Forever Young (Japanese: , foaled February 24, 2021) is a Japanese

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 c ...

racehorse 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 sports, as its basic pr ...

, who won his

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

, the JBC Nisai Yushun and the

Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun The Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun (全日本2歳優駿) is an internationally listed, Domestic Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Kawasaki Racecourse over a distance of 1600 metres. The race was first run in 199 ...

in 2023, as well as the

Saudi Derby Saudi Derby () is an international horse race held at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Race details The race was founded by the Saudi Arabia Jockey Club in 2020. It is currently run at 1,600 meters on dirt, only open to three-y ...

and the

UAE Derby The UAE Derby is a Group 2 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for three-year-old thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,900 metres (approximately 9.5 furlongs) on dirt at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. It takes place annually during the Dub ...

in 2024, and remained undefeated until a third-place three-horse

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

at the 150th Kentucky Derby, losing to Mystik Dan and

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

by a nose.

Background

Forever Young was bred at Northern Farm (stud), Northern Farm stud 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 la ...

, Japan, and was foaled on February 24, 2021. In 2022, he was consigned as a foal to the JRHA Select Sale and was bought for ¥98,000,000 (

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) gross by Susumu Fujita. Afterwards, he was trained by

Yoshito Yahagi Yoshito Yahagi(矢作芳人, ''Yahagi Yoshito'') (born March 20, 1961, in Tokyo, Japan) is a trainer of Thoroughbred race horses. He has been a licensed trainer in Japan since 2004 and since 2014 has won the training title three times. He has ...

. His sire,

Real Steel ''Real Steel'' is a 2011 American science fiction sports drama film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Mathe ...

, was a champion horse which won the

Dubai Turf The Dubai Turf, known as Dubai Duty Free 1996 to 2014. is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,800 metres (1 mile 1 furlong) on the turf at Meydan Racecourse in Dub ...

in 2016. His dam, Forever Darling, who was an American racehorse, won the

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Santa Ynez Stakes The Santa Ynez Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track held annually in early January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event curren ...

in 2016. His owner, , is the founder and president of

CyberAgent is a Japanese digital advertising company, which was founded in 1998 by Susumu Fujita and headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It is owned by Susumu Fujita with 20.50% interest; Fujita is representative director, while Yusuke Hidaka is executive vice ...

, whose subsidiaries include

Abema Abema (, stylized as ABEMA) is a Japanese live TV streaming website owned by the entertainment company, AbemaTV, Inc. that provides over-the-top media services to customers in Japan. The website primarily acts as an online television network, ...

and

Cygames is a Japanese video game development studio established in 2011 by CyberAgent. Mobile and E-commerce company DeNA acquired a 24% stake in the studio in 2012, and Nintendo acquired another 5% stake in 2018, leaving CyberAgent with 69% of the share ...

. Forever Young is named after a song of the same name by

AK-69 AK-69, also known as Kalassy Nikoff (エーケーシックスティーナイン／カラシニコフ) is a Japanese Hip Hop artist from Komaki, Aichi. As a rapper, AK-69 uses his stage name; while singing, he is usually known as "Kalassy Nikoff." ...

featuring

UVERworld Uverworld (stylized as UVERworld) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band consisting of six members and originating from Kusatsu, Shiga. They have released eleven studio albums and over thirty singles and have sold over three million records worldwide ...

. The song is the theme song of Abema's drama series '.

Racing career

2023: Two-year-old season

Forever Young began his racing career in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1,800 metres on good ground 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 ...

on October 14, 2023. Ridden by Ryusei Sakai, he started the 16/5 second choice and won by four lengths. Sakai was again in the saddle when the colt was stepped up in domestic Group 3 class to contest the over the same distance at in the following month on November 3, 2023. He started the 6/5 favourite and prevailed by one-and-a-half lengths. On December 13 at

Kawasaki Racecourse is located in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while exte ...

, Forever Young stepped up to Domestic Group 1 class to contest

over 1,600 metres. He started the 11/10 favourite in the betting and won by seven lengths from . This is the first time Fujita had a horse that won a Group 1 race. Forever Young is from the second crop of foals sired by Real Steel, and became the first Group 1 race winner among Real Steel's progeny. For his performance in 2023, he received a rating of 113 from , which is the highest rating of two-year-old dirt racing horses in the history of the ranking system. Among the five two-year-olds with a rating of 113 or above, , whose rating was 113, is also owned by Fujita.

2024: Three-year-old season

On his first run as a three-year-old, Forever Young went to Saudi Arabia to run in the Group III

over 1,600 metres on February 24, 2024. He started the 8/13 odds-on favourite with British

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

s and won by only a nose. In the race, he had a rough start and had to make up for the four-to-five-length difference from the leading horse, Book'em Danno, in the middle of the final straight. He finished the race in 1:36.17, about two seconds faster than the track record for the distance. This is the first time a horse of Fujita won an overseas graded race. After the race, his trainer, Yahagi, said the next race would be the

to obtain Kentucky Derby points for taking part in the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

. By February, he ranked second on Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, trailing behind , the winner of the

Hyacinth Stakes The Hyacinth Stakes is an international listed flat horse race in Japan open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Tokyo Racecourse over a distance of 1600 metres. The race was first run in 2003 and is the most important early race in Japan for t ...

. On March 30, Forever Young ran in the 1,900-meter Group II

held at

Meydan Racecourse Meydan Racecourse is a racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The grandstand is over a mile in length, and can accommodate over 60,000 spectators. Meydan opened on 27 March 2010, replacing Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, which formerly occupi ...

dirt in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, with jockey Ryusei Sakai. Forever Young was assigned to the outside, in gate 11. He came out of the gate well, took a position outside and behind the leaders. Moving into the stretch, the field straightened. South American Auto Bahn went to the front but could not withstand Forever Young, who came up strongly to win by two lengths in a time of 1:57.89. Trainer Yahagi commented after the race, "It will be very difficult to go from Dubai to Kentucky. But I believe my team will do everything to be in good order to go to Kentucky." Jockey Sakai also added that Forever Young "very much improved" after the Saudi Derby, adding, "That's why I have confidence in him. I really trust this horse." Forever Young collected 100 qualification points in the

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

and entered the event undefeated. In the early morning hours of April 13, Forever Young arrived at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

, having been conditioned by Yahagi. The following morning rider Yusaku Oka took the colt out for about 20 minutes of jogging in the course's one-mile chute, followed by a -mile gallop.

Statistics

''Notes:''
An (*) asterisk after the odds means Forever Young was the post-time favourite.

Pedigree

* Forever Young is

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

4S x 4D to the stallion

Mr Prospector Mr. Prospector (January 28, 1970 – June 1, 1999) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who became an outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires. A sprinter whose career was cut short by repeated injuries, he won seven of his 14 starts, inc ...

, meaning that he appears fourth generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

External sites

* Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association – Forever Young race record * Netkeiba – Forever Young race record

Footnotes

Notes

References

{{Reflist, 2 Thoroughbred racehorses Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan 2021 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 2-b