Gaia Force

Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gaia Force (ガイアフォース; foaled February 21, 2019) is an active Japanese racehorse.[1][2]

BreedThoroughbred[1]
GrandsireBlack Tide[1]
DamNatale[1]
Quick facts Gaia Force ガイアフォース, Breed ...
Gaia Force
ガイアフォース[1]
Gaia Force winning the 2025 Fuji Stakes
BreedThoroughbred[1]
SireKitasan Black[1]
GrandsireBlack Tide[1]
DamNatale[1]
DamsireKurofune[1]
SexStallion[1]
Foaled (2019-02-21) February 21, 2019 (age 7)[1]
Abira, Hokkaido, Japan
CountryJapan[1]
ColorGray[1]
BreederOiwake Farm[1]
OwnerKR Japan[1]
TrainerHaruki Sugiyama[1]
Earnings446,448,000 JPY[1]
Major wins
St Lite Kinen (2022)
Fuji Stakes (2025)
Last updated on December 30, 2025
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Background

Gaia Force was born on February 21, 2019, at the Oiwake Farm [ja]. He was sired by Kitasan Black, who won 7 Grade I races in his career and also produced Equinox that season. His dam, Natale, was a Kurofune progeny who won several NAR graded races in her career including the Crown Cup and the Totsuka Kinen in 2011, as well as the ORO Cup in 2012 and 2013.[3]

Gaia Force was sold at the JRHA Select Sale's Foal Session for 30,000,000 JPY to KR Japan.[4] He was then sent to the Haruki Sugiyama stable at Ritto Training Center for training.

The name Gaia Force is derived from "the force of the Greek god Gaia."[2]

Racing career

2021: two-year-old season

Gaia Force debuted at a maiden race of 1800 meters for 2 year olds at Kokura Racecourse with Kohei Matsuyama as his jockey, where he was beaten by a neck by future Derby winner Do Deuce.[5]

2022: three-year-old season

After taking a six months long break, Gaia Force was entered in to a maiden race of 2000 meters at Hanshin Racecourse, where he handily won the race by four lengths.[6] He was then sent to the Azusa Sho, where he was the most favored to win, but could not catch up to Saint Camellia and finished second.[7] His next race, the Kunisaki Tokubetsu, saw him taking the lead at the fourth corner and finishing the race with a seven length lead, setting a course record of 1:56.8.[8] He was then entered in to his first graded race, the St Lite Kinen, where the horse would contest the lead from the middle of the pack and go neck-and-neck with Ask Victor More before beating him by a head, earning him his first graded race victory.[9] The horse was then sent to contest his first Grade I race, the Kikuka-shō, where he was once again the most favored to win, but lost after losing momentum on the final stretch. Sugiyama later commented "The starting gate was everything. The horse was surrounded when it mattered the most. The horse never raced this kind of race and lost concentration halfway through. Maybe it also had to do with the distance."[10][11]

2023: four-year-old season

Gaia Force started his four year old season with the American Jockey Club Cup. He was once again the most favored to win, but could not take the lead and finished fifth.[12] After a three months break, Gaia Force ran his first mile race, the Yomiuri Milers Cup, on April 23, with Atsuya Nishimura [ja] as his new jockey. Gaia Force was placed in the back of the pack before catching up with the lead on the home stretch, ultimately finishing second behind Schnell Meister by a neck. Nishimura later commented "He was doing pretty well despite being his first mile race, and showed good legs. He's also maneuverable, so I think it would be all right even if the distance becomes longer".[13] On June 4, he ran the Yasuda Kinen, where he finished fourth behind Songline after trying to catch up to the leader.[14] After this he ran several races with Nishimura, placing 4th to 6th in all of his races that season.

2024: five-year-old season

Gaia Force started the season with his first dirt race, the February Stakes; with Yoshihito Nagaoka [ja] as his new jockey. Gaia Force ran 8th in the pack, before picking up the pace and finishing second place after Sekifu [ja] and Tagano Beauty [ja] contested the position. After the race, Nagaoka commented "The horse seemed worried about the kick-backs along the way, but the horse managed to persevere. The pace was smooth and worked in favor for the horse, and the horse ran well, and didn't do too bad on the dirt track"[15]

After the February Stakes, the horse was briefly planned to race the Queen Elizabeth Stakes held at Randwick Racecourse in Australia,[16] but a fracture in the left metacarpal scrapped such plans. When interviewed, Sugiyama stated that if the horse healed well, the horse would race the Yasuda Kinen on June 2.[17]

The horse made a successful recovery, and was entered to contest the Yasuda Kinen, where his jockey trailed the Hong Kong challenger Romantic Warrior but was blocked on the final stretch and finished fourth behind Romantic Warrior.[18][19]

Gaia Force would finish the season with the Champions Cup but finished 15th after a bad start from the outside.[20]

2025: six-year-old season

Gaia Force was once again entered to the February Stakes but finished 7th. Following this, Gaia Force was sent to his first race abroad, the Champions Mile held at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse, but finished 9th there.

