Mejiro Palmer

Early seasons (1989 – 1991)

He made his debut on August 12, 1989, at Hakodate Racecourse. He finished the race in second place six lengths behind the winner, Zogebune Megami.^[12][13] He then finished in second again in his second start before winning his third maiden race attempt.^[14] He maintained his winning form at the Cosmos Sho before losing in the next two races. Unfortunately, he suffered a fracture in his left hind leg after the race and was placed on a recovery break of more than six months.^[14] When he made his comeback in the next season, he was placed in a semi-open class due to lack of prize money won.^[15] Following his return in June 1990, he went on a losing streak of 11 straight races.^[14] During that time, he competed in two graded races, the Hakodate Kinen in which he finished seventh and the 1991 Tenno Sho (Spring) where he finished down in thirteenth-place.^[16][17]

Mejiro Palmer's performances would eventually improve, as he snatched a win in the Tokachidake Tokubetsu on June 22, 1991.^[12] Riding this momentum, he entered the Sapporo Kinen (GIII), as the fourth favourite with a light 51kg handicap. Despite getting a slow start, he took the lead on the second corner and led the pack alone.^[14] He then held off G1 regulars such as Mogami Champion and Kamino Cresse, who chased him hard on the final straight to finish the race in first. This marked his first graded race victory in the summer of his fifth year.^[14][18] Then, his form slumped again as he failed to run well in the next three races, including a dismal last-place finish in the 1991 Kyoto Daishoten.^[5] This poor streak of losses prompted his trainer to switch him to steeplechase races. He passed the test for the switching program in a record time.^[19] This switch initially worked, and Mejiro Palmer won his maiden steeplechase race and placed second in the next race. At the end of the second race, his trainer Okubo felt that Mejiro Palmer was jumping too low to clear the hurdles, and began to doubt the switch to steeplechase.^[14] Upon inspection, Mejiro Palmer's legs were swollen, and there were abrasions from contact with the hurdles.^[20][21] Despite the good results, Okubo cancelled the plan for Mejiro Palmer to became a steeplechase horse and readjusted him to flat races after a period of rest.^[22]

Five-year-old season (1992)

Mejiro Palmer started his five-year-old season in the Coral Stakes on March 29, where he ended up in fourth-place. In his next race, Mejiro Palmer was paired for the first time with 21-year-old Taisei Yamada, who would become Mejiro Palmer's regular jockey.^[14] At the Tenno Sho (Spring), Mejiro Palmer performed his trademark runaway style and surged to an early lead, but ran out of steam towards the end of the race and finished in seventh-place behind Mejiro McQueen.^[23][5] On May 17, he ran in the Niigata Daishoten. He took the lead from the start, held off the pack, stretched his legs in the straight, and won by four lengths to claim his second graded race win. Okubo was encouraged by this result and registered him for the Takarazuka Kinen, as his win in the Niigata Daishoten earned him a starting gate despite not qualifying for entry via the public vote.^[24][19]

The 1992 Takarazuka Kinen was supposed to be the battleground between Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen, but both did not participate due to injuries. As a result, entries for this Takarazuka Kinen was thin as there were only 2 G1 winners present in the field; Daiyusaku (1991 Arima Kinen winner) and Daitaku Helios (1991 Mile Championship winner).^[25] Mejiro Palmer sat at ninth favourite whilst the major favourite for the race was Kamino Cresse.^[26] Starting from the second outermost gate 12, Mejiro Palmer surged to the front, challenging Daitaku Helios, who was trying to take the lead from the inside. Daitaku Helios did not push too hard, and Mejiro Palmer was able to break away alone. In the second half of the race, Daitaku Helios and Kamino Cresse led the chase of the runaway leader but were unable to close the gap that Mejiro Palmer had built up. Instead, Mr. Spain overtook the flagging Daitaku Helios late in the race to move into third, and although Mejiro Palmer was beginning to lose pace as he entered the final straight, he held on to win his first G1 race by three lengths over Kamino Cresse.^[26][6] After the race, Yamada stated that the horse was already losing momentum at the third corner and fading after the fourth, but he never looked back and kept on going for the win.^[11]

