Soul Rush (horse)

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Soul Rush debuted on December 13, 2020, in a 2-year-old maiden race at Chukyo Racecourse (2000m, turf). Racing mid-pack early, he surged ahead in the final stretch to win by two lengths.^[8]

In his second career start, the Asunaro Sho, he finished sixth.^[9] Subsequent races saw mixed results: fourth in the Shinryoku Sho (a six-horse field),^[10] sixth in a 1-win class dirt race, fourth, and seventh in another. After a four-month break, he returned to win a 1-win class mile race by one and a half lengths with a powerful late sprint. He capped the year with a victory in the Christmas Cup, securing his third win by half a length.^[11]

Soul Rush began his four-year-old season with a dominant three-length victory in the Shunkyo Stakes, earning him open-class status.^[12] On April 24, he contested his first graded stakes race, the Group 2 Milers Cup at Hanshin Racecourse. Despite being sixth in betting odds, he rallied from the rear to overtake leaders Besten Dank and Ho O Amazon, clinching his first group win and extending his streak to four. His jockey Suguru Hamanaka [ja] celebrated his 1,100th JRA victory with this triumph.^[13] More than a month later, his debut in group 1 company, the Yasuda Kinen, ended in a disappointing 13th place. His first defeat at a distance of 1600 meters.^[14] After a summer break, he returned to finish a close second in the Fuji Stakes while carrying 3 kilograms more than the winner^[15] and fourth in the Mile Championship, marking his first top-five finish at group 1.^[16]

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  2022 Milers Cup

Soul Rush aimed to defend his title in the Milers Cup but settled for third behind Schnell Meister and Gaia Force.^[17] More than a month later, a poor start in the Yasuda Kinen led to a ninth-place finish.^[18] He rebounded in the Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap, where he tracked in third to fourth position early and overtook Win Greatest [ja] at the wire to win by a neck, while carrying the top weight of 59 kilograms, for his first graded stakes victory in more than a year.^[19] In the Mile Championship, partnered with João Moreira for the first time, he surged through traffic in the stretch to take the lead but was narrowly passed by Namur [ja] at the line, settling for second place by a neck.^[20] In the Hong Kong Mile, he finished fourth behind Golden Sixty after he was unable to race smoothly.^[21]

Soul Rush’s campaign began with a jockey change: originally scheduled Kohei Matsuyama was replaced by Taisei Danno [ja] due to Matsuyama’s injury ahead of the Milers Cup.^[22] From mid-pack, he powered through from the outside stretch to win by one and three-fourth lengths, securing his third group title and first victory in the race since 2022.^[23] In the Yasuda Kinen, he closed from the rear but finished third, about half a length behind Hong Kong’s Romantic Warrior.^[24] After a four-month break, he placed second in the Fuji Stakes, edged by Jun Blossom [ja] in a tight finish.^[25] On November 17, he dominated the Mile Championship, unleashing a blistering late charge from mid-rear to win by two and a half lengths over Elton Barows [ja], claiming his maiden group 1 title on his seventh attempt. Cartier Racing Award Top Older Horse winner Charyn [ja] placed fifth.^[26] Jockey Danno was fined ¥50,000 for a premature celebratory pose before the finish line, deemed a breach of professional conduct.^[27] He concluded the year with a second place finish in the Hong Kong Mile, unable to overtake Voyage Bubble late.^[28]

Soul Rush opened his seven-year-old season with a third place finish in the Nakayama Kinen, hampered by a narrow path in the stretch.^[29]

On April 5, he triumphed in the Dubai Turf under Cristian Demuro. Saving ground in mid-pack before surging past Romantic Warrior in the final strides to win by a close nose. This victory marked his second group 1 title, his first overseas win, and the first international group 1 win for his trainer Yasutoshi Ikee [ja].^[30]

Coming back home, he ran in the Yasuda Kinen for the fourth time in his career but ultimately finished third behind Jantar Mantar.^[31] Four days later it was announced that he had fractured his metacarpal bone and would need to rest until autumn.^[32]

In the autumn campaign, he raced in the Fuji Stakes. He finished in third place behind Gaia Force and Jantar Mantar.^[33] The next month, he ran in the Mile Championship which was the race he won in previous year. He broke sharply from the start and stayed mostly at seventh position but only managed to improve by one position in the end, finishing in sixth.^[34] His final race of the season would be the Hong Kong Mile. In the race, he ran excellently and gained the lead at 200 meter mark before Zac Purton who rode on Voyage Bubble, wrestled back the lead 50 meter to the line for the win.^[35]

On January 8 in the next year, he was officially retired from racing and removed from the JRA registry. Soul Rush would be assigned into the stud job at Breeders' Stallion Station in Hidaka, Hokkaido.^[36]