On June 8th, Gaia Force once again raced the Yasuda Kinen. He was only the 9th most favored to win, but made headway on the final stretch, finishing second behind Jantar Mantar. Gaia Force's jockey, Seinosuke Yoshimura [ja], commented "putting on blinkers [on the horse] worked out" after the race.[21]

On September 5, the Chuo Keiba PR Center announced that a plush toy of him would be created after he received the second most votes in the active racehorse category for the "Idol Horse Audition 2025."[22]

On October 18, Gaia Force was entered in to the Fuji Stakes, where he ran second for most of the race, before taking the lead on the final stretch, earning his first victory in over 3 years.[23] On November 23, Gaia Force entered the Mile Championship, where the horse trailed Jantar Mantar, and raced out of the pack on the final stretch. While he could not beat Jantar Mantar, Gaia Force managed to finish second.[24]

Racing statistics

The following data is based on information available on JBIS-Search, netkeiba.com, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club.[25][26][27]

More information Date, Track ...
Date Track Race Grade Distance

(condition)

Entry HN Odds

(Favored)

Finish Time Margins Jockey Winner

(Runner-up)

2021 – two-year-old season
Sep 5 Kokura 2YO Debut Race 1800 m (Firm) 13 10 9.3 (3) 2nd 1:50.3 0.1 Kohei Matsuyama Do Deuce
2022 – three-year-old season
Mar 12 Hanshin 3YO Maiden Race 2000 m (Firm) 16 15 2.5 (1) 1st 2:00.4 -0.7 Kohei Matsuyama (Black Shield)
May 14 Chukyo Azusa Sho 1-Win 2000 m (Soft) 9 6 1.6 (1) 2nd 1:59.8 0.2 Kohei Matsuyama Saint Camellia
Jul 3 Kokura Kunisaki Tokubetsu 1-Win 2000 m (Firm) 10 2 1.4 (1) 1st 1:56.8[a] -1.1 Kohei Matsuyama (Success Drake)
Sep 19 Nakayama St Lite Kinen 2 2200 m (Good) 13 9 5.1 (3) 1st 2:11.8 0.0 Kohei Matsuyama (Ask Victor More)
Oct 23 Kyoto Kikuka-shō 1 3000 m (Firm) 18 1 3.5 (1) 8th 3:04.0 1.6 Kohei Matsuyama Ask Victor More
2023 – four-year-old season
Jan 22 Nakayama American Jockey Club Cup 2 2200 m (Firm) 14 10 1.8 (1) 5th 2:14.0 0.5 Christophe Lemaire North Bridge
Apr 23 Kyoto Yomiuri Milers Cup 2 1600 m (Firm) 15 7 8.2 (4) 2nd 1:31.5 0.0 Atsuya Nishimura Schnell Meister
Jun 4 Tokyo Yasuda Kinen 1 1600 m (Firm) 18 7 19.0 (8) 4th 1:31.6 0.2 Atsuya Nishimura Songline
Sep 24 Nakayama Sankei Sho All Comers 2 2200 m (Firm) 15 7 4.9 (2) 5th 2:12.4 0.4 Atsuya Nishimura Rousham Park
Oct 29 Tokyo Tenno Sho (Autumn) 1 2000 m (Firm) 11 5 45.4 (7) 5th 1:56.2 1.0 Atsuya Nishimura Equinox
Dec 2 Hanshin Challenge Cup 3 2000 m (Firm) 13 6 2.4 (1) 6th 1:59.2 0,4 Atsuya Nishimura Bellagio Opera
2024 – five-year-old season
Feb 18 Tokyo February Stakes 1 1600 m (Fast) 16 7 13.5 (5) 2nd 1:35.9 0.2 Yoshihito Nagaoka Peptide Nile
Jun 2 Tokyo Yasuda Kinen 1 1600 m (Firm) 18 2 11.6 (5) 4th 1:32.6 0.3 Yoshihito Nagaoka Romantic Warrior
Dec 1 Chukyo Champions Cup 1 2000 m (Fast) 16 16 13.7 (5) 15th 1:53.7 1.0 Yoshihito Nagaoka Lemon Pop
2025 – six-year-old season
Feb 23 Tokyo February Stakes 1 1600 m (Fast) 16 15 11.9 (6) 7th 1:36.5 1.0 Yoshihito Nagaoka Costa Nova
Apr 27 Sha Tin Champions Mile 1 1600 m (Good) 13 3 47 9th 1:33.9 0.7 Yuga Kawada Red Lion
Jun 8 Tokyo Yasuda Kinen 1 1600 m (Firm) 18 7 32.2 (9) 2nd 1:32.9 0.2 Seinosuke Yoshimura Jantar Mantar
Oct 18 Tokyo Fuji Stakes 2 1600 m (Firm) 14 11 7.1 (3) 1st 1:31.7 -0.1 Takeshi Yokoyama (Jantar Martar)
Nov 23 Kyoto Mile Championship 1 1600 m (Firm) 18 6 8.6 (4) 2nd 1:31.6 0.3 Takeshi Yokoyama Jantar Mantar
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Legend:
  Turf   Dirt

Notes:
  1. Set a race record for the event

Pedigree

More information SireKitasan Black 2012 Bay, DamNatale 2008 Gray ...
Pedigree of Gaia Force[28][29]
Sire
Kitasan Black
2012 Bay
Black Tide
2001 Dark Bay
Sunday Silence Halo
Wishing Well
Wind in Her Hair Alzao
Burghclere
Sugar Heart
2005 Bay
Sakura Bakushin O Sakura Yutaka O
Sakura Hagoromo
Otome Gokoro Judge Angelucci
Tizly
Dam
Natale
2008 Gray
Kurofune
1998 Gray
French Deputy Deputy Minister
Mitterand
Blue Avenue Classic Go Go
Eliza Blue
Rosy Charm
2001 Bay
Dance in the Dark Sunday Silence
Dancing Key
Christmas Rose Northern Taste
November Rose
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References

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