has only four wins from 102 rides at a strike rate of 3.9 per cent, but the story is more than those numbers. A slightly broader batch of data shows his top three strike rate comes in at 16.5 per cent, a decent return, and then there’s context: so far he has ridden only four race favourites during his stint and he has won on two of those.
“That was all I could do, and that is do the best I can, which is give every horse the best opportunity – that is the best you can do – if the winners follow (they follow), and if they don’t, they don’t,” Dee told Idol Horse.
Beyond the winners’ circle, it is the 29-year-old’s respect and ability with the horse that has earned him plaudits from Japanese racing fans.
Dee’s first ever ride in Japan came in race one at Tokyo on April 26 of this year on a 22.2 chance by the name of Luxe Biscuits. The three-year-old, a maiden at her fourth start, was soon backpedalling and had tailed off before the home turn as Dee eased her to a stop.
Things could only get better for the New Zealander, and they did, without fanfare or glory. His initial Japanese experience has been something of an understated success, all about how he has handled himself, how people have noted his ability as a jockey to put his mounts in the right places in races, and how a respect has built towards him for his intuition and sensitivities as a horseman.
That has all been helped by another ‘failed to finish,’ a race that in an unusual twist elevated his spring more than any other: the G2 Meguro Kinen, held at Tokyo on June 1.
Dee was riding one of Japan’s beloved white horses, the nine-year-old Hayayakko, when something went amiss. The horse suffered a partial rupture to a tendon in the near-fore leg, Dee eased the horse immediately.
His actions were praised by veterinarian and journalist Takahiro Wakahara in a column in the Chunichi Sports newspaper.
“Mr. Dee prevented the horse from a complete tendon tear and did a great job to save the horse’s life,” Wakahara wrote. “No matter how many races he wins in his current stint, this should be remembered as the greatest job he has done within this stint.”
The horse retired to Northern Farm with letters and charms sent to his groom from the fans with whom he is popular and trainer Sakae Kunieda stating in news reports that he was pleased the horse’s legs had been protected so he could live a normal retirement.
Dee is modest about it all and plays down a course of action that was at once instinctive, sensitive and accomplished: he believes it is what any horseman would do.
“I heard the noise and I could hear that it was a very bad tendon injury,” Dee told Idol Horse. “I heard it straight away and I knew straight away the horse had broken down. Obviously my job is to try and pull up as fast as possible. It is just instinct to do that right away.”
The Kiwi has ridden in some of the JRA’s Group 1 features this spring: 15th in the Yasuda Kinen, eighth in the Yushun Himba, and a NHK Mile Cup third-place full of merit on the 73.7 longshot Cerbiatto.
“I am sure what I have done and how I have handled myself, by being friendly and making connections, is more important than wins right now,” he says.
“I would like to have had some more success, some more winners would be nice. But it has been good for the learning experience and to be part of the racing here, especially at a good time, with some good Group 1 races and experiencing the crowd and being amongst it.”
Dee admits that he wasn’t sure what to expect of Japan and “had absolutely no idea” about the country’s racing. But he leaves with insights and understanding that he hopes he can use in future visits.
“I had watched Japanese racing, but being out on the track and living in the country is a completely different thing and I didn’t know what to expect living here,” he says.
“The picture I had in my mind was that it would be similar to Hong Kong but then when you come here and actually experience it, it is completely different again.
“The training is different, the horses get a lot of work and are obviously very well cared for. The trainers are capped at 28 horses meaning that they are stable and that makes it different, but everything in general is.”
He had with him his “lifesaver” as he calls him, his interpreter Hiroshi Ando who is perhaps best known on the international circuit for his involvement with the Yoshito Yahagi stable. His help was vital to overcome the language barrier and enable Dee to make the most of his time.
“I have learned a hell of a lot in a short time,” Dee continues. “I have met a lot of people and have ridden some nice horses along the way. Japan is obviously one of the top three places any jockey would want to be based for their career.”
He certainly found that things are done differently around Miho, located just northeast of Tokyo and one of two JRA training centres, the other being Ritto, close to Kyoto. His initial experience of Miho trackwork was beyond his imagination.
“That first morning at trackwork I just couldn’t believe,” he says. “I got on my first horse, I walked from the stable, they all went out as one lot. We trotted around, then all of a sudden there are 50 to 100 horses in the same trotting ring, and before we went out on to the track the gate had not been opened to go out on to the track and it looked like near to 500 horses there, and you think, jeez, what is going on here? If this was in another country there would be horses kicked or injured but they know their routine, they get used to it and the riders are on their backs for an hour for their morning work.
“Then the uphill track or even the main gallop track at Miho, I had never ridden on woodchip before so that was very different. It is quite deep and testing on the horses, but it is also soft on their legs at the same time, so they are getting very fit. Most likely they stay sounder in Japan working on that surface every day rather than a turf, poly or dirt track.”
But that was then and now he is accustomed to the way things roll each morning.
One of the last acts of this first stint in Japan will be to partner Haruki Sugiyama-trained Justin Palace in the G1 Takarazuka Kinen, Japan’s big summer grand prix. His mount won the G1 Tenno Sho Spring in 2023, the same year as placing third in the Takarazuka Kinen, but this time around the entire is a longshot, the suspicion being he is too far past his prime to win a race of such prestige.
Still, no one would be surprised if Dee were to have the six-year-old right in the mix at the finish.
“I galloped him last Wednesday and he worked very nicely,” he says. “But what I am told is that from trackwork to raceday he is completely different. At trackwork he is strong and pulls quite hard but on raceday he is off the bridle – so that is why the trainer has gone for blinkers in this race.
“The key with him is that he is often slow out of the barriers and gets a long way out of his ground so if it so happens that we are able to draw a nice enough gate and are lucky enough to jump with the field then I am sure he will run a pretty good race. He is obviously proven, he has the talent but he needs to have things go his way on the day.”
Dee has proven himself, too, he has shown he has the talent and the temperament for Japanese racing, and the next time he arrives on a JRA licence, chances are things will start to go his way. ∎
