Draft:Mejiro Bright

Mejiro Bright was born out of Mejiro Ryan and Reru du Temps, a mare out of Maruzensky.^[1] Maruzensky was undefeated in the eight races he ran in from 1976 to 1977.^[3] However, at the time foreign-born horses could not run in Japanese races such as the Japanese Triple Crown, and because of this, his success was limited. Despire this, Maruzensky was inducted into the JRA Hall of Fame in 1990.^[4]

Mejiro Bright's sire, Mejiro Ryan, won the 1991 Takarazuka Kinen. Mejiro Ryan was also one part of the "New Triumvirate" with Mejiro McQueen and Whitestone [ja], replacing the Heisei Triumvirate [ja] which consisted of Oguri Cap, Super Creek and Inari One. Mejiro Ryan also sired Mejiro Dober who would go on to win five GI races.^[5]

Under the care of trainer Kuniichi Asami , who was nearing retirement, he became a racehorse and won a maiden race over 1,800 meters on turf at Hakodate Racecourse in the summer of his third year. He then withdrew from racing due to a worsening sore throat , but in his return race at the end of his third year, he won the Radio Tampa Hai Sansai Stakes.

Following Kuniichi's retirement, Asami's son, Shuichi, took charge of the four-year-old classics. Like his father, he suffered repeated close losses in the races, losing to Sunny Brian and Matikanefukukitaru and finishing without a title. That same year, he won the Stayers Stakes by a wide margin. After winning the American Jockey Club Cup in his first race of 1998 , he advanced to the Hanshin Daishōten, where he defeated fellow Arima Kinen winner Silk Justice in a one-on-one battle for his third consecutive victory. He then went on to win the Tennō Shō (Spring), beating Silk Justice and Stay Gold to claim four consecutive GI titles. This was Mejiro Farm's seventh Tennō Shō victory since Mejiro McQueen. That same year, he was awarded the JRA Award for Best Home-Bred Sire.

He continued to run well thereafter, only missing out on a place finish three times until his retirement. However, he was prevented from taking first place by imported stallions Silence Suzuka, Seiun Sky, and Special Week, as well as foreign-bred horse Grass Wonder, and was unable to win any more GI titles. In total, he won 8 of 25 races, earning prize money of over 800 million yen.

After retiring, he became a stallion at Arrow Stud. However, in his fourth year he was sold to Big Red Farm, where he died suddenly of a heart attack shortly after at the age of 10. His offspring include Makihata Cyborg, who won the 2007 Stayers Stakes (GII).

Data taken from Netkeiba.^[6]

• T in the table means "Turf"

An anthropomorphized version of Mejiro Bright appears in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Kika Onishi.^[7]