Rodeo Drive (horse)

2025: two-year-old season

Rodeo Drive made his debut on December 21 at Nakayama Racecourse over a distance of 1,600 meters on turf, with Hiroshi Kitamura [ja] riding. Coming out from the widest gate, he settled upfront early, sitting just behind the leader. In the final stretch, he overtook the leading horse and went on to win by three-fourths of a length.^[4]

2026: three-year-old season

Rodeo Drive began his three-year-old season in a three-year-old allowance race over the same track and distance as his debut, with Akihide Tsumura aboard him this time. Right after the start, he settled just behind the leaders as his last race. Turning to the final stretch, he peeled off quickly from the horse in front of him and overtook the leading group to win by three lengths.^[5]

For his next race, he was pointed to the New Zealand Trophy, which would also be his first graded stakes race. He went off the gates as the most favored horse to win, settling right behind the leaders yet again. On the final stretch, he chased after Reservation [ja] who was upfront but was unable to close him in time. He finished in second place.^[6]

On April 15, his connections announced that he would take on the NHK Mile Cup on May 10 at Tokyo Racecourse. This would be his first grade one stakes challenge.^[7] With Damian Lane in the saddle, he started as the favorite. Contrary to his previous races, he settled near the back of the pack early on and stayed there until the final stretch, where he tracked the Churchill Downs Cup winner, Ask Ikigomi [ja], who was also speeding past the rest of the pack right in front of him in the middle of the track. The battle continued until they crossed the finish line with Rodeo Drive edging the win by a nose to Ask Ikigomi on a photo finish, capturing his first graded stakes title.^[8]

After winning the race Damian Lane said with smile^[9]:

"Honestly, it's hard to find the words right now, but in one phrase, I'm very, very happy. We were able to show this horse at his best. I expected the pace to be strong, but I was able to get him good cover during the race. He's still a young horse, but I believe he has the ability to compete at G1 level going forward." Original text:「正直、あまり言葉が出てこないですけど、とてもハッピーです。この馬のベストパフォーマンスを見せることができてホッとしています。いいリズムで進められたし、しまいにいい脚を見せられると自信を持っていた。能力がG1クラスという証明もできて、今後もG1でいいレースができると思う」^[9][10]

It was not only first graded stakes win for Rodeo Drive and not only first NHK Mile Cup and seventh G1 in JRA for Damian Lane but also a first G1 for Rodeo Drive's trainer, Tetsuhide Tsuji.^[11] He was rested for three months before joining the Niigata Kinen in August. This was an attempt by Tsuji for the horse to acclimate himself to longer-distance races.^[12] When the race started, Rodeo Drive sat in the middle position. Halfway down the final straight, he was blocked by other horses before making a move to the outside with about one furlong from the line. He ended up losing the race at the line by a head behind Zoroastro. Christophe Lemaire, who was his jockey, stated that the horse was calm throughout the race despite the slow pace. He also praised the horse performance that day even with lack of space given in the final straight.^[13] Few days after the race, he was diagnosed with the inflammation of suspensory ligaments in his right foreleg as he was scheduled to return to Northern Farm.^[14]