Narita Brian ( ja, ナリタブライアン, Hepburn: ; May 3, 1991 – September 27, 1998) was a Japanese

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 ...

. Until

T M Opera O T M Opera O ( ja, テイエムオペラオー, link=no, March 13, 1996 – May 2018) was a champion Japanese thoroughbred racehorse, and was the world's all-time leading money earner at the time of his retirement in 2001. In 1999, he was the ...

surpassed him in 2000, Narita Brian was the world's top money earner.

Background

Narita Brian was a bay horse sired by the American-bred stallion

Brian's Time Brian's Time (1985 – April 4, 2013) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Roberto by breeder Joan Phillips. Brian's Time was a grade one stakes-winning millionaire who is probably most remembered for his win in the Florida ...

, out of the mare

Pacificus Pacificus was a disciple of St. Francis of Assisi, born probably near Ascoli, Italy, in the second half of the twelfth century; died, it is thought, at Lens, France, around 1234. Poet Laureate Local authors identify him with a certain William of ...

, a daughter of

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

. He was a brother of Biwa Hayahide, the Champion horse in Japan in 1993.

Racing career

Racing as a two-year-old in 1993, Narita Brian won the Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes 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 1840 ...

. In the following year he completed the Japanese

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...

by winning the

Satsuki Shō The is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres (approximately mile) at the Nakayama Racecourse, Funabashi, Chiba, in April. It was first run in 1939 a ...

Tokyo Yūshun Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

and Kikuka Shō before defeating older horses in the Arima Kinen. He stayed in training for a further two years winning the Hanshin Daishōten in 1995 and 1996. In the latter year he defeated the 1995 Japanese Horse of the Year

Mayano Top Gun Mayano Top Gun（マヤノトップガン, March 24, 1992 - November 3, 2019） was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. His wins included the Kikuka Sho, Arima Kinen, Takarazuka Kinen, Hanshin Daishoten and Tenno Sho. In 1995, he was awarded the ...

Awards and honours

Narita Brian was voted JRA Award Best Two-year-old Colt in 1993. In 1994 he was voted Best Three-year-old Colt and

Japanese Horse of the Year The Japanese Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in Japanese thoroughbred horse racing. It is awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards. This award originally started as pa ...

in 1994. He was declared "Horse of the 20th century" in Japan. In 1998 he was elected to the JRA Hall of Fame.

Stud career

Narita Brian's most successful offspring was Daitaku Flag who was 4th in the Japanese 2000 Guineas. He died in 1998 because of a gastric rupture.

Pedigree

References