Meisho Hachiro sealed a red letter day for the former top jockey turned trainer Yuichi Fukunaga, with a victory in the Jpn1 Mile Championship Nambu Hai at Morioka on Monday that signalled the late-developing colt’s arrival as a high-class dirt track runner.
Next stop for the four-year-old looks like being the G1 February Stakes early next year, a race his trainer won twice as a jockey, just as he had the Nambu Hai.
But Meisho Hachiro’s win was a first elite bracket triumph for Fukunaga the trainer, now in his third season with a Japan Racing Association (JRA) trainer’s licence since he hung up his race saddle after the Saudi Cup fixture in February 2023. Not satisfied with taking out the National Association of Racing’s (NAR) big race, his stable also landed the day’s two JRA features, the G2 Swan Stakes at Kyoto and the Listed October Stakes at Tokyo.
“I think winning all three main races is just a coincidence,” Fukunaga said afterwards, citing good draws and giving credit to the horses and their jockeys. “We had great momentum, and we were able to ride that momentum, and the jockeys made sure everything came to fruition. We were really lucky.”
The rider bringing Meisho Hachiro’s race to victorious fruition was Hiroto Yoshihara, one of the NAR’s biggest stars, an icon at his home track, Kanazawa from where he travels often around Japan and even beyond. Last year the fates conspired against him riding at the Breeders’ Cup in California when his mount Fee Blanche was scratched. They were in his favour this time.
“I thought about going to the front if he broke well, but we were drawn inside and he didn’t break well, so I just let him race in the stalking position, just like I drew it up before the race,” Yoshihara said.
Tracking one back, his mount travelled powerfully: switched out to challenge in the straight, he gradually built momentum and went on by the front-running Strength, with last year’s winner Wilson Tesoro third.
“The horse ran on really well all the way to the final corner, so I had the feeling in the final stretch he would just bolt in, and he did,” Yoshihara said.
“I didn’t hear any horses coming from behind, so I knew we were leading by some margin, so I started thinking about how I would celebrate. It was an easy victory. The crowd was so loud after the race, and it made me a little bit emotional. I thought to myself, this is what horse racing is all about.”
Fukunaga believes there is more improvement to come from Meisho Hachiro who provided some compensation for his owner, Yoshitaka Matsumoto, whose Meisho Tabaru was well-beaten in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris last week.
“I think Meisho Hachiro is not yet fully mature and still has a lot of improvement coming, but today he was in great condition,” Fukunaga said and all but ruled out a quick follow-up in the JBC race at Kanazawa on November 3.
“He got a Jpn1 today, so we can choose his next race as we want now,” the trainer continued. “We want to get him to the February Stakes next year, but the JBC is too short of a turnaround, so we have to see how my horse comes out of this race. But in the past he didn’t look comfortable coming back in a short period, so we don’t know about the JBC, but we definitely want to get him to the February Stakes.”
As well as those two February Stakes wins, Fukunaga’s storied riding career featured a Triple Crown with Contrail, multiple classics, offshore wins, and three Derby successes among a host of majors. But for all that, he said Morioka is a special place for him.
“I have had a lot of fond memories here at Morioka, and I feel there is a bond to this place,” he said. “I have done quite a few events and talk shows here, and have won quite a few races. Now the bond feels stronger as I have won my first big race here as a trainer. Morioka is simply a great racecourse as well because it’s very easy to run for the horses, so I want to bring more horses here in the future.”
Yoshihara, who was winning the race for the second time following Sunrise Nova seven years ago, said he was grateful to Fukunaga for putting him on Meisho Hachiro for the first time, and also made sure to plug his own home base.
“Next month the JBC will be held in Kanazawa,” he said. “I will be riding in all three JBC races, so I hope everyone can watch these races either in person or through livestream.
“Fukunaga has won all the main races today,” he added, “and I also benefitted from that being a part of the team. His stable has so much momentum right now.”
Fukunaga, who turns 50 in December, bagged 17 wins in his debut season, 29 last year and has 32 this year after Ask Sexy More’s Listed win and Diamond Knot’s score in the Swan Stakes. He has now notched three Group 2 wins and three at Group 3.
“Diamond Knot showed he can run well at seven furlongs on turf, so we will probably target him at the G2 Hanshin Cup,” Fukunaga said. “Ask Sexy More is currently racing exclusively on left-turn tracks, and we will find him a Group race accordingly.”
With this NAR Jpn1 feature now on his record, it seems only a matter of time before Fukunaga adds an elite JRA victory to the many he won as a jockey. ∎
