Taiki Shuttle
American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Taiki Shuttle (タイキシャトル, March 23, 1994 – August 17, 2022) was an American-bred, Japanese-trained thoroughbred race horse and stallion. He won races at the highest level both home and abroad, most notably winning the Mile Championship (twice), Yasuda Kinen, and Sprinters Stakes in Japan and the Prix Jacques Le Marois in France.
| Taiki Shuttle | |
|---|---|
 Taiki Shuttle at Arrow Stud | |
| Sire | Devil's Bag |
| Grandsire | Halo |
| Dam | Welsh Muffin |
| Damsire | Caerleon |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | March 23, 1994 |
| Died | August 17, 2022 (aged 28) |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Taiki Farm |
| Owner | Taiki Farm |
| Trainer | Kazuo Fujisawa |
| Record | 13: 11-1-1 |
| Earnings | 615,485,000 JPY + 1,000,000 FF |
| Major wins | |
| Unicorn Stakes (1997) Swan Stakes (1997) Sprinters Stakes (1997) Mile Championship (1997, 1998) Keio Hai Spring Cup (1998) Yasuda Kinen (1998) Prix Jacques Le Marois (1998) | |
| Awards | |
| JRA Award for Best Sprinter or Miler (1997, 1998) JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse (1998) Japanese Horse of the Year (1998) | |
| Honours | |
| Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame (1999) | |
| Last updated on February 24, 2023 | |
Taiki Shuttle was honored as the Japan Racing Association's (JRA) Champion Sprinter in both 1997 and 1998, and was named the Japan Horse of the Year in 1998, along with Champion Older Male Horse. In 1999, he was inducted into the JRA Hall of Fame.[1]
Taiki Shuttle died due to advanced age on August 17, 2022. He had suffered a heart attack while he was sleeping.[2][3]
Background
Foaled in the United States, Taiki Shuttle was a flaxen chestnut horse with a large white star, bred and owned by Taiki Farm. Taiki Shuttle is a son of Devil's Bag, the 1983 American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse. His dam, Welsh Muffin, a daughter of Caerleon, was a stakes winner in Ireland.[2][4]
During his racing career he was trained by Kazuo Fujisawa.
Racing career
1996 and 1997
Taiki Shuttle was originally slated to enter Fujisawa Stable's Miura training center in the fall of his juvenile year, but the schedule was delayed due to leg injury and hoof suppuration. He entered Fujisawa stable on February 5, 1997. Even after he entered the area, he was affected by an unresolved leg trouble, and the condition deteriorated with training, so his debut was again delayed.[5]
His connections' patience paid off as Taiki Shuttle broke his maiden at first asking in a maiden race at Tokyo Racecourse on April 19, 1997 going 1600 meters on dirt, and won his next two races, including the Shobu Stakes on turf. He tasted defeat in his fourth start when running second to Tenzan Storm in the Bodaiju Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse. Taiki Shuttle won his first graded stakes next in the Group 3 Unicorn Stakes. He would not be defeated again until his final race.[6]
He then won the Group 2 Swan Stakes as a prep race for the Mile Championship, a prestigious mile race in Japan, which he won. He then won the Sprinters Stakes to close out the year.[6] He was named Best Sprinter or Miler of 1997 by the Japanese Racing Association.[7]
1998
Taiki Shuttle opened 1998 with a win in the Group 3 Keio Hai Spring Cup in May. The next month he won the Group 1 Yasuda Kinen. After the Yasuda Kinen, Taiki Shuttle shipped out to France to run in the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois. He won the race and then went on to win his second Mile Championship.[6]
In his final career race, he tried to repeat in the Sprinters Stakes, finishing third behind Meiner Love.
Taiki Shuttle was named Horse of the Year, Best Sprinter or Miler, and Best Older Male of 1998 by the Japan Racing Association.[7]
Racing form
Taiki Shuttle won 11 races out of the 13 starts in which he placed second and third in another two. This data available is based on JBIS, netkeiba and irishracing.[6][8][9]
| Date | Track | Race | Grade | Distance (Condition) |
Entry | HN | Odds (Favored) |
Finish | Time | Margins | Jockey | Winner (Runner-up) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 – three-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| Apr 19 | Tokyo | 3yo Newcomer | 1,600 m (Fast) | 16 | 10 | 2.8 (1) | 1st | 1:39.0 | –0.7 | Yukio Okabe | (Akashi Glisten) | |
| May 3 | Kyoto | 3yo Allowance | 1W | 1,200 m (Fast) | 16 | 3 | 2.1 (1) | 1st | 1:12.2 | –0.2 | Yukio Okabe | (Sound Cascade) |
| Jun 8 | Tokyo | Shobu Stakes | OP | 1,600 m (Firm) | 9 | 8 | 3.0 (2) | 1st | 1:36.5 | –0.2 | Yukio Okabe | (Shinko Splendor) |
