Asia Express ( ja, アジアエクスプレス, link=no, foaled 9 February 2011) is an American-bred, Japan-based

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse and sire. He was bred in Florida and exported as a two-year-old to Japan where he began his career on dirt and won two races before switching to turf to win the

Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes The Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (朝日杯フューチュリティステークス) is a one mile turf stakes race for thoroughbred colts two years old. It is considered the ''de facto'' year-end championship for Japanese thoroughbred racing in the t ...

. At the end of the year he was the top-rated juvenile in Japan and took the

JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt The JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association The Japan Racing Association ( ja, 日本中央競馬会 Nippon Chūō Keiba Kai, or JRA) is a public company established to operate Chūō Keiba ( ...

. In the following year he was beaten in the Spring Stakes and the

Satsuki Sho Satsuki is a traditional Japanese name for the month of . It is commonly used as a feminine given name and, more rarely, as a surname or a masculine name. Possible spellings Satsuki can be spelled using different ''kanji'' characters and can mean: ...

before reverting to dirt and winning the Leopard Stakes. He raced sporadically over the next two seasons but never won again.

Background

Asia Express is a chestnut horse standing 1.66 metres high with white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

on his hind leg bred in Florida by Ocala Farm. In March 2013 the

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

was consigned to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company Selected Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training and was bought for $230,000 by Narvick International. He was exported to Japan where he entered the ownership of Yukio Baba and was sent into training with Takahisa Tezuka. He was sired by Henny Hughes, a sprinter whose biggest wins came in the

King's Bishop Stakes The H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The ...

and

Vosburgh Stakes The Vosburgh Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Run at the end of September/early October, it is open to horses three-years-old and up of either gender. A Grade II sprint race, it is ...

in 2006. As a breeding stallion he is best known as the sire of Beholder. Asia Express's dam, Running Bobcats showed good racing ability, winning nine of her thirty-one races and $377,494 in prize money. She was descended from River Crossing who was a half-sister to Fall Aspen, the female-line ancestor of

Dubai Millennium Dubai Millennium (2 March 1996 – 29 April 2001) was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. The colt was trained in the United Kingdom and Dubai during his racing career from 1998 and 2000. He is notable for winning a series of major ...

Timber Country Timber Country (foaled April 12,1992 in Kentucky - February 24, 2016) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to ever win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and American Triple Crown Classic Race when he won the 1995 Preakness St ...

Mehthaaf Mehthaaf (foaled 3 February 1991) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She showed great promise as a two-year-old in 1993, winning on her second racecourse appearance and going on to finish third in both t ...

and

Elnadim Elnadim (28 April 1994 – 14 January 2015) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After failing to win as a juvenile he developed into a high-class sprinter in 1997, winning four of his six races including the Ho ...

. Asia Express is a very large horse by Thoroughbred standards, weighing between 524 kg and 554 kg during his racing career.

Racing career

2013: two-year-old season

Asia Express began his races with two starts on the dirt track at Tokyo. On his racecourse debut he contested an event for previously unraced juveniles over 1200 metres on 3 November and won by more than four

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

from Autumn Love. Three weeks later he recorded another wide-margin victory as he came home seven lengths clear of Pean and fourteen others in the Oxalis Sho over 1400 metres. For his final run of the season, Asia Express was switched to the turf and moved up sharply in class for the

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called '' Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by ...

Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes over 1600 metres at

Nakayama Racecourse is located in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 165,676. It was built in 1990. Physical attributes Nakayama Race Course has two grass courses, a dirt course, and a jump course. The turf's measures 184 ...

on 15 December. Ridden by the visiting English jockey Ryan Moore he was made the 7.7/1 fourth choice in a sixteen-runner field behind Atom, Pray And Real and Bel Canto (

Fantasy Stakes The Fantasy Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually usually in early April at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The ...

). Asia Express raced in mid-division made a forward move on the final turn and was then switched to the outside to produce a strong run in the straight. He gained the advantage from the fading front-runner Bel Canto 100 metres from the finish and drew away to win by one and a quarter lengths and a neck from Shonan Archive and Win Full Bloom. Moore commented "He surprised me, he quickened up so well. He's a special horse, because not many do both dirt and grass. His future should be bright. He feels like he hasn't got to the bottom of it yet, like there's more to come." In the JRA Awards for 2013 Asia Express topped the poll for the

taking 279 of the 280 votes. In the official Japanese rankings for 2013, he was the top-rated juvenile, ahead of the filly Red Reveur.

2014: three-year-old season

On his first run as a three-year-old Asia Express contested the Spring Stakes (a major trial race for the

) over 1800 metres at Nakayama on 23 March he was made the 1.3/1 favourite but sustained his first defeat as he was beaten into second place by Rosa Gigantea. In the Satsuki Sho over 2000 metres at Nakayama the colt started the 6.5/1 fifth choice in the betting but after disputing the lead 200 metres from the finish he faded to finish sixth behind

Isla Bonita Isla Bonita ( ja, イスラボニータ, link=no, foaled 21 May 2011) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a juvenile in 2013 he showed very promising form as he won three of his four races including the Icho Stakes and the Tokyo ...

, beaten two and a half lengths by the winner. After a two-month break Asia Express returned to the Tokyo dirt track but ran very poorly as he finished unplaced behind Red Alvis when odds-on favourite for the Grade 3 Unicorn Stakes. On 10 August the colt faced Red Alvis again in the Grade 3 Leopard Stakes on the dirt at

Niigata Racecourse is located in Kita-ku Niigata, Niigata. It is used for horse racing. It was built in 1965. The capacity of the stadium is 75,000. Physical attributes Niigata Race Course has a turf course with two distinct ovals, and a dirt course. Jump race ...

and started the 2.3/1 favourite in a fifteen-runner field. Ridden by Keita Tosaki he won decisively, coming home three and a half lengths clear of Cry Smile, with Red Alvis in fourth. Asia Express was rated the best Japanese three-year-old on dirt for the 2014 season.

2015 & 2016: later career

Asia Express raced on dirt throughout his later career. On 26 March 2015 the colt began his third campaign in the Listed Nagoya Daishoten in which he started odds-on favourite but was beaten half a length by the six-year-old Meisho Columbo. A month later he was the beaten favourite again as he finished second to Kurino Star O in the Grade 3 Antares Stakes over 1800 metres at

Hanshin Racecourse is located in Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan. It has a capacity of 139,000 and it is used for horse racing. The land was originally owned by Kawanishi Aircraft Company, which manufactured combat planes during World War II World War I ...

. In his two other races that year he finished fifth to Incantation in the Grade 3 Heian Stakes at

Kyoto Racecourse is located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 120,000. It was built in 1999. History Kyoto Race Course opened on December 1, 1925. In preparation for the track's 100th anniversary, ...

in May and fourth to Danon Liberty in the Listed BSN Sho at Niigata in August. After more than a year off the track, Asia Express returned for a final run at

Fukushima Racecourse is a horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all s ...

in November 2016 when he finished unplaced in the Listed Fukushima Minyu Cup.

Stud record

After the end of his racing career, Asia Express became a breeding stallion at the Yushun Stallion Station in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2011 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Florida Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 4-m