Mikki Rocket

2015: two-year-old season

He made his debut with Suguru Hamanaka as his first jockey in the 1800 metres race at Hanshin Racecourse. He was picked as the number one favourite but finished in second place after Roi Absolu pulled away in the final straight and won by two and a half lengths.^[12]

2016: three-year-old season

In his second start, the team switched his jockey to Fuma Matsuwaka. At the Kyoto Racecourse, Mikki Rocket stayed on the chase and picked up his first win at the line by three quarters of a length over Stay Kingdom.^[13] He stayed with Matsuwaka for two more races in which he finished second in both Baika Sho and Tsubaki Sho.^[14][15] In March, he raced in his first graded stakes race, the Spring Stakes with a new jockey, Christophe Lemaire. On the day, he was a bit fidgety in the gate, which caused a late start, but he still finished in fifth position.^[16] This result was enough for him to qualify for the Satsuki Sho. In this race, Norihiro Yokoyama took the assignment and kept him mostly at the back, and although he tried to turn wide for position, he never improved much and finished 13th on the line.^[17]

He skipped the whole remaining spring and returned to racing in the three-year-old and above allowance race at the Hakodate Racecourse in July. In this race, he had a new partner, Kenichi Ikezoe who rode him on the fifth position mostly before riding towards the front in the final phase and won the race by two lengths over Longs Peak.^[18] Then, Ikezoe guided him for a second place at the Matsumae Tokubetsu and gained his third career win at the HTB Sho with a comeback from behind victory.^[19][20] One month later, he raced in the Kikuka Sho's trial race, the Kobe Shimbun Hai with his eventual main jockey, Ryuji Wada for the first time. Wada managed to conserve his energy during the race and closed the gap with the fastest final three furlong speed but narrowly defeated at the line by Satono Diamond.^[21] This result qualified him for the Kikuka Sho as Wada stuck as his jockey for this big race. In the race, he tailed Satono Diamond from the start. At the final corner, he turned wide to make a bid but failed to accelerate fast enough as he finished in fifth place.^[22]

2017: four-year-old season

Mikki Rocket started this year with a run at the Nikkei Shinshun Hai in January. In the race, he nailed a good start, held on to the race pace well enough, and snatched his first graded race victory by a nose against the first favourite, Sciacchetra. Wada was relieved after the race as he praised the horse's effort to fight for the win from the back.^[23] Then, he ran in the Kyoto Kinen, where his late start behaviour costed him again despite his excellent run as he finished in fourth place behind the winner, Satono Crown.^[24] He completed the spring campaign with a failed inside rail challenge as he finished seventh in the Osaka Hai and a botched late acceleration in the Takarazuka Kinen, where he finished in sixth place.^[25][26]

• 
  Mikki Rocket (blue helmet) stole the win against Sciacchetra (red helmet) by a nose at the 2017 Nikkei Shinshun Hai
• 
  Mikki Rocket with Wada at the winning circle of the race

He returned for the autumn campaign at the Kyoto Daishoten in October. In this race, Wada rode him in sixth position throughout the race. They even fell back to eighth as they reached the final corner before making up ground in the final straight to finish fourth on the day.^[27] This race was a good preparation for the Autumn Tenno Sho in late October. When the race began, Mikki Rocket ran amongst the leading group in fourth position. As the race progressed, the poor track conditions started to affect his racing pace as he gradually dropped out of contention. In the end, he finished in 12th place.^[28] Despite the recent poor performances, he finished the season on a high note as he finished in second place by one and a half lengths behind the winner, Maitres d'Art at the Chunichi Shimbun Hai. Post-race, Wada noted that the horse might prefer the outer wall to get the pace.^[29]

2018: five-year-old season

This year, Mikki Rocket attempted to defend his title at the Nikkei Shinshun Hai. He stayed mostly in the front group, mingling between third and fourth position, but failed to accelerate further, as he finished in fourth place.^[30] In February, Matsuwaka who rode him in his early career, returned as his jockey for this year's Kyoto Kinen. The result was mediocre as the horse never made a great impression on a soft track and finished in seventh for the day.^[31] Matsuwaka said that the race was going on as planned but other horses able to punch early on the position and tired him out.^[32] After this race, he went straight to the Spring Tenno Sho and drawn to the innermost stall, gate 1.^[33] The returning Wada rode him in seventh position as he tried to conserve energy in the final phase. He struck the inner rails at the stretch and accelerated forward but he weakened on his final few strides, finishing in fourth place behind Rainbow Line, Cheval Grand and Clincher.^[34] Mikki Rocket attempted another run at the Takarazuka Kinen as his spring closing race. As the gates opened, the seventh favourite settled in mid-division, around seventh from the front. He progressed gradually along the rails at the backstretch and maintained that position throughout both second and third corners and into the homestretch. He surged forward on the inside as Satono Diamond pulled to the outside before fading out. Meanwhile, Mikki Rocket maintained that pace and held on to Werther's challenge at the final 200 metres to win his first G1 race by a neck.^[5][35] Wada, who was overjoyed after ending his G1 drought for 17 years, quoted:

The track was dry, so I was planning to take the good inside route. He got a good start, which was reassuring. The pace was fast in front, but if he can keep up at the crucial point, he's a horse that will do his best in the straight. We've been riding together for a long time, and I was able to make the most of his strengths. He maintained his pace until the end; he's an amazing horse. (On his first G1 victory in 17 years) It's been a long time. TM Opera O gave me a boost. I want to go to Opera O with my head held high.^[36]

• 
  Mikki Rocket (left) won the duel against Werther at the 2018 Takarazuka Kinen
• 
  Mikki Rocket with his winning sash after the race.

He returned for the second attempt at the Autumn Tenno Sho in October. In this race, Wada rode him consistently at the same pace in fifth position. He made slight progress near the end but stuck in the same position as he crossed the line.^[37] Due to an injury for Wada, he was supposed to be ridden by Keita Tosaki in the Japan Cup but this race never materialised for him as the team withdrew him due to muscle pain in his right hind leg.^[38][39] He recovered from the injury and fit enough to join the Arima Kinen as the season ender with a new jockey, Oisin Murphy who's on the short term license from JRA.^[40] As the race started, Murphy rode him into second position along the way in the early to middle sector. The horse ran as fast as he could but few late chargers surpassed him in the homestretch as he finished in fourth place behind the winner, Blast Onepiece.^[41] Right after this race, there was a plan to prolong his career with a start at the Kyoto Kinen in the next year but due to the concerns about his legs, the team decided to retire him from racing. He would became a stud at the Yushun Stallion Station in Niikappu, Hokkaido.^[42]

Notable progeny

c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding^[44]