| Jul 6 | Hanshin | Bodaiju Stakes | OP | 1,600 m (Firm) | 14 | 9 | 1.7 (1) | 2nd | 1:20.9 | 0.0 | Yukio Okabe | Tenzan Storm |
| Oct 4 | Tokyo | Unicorn Stakes | 3 | 1,600 m (Fast) | 16 | 3 | 5.1 (3) | 1st | 1:36.8 | –0.4 | Yukio Okabe | (Washington Color) |
| Oct 25 | Kyoto | Swan Stakes | 2 | 1,400 m (Firm) | 16 | 9 | 4.8 (2) | 1st | 1:20.7 | –0.1 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (Sugino Hayakaze) |
| Nov 16 | Kyoto | Mile Championship | 1 | 1,600 m (Firm) | 18 | 5 | 3.8 (2) | 1st | 1:33.3 | –0.4 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (Kyoei March) |
| Dec 14 | Nakayama | Sprinters Stakes | 1 | 1,200 m (Firm) | 16 | 16 | 1.9 (1) | 1st | 1:07.8 | –0.3 | Yukio Okabe | (Sugino Hayakaze) |
| 1998 – four-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| May 16 | Tokyo | Keio Hai Spring Cup | 2 | 1,400 m (Firm) | 16 | 1 | 1.5 (1) | 1st | R1:20.1 | –0.2 | Yukio Okabe | (Osumi Tycoon) |
| Jun 14 | Tokyo | Yasuda Kinen | 1 | 1,600 m (Heavy) | 17 | 2 | 1.3 (1) | 1st | 1:37.5 | –0.4 | Yukio Okabe | (Oriental Express) |
| Aug 16 | Deauville | Prix Jacques le Marois | 1 | 1,600 m (Soft) | 8 | 1 | 10/3 (1) | 1st | 1:37.4 | –0.2 | Yukio Okabe | (Among Men) |
| Nov 22 | Kyoto | Mile Championship | 1 | 1,600 m (Firm) | 13 | 9 | 1.3 (1) | 1st | 1:33.3 | –0.8 | Yukio Okabe | (Big Sunday) |
| Dec 20 | Nakayama | Sprinters Stakes | 1 | 1,200 m (Firm) | 15 | 13 | 1.1 (1) | 3rd | 1:08.6 | 0.0 | Yukio Okabe | Meiner Love |
Legend:
Turf
Dirt
- R indicated that it was a record finish time.
Honours
Taiki Shuttle was voted Japan's Champion Sprinter/ Miler in 1997 and 1998. In the latter year he has also named Japanese Champion Older Male Horse and Japanese Horse of the Year. He has been inducted into the Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame.[10]
Retirement and stud career
Taiki Shuttle stood his stallion career at stud at Arrow Stud in Shinhidaka (former Shizunai), Japan. He periodically shuttled to East Stud in Hokkaido.
Taiki Shuttle was pensioned from breeding and moved to Kimura Farm in 2018, a retirement facility for racehorses connected with East Stud and Versailles Farm. He was moved to the farm along with Meisho Doto, another pensioned stallion. The two underwent successful castration in January 2019.
On September 15, 2019, the manes of Taiki Shuttle and Rose Kingdom, a fellow JRA Champion, were mysteriously cut by an unknown person. It appeared that a sharp tool had been used to cut the hair, but the horses were otherwise unharmed. The farm filed a report with the Hokkaido Police and ceased visitation to the farm for security and investigative purposes.[11] The suspect, 55 year old Kazuyo Tanaka from Kawaguchi, Saitama, was arrested the following year.[12]
Taiki Shuttle, along with Meisho Doto, were moved from the Versailles Farm to the Northern Lake Farm on June 16, 2021.[13] Taiki Shuttle would pass away at Northern Lake Farm the following year due to old age.[3]
Notable progeny
Below data is based on JBIS Stallion Reports.[14] c = colt, f = filly
bold = grade 1 stakes
| Foaled | Name | Sex | Major Wins |
| 2000 | Win Kluger | c | NHK Mile Cup, Churchill Downs Cup |
| 2001 | Golden Cast | c | Centaur Stakes (twice) |
| 2001 | Meisho Bowler | c | February Stakes, Daily Hai Nisai Stakes, Negishi Stakes, Garnet Stakes (Japan) , Kokura Nisai Stakes |
| 2001 | Winglet | f | Turquoise Stakes, Nakayama Himba Stakes |
| 2001 | Dear Chance | f | Mermaid Stakes (Japan) |
| 2002 | T M Churasan | f | Ibis Summer Dash |
| 2002 | Deep Summer | c | Yukan Fuji Sho Crystal Cup |
| 2005 | Satono Progress | c | New Zealand Trophy |
| 2005 | Summer Wind | c | Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Sprint |
| 2006 | Red Spada | c | Keio Hai Spring Cup, Sekiya Kinen, Tokyo Shimbun Hai |
| 2008 | French Cactus | f | Fillies' Revue |
Win Kluger
Meisho Bowler
Summer Wind
Red Spada
In popular culture
An anthropomorphized version of Taiki Shuttle appears in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Yuka Ōtsubo.[15]
Pedigree
| Sire Devil's Bag |
Halo | Hail to Reason | Turn-to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nothirdchance | |||
| Cosmah | Cosmic Bomb | ||
| Almahmoud | |||
| Ballade | Herbager | Vandale | |
| Flagette | |||
| Miss Swapsco | Cohoes | ||
| Soaring | |||
| Dam Welsh Muffin |
Carleon | Nijinsky | Northern Dancer |
| Flaming Page | |||
| Foreseer | Round Table | ||
| Regal Gleam | |||
| Muffitys | Thatch | Forli | |
| Thong | |||
| Contrail | Roan Rocket | ||
| Azurine |
Taiki Shuttle has a 3x5 inbreeding of Hail to Reason and a 5x5 inbreed of Mahmoud.[16]