Admire Zoom

Born on February 28, 2022, Admire Zoom was sired by Maurice, a multi-award-winning Japanese racehorse who was also the sire of Jack d'Or, Geraldina, and Pixie Knight. His dam, Daiwa Zoom, was sired by Heart's Cry, the horse who defeated Deep Impact in the 2005 Arima Kinen.^[2]

He was purchased for ¥115,000,000 as a yearling in the 2023 JRHA Select Sale.^[3]

On October 5, Admire Zoom made his debut race on the Kyoto Racecourse where he was the favorite horse. Ridden by Yuga Kawada, he only finished in fourth place.^[4] Because of this, he had to compete in a maiden race, but this time, he finally won by three lengths over the second place.^[5] His next race was the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, where he was the fifth favorite horse with an odds of 9.1. With a slow pace, he maintained his position in second place and surged early in the homestretch until he overtook Daishin Ra, making it his first G1 victory.^[4] After the race, his trainer, Yasuo Tomomichi commented, “He tends to get overexcited on a daily basis, but we were able to push him hard in preparation for this race. His response after being urged on in the novice race was impressive, and his ability to sustain his speed for a long distance is a key strength. The way he powered ahead in the homestretch was truly remarkable. I think we will remain him in mile races. We’ll discuss it with the owner, but our target for next spring is the NHK Mile Cup”.^[3]

In his second season, he started by running in New Zealand Trophy on April 12. Unfortunately, he was not able to catch up to Immigrant Song, causing him to end up finishing in second. At the NHK Mile Cup, he was the favorite horse, though he disappointingly finished in 14th place which majorly contributed to his running affected by a lost shoe.^[6] His last race for that season was the Swan Stakes, where he placed in sixth among 18 runners.^[4]

For his comeback in this year, he started at the Yomiuri Milers Cup. His jockey for the day would be Yutaka Take.^[7] When the race began, Admire Zoom ran well on the second position for most of the race before he accelerated to overtook the front running Shonan Addeybb, to win the race by half a length over the second place finisher, Dragon Boost.^[8] In the post race, Take smiled and said, "First of all, I'm relieved. Since it was my first time riding him, I had anticipated a lot of things, but he had a good start and was very easy to ride. I've thought he was a strong horse since we raced together, and I was given a great opportunity, so I wanted to respond with a result."^[9]