He was rested at the Mejiro Stud the whole summer and started his autumn campaign in the Kyoto Daishoten. Although Yamada was injured from falling the day before the race, he nevertheless opted to ride Mejiro Palmer.^[27] As usual, Mejiro Palmer broke early for the lead but got caught by the pack on the final corner and finished in ninth.^[28] He then entered the Autumn Tenno Sho, with Shinji Fujita replacing Yamada, who had not fully healed from his fall in Kyoto.^[6] In this race, he was in a battle with Daitaku Helios from the start. Although he ran the first 1000 meters at a high pace of 57.5 seconds, he lost momentum on the home straight and fell back to 17th place.^[29] After those poor performances, Okubo opted for Mejiro Palmer to skip the Japan Cup and instead prepare for the Arima Kinen.^[29] In the voting list, Mejiro Palmer was not qualified for the race, but as he was the reigning Takarazuka Kinen winner, he was offered a slot and accepted it.^[30] Yamada would come back for the reins on race day.^[31]

Unlike in the Takarazuka Kinen, the field for the 1992 Arima Kinen was full of great horses. With the likes of Tokai Teio, Rice Shower, Nice Nature, Hishi Masaru, Legacy World, White Stone, Leo Durban, Let's Go Tarquin and Daitaku Helios joining in, Mejiro Palmer started 15th favourite at 49.4 odds.^[31] The strength of the field did not faze Yamada and Mejiro Palmer as they boldly took the lead, whilst Daitaku Helios was held back by his jockey and dropped to second place.^[6] These two horses would challenge each other and together built up a lead that grew to 15 lengths over the other competitors.^[6] As the two runaways entered the third corner together, the rest of the pack began to give chase. Mejiro Palmer would overtake the wavering Daitaku Helios for the lead and ran as fast as he could to the line as the rest of the field swallowed Daitaku Helios and began to catch up. Legacy World surged from the back pack and almost caught Mejiro Palmer on the line, but he held on to win by a nose margin.^[30][31] With this win, Mejiro Palmer snatched both grand prix races and became the fifth horse since Inari One in the 1989 season to win both grand prix races in the same year.^[6] Yamada would reminisce after the win, saying that: "Even when Daitaku Helios came at me on the home stretch, I was able to release the bit myself and maintain the horse's pace without getting caught. Palmer held on well until the end. He really did his best."^[30]

Mejiro Palmer won three races out of seven starts in 1992. He was awarded the JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse and for best home-bred sire. He was also the runner-up to Mihono Bourbon for the Japanese Horse of the Year award.^[30]

Later seasons (1993 – 1994)

At the beginning of the 1993 season, Mejiro Palmer ran in the Hanshin Daishoten. As the race started, he asserted his lead and made a solo breakaway. The horses behind him closed in on him in the third corner of the second lap. In the straight, he became locked in a close race with Takeno Velvet, Nice Nature, and others. Yamada waited for the horses behind to close in before ordering Mejiro Palmer to make a sprint. He overtook Takeno Velvet and Nice Nature and crossed the finish line by half a length.^[32] This would be the final win of his career.^[12]

In the upcoming Spring Tenno Sho, Mejiro Palmer ran away at the start like usual. In the third corner of the second lap, Rice Shower and Mejiro McQueen came alongside him on the uphill slope, but he was overtaken in the straight as he continued to hang onto the third position. Both of the horses battled it out to the line, while Mejiro Palmer finished in third behind those two.^[33] For the rest of the year, he competed in five graded races and finished outside of the podium in all of them.^[19] He began showing signs of a return to form at the beginning of the 1994 season when he placed second in the Nikkei Shinshun Hai, two lengths behind Monsieur Siecle.^[34] However, he was diagnosed with flexor tendonitis in his left foreleg after the race. This injury eventually led to his retirement due to his age.^[6] He was retired and deregistered from racing on September 22, 1994.^[35]