The National Association of Racing (NAR), the national level regulatory body for the Racing by Local Governments in Japan, has announced the 2016 NAR Grand Prix Awards for the year’s outstanding horses, trainers, jockeys, and others within the industry.
Horse of the Year went to Sorte, a 6-year-old horse by Time Paradox and winner of the Sakitama Hai and runner-up in the Kashiwa Kinen. The Ohi-based, Shintaro Terada-trained Sorte consistently performed at a high level throughout the year and was also awarded Best Older Colt or Horse and Best Sprinter or Miler.
The Best 2-Year-Old Colt award went to Rose Julep, who won the Hyogo Junior Grand Prix and finished third – highest among the NAR horses – in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun. Katsugeki Kitokito was tagged the Best 3-Year-Old Colt, after winning the Tokai Derby and finishing third – also the highest among NAR-registered horses – in the Nagoya Grand Prix.
JRA’s Copano Rickey was awarded the Dirt Grade (Principal Dirt) Race Special Prize after winning three top-level races – Kashiwa Kinen, Teio Sho and Mile Championship Nambu Hai.
Special awards were given to Meisei Opera and Inari One for their respective performances in JRA races during their active careers. Meisei Opera won the February Stakes and contributed to the increased popularity of local racing, while Inari One captured the 1989 Tenno Sho (Spring), Takarazuka Kinen and Arima Kinen titles.
In the trainers categories, Kochi-based Masamitsu Sasika was awarded Best Trainer (Races Won) after notching 231 wins and took the award for the fifth time – first in two years – in his career. Urawa’s Satoshi Kokubo won over 500 million yen in prize money for the year, capturing the Best Trainer (Money Earned) award for the third consecutive year.
In the jockeys category, Funabashi’s Taito Mori completed the “double (Races Won and Money Earned)” for the second consecutive year, marking 309 wins for over 1.01 billion yen in prize money. Veteran rider Isao Yamaguchi, based in Saga, was awarded the Best Jockey (Winning Average) after marking a 31.7% strike rate, winning the award for the fourth straight year. Aichi rookie Soichi Kato took the Best Apprentice Jockey, winning 56 races and finishing in 11th in the overall jockey rankings in Nagoya.
Special Awards for jockeys were given to Shuji Akaoka (Kochi), who reached his 3,000-win mark; Hitomi Miyashita (Aichi), who returned to racing after a five-year absence due to labor; and Yutaka Take (JRA), who marked his 100th top-level principal race victory in the NAR circuit.
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