Rachel King plans to return to Japan early next year and is looking forward to connecting again with trainer Noriyuki Hori as the jockey enjoys a “working holiday” through the first two months of the Japanese season.
The Australian-based rider intends to apply for a short term licence that would start in early January, returning home to Sydney in time for a busy autumn program starting in early March.
“I was lucky enough to go there for a short-term license at the start of this year, through January and February, and I built some really good connections while I was there,” King told Idol Horse. “It’s just an incredible place. I’m in awe of what they do over there – their breeding operation, their racing operation, it’s incredible. They are perfectionists in everything they do, and that shows in the level of their racing as well. It was a privilege to be there and to be a part of it and I can’t wait to go back again.”
The Japanese Racing Association (JRA) weekends-only programme provides a welcome relief for foreign jockeys who would normally race through an unrelenting, seven-days-per week schedule.
“Going to Japan is like my holiday every year,” King said. “You work hard on the weekends, there are 12 races and there are very short gaps in between races, so they are busy days, but apart from that it’s pretty good. You’ve got trackwork on Wednesday and Thursday – you don’t ride as many as you would in Australia, but it does take a lot longer, so it probably takes up half your day. The rest of the week, you’ve got the opportunity to go and travel around and see a bit of Japan. I usually base myself near Tokyo and I did a bit of sightseeing this year, but there’s more I’ve learnt about Japan and there’s more I’m going to try and tick off my list when I go back, but it’s a beautiful country.
“I love the country itself – it’s so clean, it’s tidy, everyone’s so nice, especially being someone there that doesn’t speak any Japanese. I tried but it’s pretty hard, but the people there are so accommodating, they just try their hardest to help you out even though they can’t understand what you’re saying. I can’t wait to get back.”
King’s newfound status as a globetrotting rider saw her 2024 begin in Japan before returning to Australia. She rode in both the Shergar Cup in Britain and the International Jockeys’ Championship in Hong Kong, while she became the first Australian-based rider to appear at the most prestigious American meeting, the Breeders’ Cup. She partnered Hori’s Satono Carnaval into ninth in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at what was her first ever ride in the United States.
“It was an incredible opportunity, I definitely couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams ending up at Del Mar and riding at the Breeders’ Cup,” she said. “It was something that I hoped might happen when I went to Japan – not necessarily turning up in America, I thought more if they brought Japanese horses to Australia or something like that. So to get that opportunity in America was unbelievable.
“It wasn’t quite the result we wanted, but the whole experience was amazing. It was a typical Japanese approach: they’re very, very loyal. Mr Hori and his owners were very kind to give me the opportunity to go and I appreciate that a lot and I know they show me loyalty, I’m happy to do it in return.”
It has been a decade since Hori travelled to Australia, with Real Impact winning the G1 George Ryder Stakes and finishing second in the G1 Doncaster Mile in 2015.
The 57-year-old trainer has a host of talented horses that could potentially return to Sydney in 2025 including two-time G1 Dubai Turf placegetter Danon Beluga, recent G1 Hong Kong Sprint placegetter Satono Reve, Danon Ayers Rock, a son of four-time Australian Group 1 winner Mosheen, or Sakura Toujours, a Group 3 winner who was gelded last month as a late seven-year-old.
King could be in consideration to partner any horse the astute horseman brings to Australia, but she could also bypass the first day of Sydney’s The Championships and head to Meydan for the Dubai World Cup meeting on April 5. Hori has had eight starters in Dubai for four placegetters.
“Meticulous is the word for him,” she said. “I loved his whole operation, his attention to detail and everything his stable staff do day to day. There is no stone left unturned and he makes sure he knows everything there is to know when he is preparing them. But then I also loved riding for him on race day because he made sure I’d always ridden the horses in trackwork the week or two before and that I’d got to know them. You’d go into the paddock, he’d tell you whatever you need to know, but then that was it.
“There were no specific instructions, it was like, he’s done his job, now you go out there and do your job. I loved that, I loved feeling like he had a lot of respect for me in that way, so it was a real vote of confidence. I think, because of that, I rode well and got a bit of confidence from him. I learnt so much every day from him and I think that’s why he’s had so many good horses and he’s been able to travel the world.”
King has ridden 17 winners and a further 13 placegetters from 145 rides so far in Japan, with the bulk of her success coming at Nakayama. ∎
