u/Working-Chip1318

With the Arc getting closer, I thought it would be the right time to ask. Honestly, I made these distinctions based on some factors I observed on the closest finishes.

1. A Grand Expeditioner like El Condor Pasa - A horse that takes its time to acclimate itself to European Turf. Truthfully, El Condor Pasa barely passes as this type of horse and Sirius Symboli and Deirdre are the only other ones that fit. That being said, many people do say that if Japan wants to win in Europe they need to send their horses early to adapt. This would be very expensive though.

2. Absolute Champions like Deep Impact and Orfevre - Nothing more to be said. Horses that would make many confidently say they would win. Honestly, since Orfevre I think only Equinox would fit this category, which would make sense since these horses are supposed to be extremely rare. Japan may need to wait a long time for such a horse to appear again.

3. A True Underdog like Nakayama Festa - People often say that Japan is just throwing horses to see which would stick at this point, but of these 3 categories the one literally closest to victory came from here. An underdog that most wouldn't even prepare or guard against. It will take a lot of luck to accomplish this.

So what type of horse do you think would win?

From what I read in previous post, excluding St. Lite and Shinzan, most would agree that:

1. Orfevre - considering he faced 3 horses with 6+G1s at Japan alone, I would agree.

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1. 3/4. Contrail/Deep Impact/Narita Brian - These are also how I see most people rank them.
2. Symboli Rudolf and Mr C.B. - Unfortunately, often said to have the weakest competition.

How would you judge their competition?

One of my favorite things about this subreddit is learning something interesting about horses. So, whether it be statistics or statements, what are some interesting things about your favorite horses?

The final crown of the Classics.

Vodka's Grand Achievement had left its mark on many for the Derby.

Now, we head onto the Kikuka Sho. Although stayers are becoming less desired, it cannot be denied that when it comes to producing the most exciting occasions, few can match the Kikuka Sho's crowning moment. This is specially true with a possible Triple Crown on the horizon.

There have been many horses that made their mark on the Kikuka Sho, form legendary stayers like Mejiro Mcqueen and Rice Shower to late bloomers like Kitasan Black. Then, there are of course the Tripe Crowns, such as Deep Impact and Orfevre. So... which of them are your favorite?

Now onto the Biggest Race for 3 year olds.

Most answered Lovcen for the Satsuki Sho. With him being the most recent and fastest winner it was to be expected. I'm also happy that Gold Ship had a lot of votes. Duramente and Seiun Sky also had many fans.

Now though, is the Derby, which is the dream of many and probably the biggest race in Japan. There have been many iconic horses that won the Derby. Which of them is your favorite?

My favorite is Orfevre at the 2011 Derby with his grueling win at heavy turf.

Found myself wondering this after so many discussions of Classic and Autumn Triple Crowns. So, theoretically could a 3 year old horse actually do it? Or would it be too risky?

I think Equinox would of course be the number 1 answer, dominating both his Akiten and Arima. Then there is Efforia who accomplished the same feat earlier.

Other than them there is also Orfevre who interestingly won the Tokyo 2000 and 2400 in his Classics before winning a stacked Arima Kinen. Narita Brian meanwhile, ran the Normal Classic tracks in his classic year.

Honestly, the most interesting answer I thought of was Symboli Rudolf, whom in his Classic Year won the Kikuka Sho and placed 3rd in the Japan Cup all in the span of less than 2 weeks. He would also get his revenge in the Arima at the end.

Recently, there were a lot of discussions about favorite races or race calls, and after seeing something similar at Twitter, I wanted to try these questions here.

As a double Haruten winner, I find it weird he never challenged the Hanshin Daishouten, which is considered the best stayer G2 race and stepping stone to the Haruten. I know Rice Shower was the same but other more recent and famous stayers such as McQueen, Special Week, TM Opera O, Narita Brian, Top Gun and Deep Impact have done it so I am a bit curious.

I recently got curious if there were any top Sires that didn't stand at Shadai, and lo and behold only 2 were in the top 20:
#5 Brian's Time stood at stud at Hayata Farm (standing at C.B. Stud) starting in 1990, and later moved to Arrow Stud in 2002.
#7 Stay Gold stood stud at the Breeders Stallion Station and Big Red Farm alternating every two years.

This really shows how much of a behemoth Shadai is, considering the rest of the Top 50 were mostly at Shadai as well.

This also shows how much of an anomaly Stay Gold was, considering he would be by far the least successful racehorse of the Top 50.

I used the list of "The top 50 Japanese sires of all time by combined progeny earnings according to Netkeiba as of January 20, 2026" posted by CJO9876 so credit to him for the list.

If you want to see the full Top 50, here is the link to the post: https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1qi6poh/top_50_japanese_stallions_of_all_time/