Forever Young (horse)

Forever Young (Japanese: フォーエバーヤング foaled February 24, 2021) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. His major racing wins include the Saudi Derby and the UAE Derby in 2024, the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2025 and the Saudi Cup in 2025 and 2026.^[10][11] He is the first Japanese born and trained horse to win the Breeders' Cup Classic,^[12] and the first horse to win consecutive runnings of the Saudi Cup.^[11]

Forever Young was undefeated until running in the 150th Kentucky Derby, where he finished third behind Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone in a photo finish.^[13] In 2025, he was named the Japanese Horse of the Year, the first dirt horse in history to win the award,^[14][15] and the American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse, the first Japanese trained horse to ever win an Eclipse Award for dirt.^[16]

Forever Young was bred at Northern Farm stud in Hokkaido, Japan, and was foaled on February 24, 2021. In 2022, he was consigned as a foal to the JRHA Select Sale and was bought for ¥98,000,000 (US$892,938.5) gross by Susumu Fujita. Afterwards, he was trained by Yoshito Yahagi.^[17]

His sire, Real Steel, was a champion horse which won the Dubai Turf in 2016.^[18] His dam, Forever Darling, who was an American racehorse, won the Grade II Santa Ynez Stakes in 2016.^[19]

His owner, Susumu Fujita, is the founder and president of CyberAgent, whose subsidiaries include Abema and Cygames.^[20] Forever Young is named after a song of the same name by AK-69 featuring UVERworld.^[21][22] The song is the theme song of Abema's drama series Kaisha wa Gakkou janen da yo.^[20]

Forever Young began his racing career in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1,800 metres on good ground at Kyoto Racecourse on October 14, 2023. Ridden by Ryusei Sakai, he started the 16/5 second choice and won by four lengths.^[23][24]

Sakai was again in the saddle when the colt was stepped up in domestic Group 3 class to contest the JBC Nisai Yushun over the same distance at Monbetsu Racecourse in the following month on November 3, 2023. He started the 6/5 favourite and prevailed by one-and-a-half lengths.^[24][25]

On December 13 at Kawasaki Racecourse, Forever Young stepped up to Domestic Group 1 class to contest Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun over 1,600 metres. He started the 11/10 favourite in the betting and won by seven lengths from Aigle Noir.^[24][26] This is the first time Fujita had a horse that won a Group 1 race.^[26] Forever Young is from the second crop of foals sired by Real Steel, and became the first Group 1 race winner among Real Steel's progeny.^[27]

For his performance in 2023, he received a rating of 113 from JPN Thoroughbred Ranking, which is the highest rating of two-year-old dirt racing horses in the history of the ranking system.^[28][29] Among the five two-year-olds with a rating of 113 or above, Shin Emperor, whose rating was 113,^[29] is also owned by Fujita.^{[30][note 2]}

On his first run as a three-year-old, Forever Young went to Saudi Arabia to run in the Group III Saudi Derby over 1,600 metres on February 24, 2024. He started the 8/13 odds-on favourite with British bookmakers and won by only a nose. In the race, he had a rough start and had to make up for the four-to-five-length difference from the leading horse, Book'em Danno, in the middle of the final straight. He finished the race in 1:36.17, about two seconds faster than the track record for the distance. This is the first time a horse of Fujita won an overseas graded race. After the race, his trainer, Yahagi, said the next race would be the UAE Derby to obtain Kentucky Derby points for taking part in the Kentucky Derby. By February, he ranked second on Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby,^[31][32][33] trailing behind Ramjet, the winner of the Hyacinth Stakes.^[34]

On March 30, Forever Young ran in the 1,900-meter Group II UAE Derby held at Meydan Racecourse dirt in Dubai, with jockey Ryusei Sakai. Forever Young was assigned to the outside, in gate 11. He came out of the gate well, took a position outside and behind the leaders. Moving into the stretch, the field straightened. South American Auto Bahn went to the front but could not withstand Forever Young, who came up strongly to win by two lengths in a time of 1:57.89. Trainer Yahagi commented after the race, "It will be very difficult to go from Dubai to Kentucky. But I believe my team will do everything to be in good order to go to Kentucky." Jockey Sakai also added that Forever Young "very much improved" after the Saudi Derby, adding, "That's why I have confidence in him. I really trust this horse." Forever Young collected 100 qualification points in the Road to the Kentucky Derby and entered the event undefeated.^[35]

In the early morning hours of April 13, Forever Young arrived at Churchill Downs, having been conditioned by Yahagi. The following morning rider Yusaku Oka took the colt out for about 20 minutes of jogging in the course's one-mile chute, followed by a 1+1⁄8-mile gallop.^[36] The following month, on May 4, Forever Young raced the 150th Kentucky Derby where the horse was placed in the rear of the pack after a relatively bad start. Just before the 3rd corner the horse started to move in from the outside, eventually catching up with front runner Mystik Dan on the final stretch together with Sierra Leone, resulting in a three way photo finish where the horse was declared to have finished third behind the two horses by a nose and head.^[37][38][39]

Forever Young was returned to Japan following the race, and after quarantine and recuperating at Northern Farm Hayakita, the horse was entered in to the Japan Dirt Classic held at Ohi Racecourse on October 2, which was the final leg of the Japanese Dirt Triple Crown. The horse briefly tripped after leaving the starting the gate but managed to place itself in the middle of the pack. The horse gradually pushed its position up after the 3rd corner, taking over the lead as the pack was entering the final stretch, finishing the race at first place, and earning his 2nd Jpn-1 title.^[40][41]

Following the Japan Dirt Classic, Forever Young was sent to the United States once again, this time to contest the Breeders' Cup Classic. However, he finished third behind Sierra Leone.^[42]

After the Breeders' Cup, Forever Young returned to Japan to contest the Tokyo Daishōten for his final race of the season. At that race, Forever Young ran second for most of the race, before quickly taking the lead on the stretch and holding off the lead even as Ramjet and Wilson Tesoro closed in; earning his first Grade I title and finishing the season undefeated in Japan.^[43]

Following his performance, Forever Young was awarded the JRA Special Award for that year. Forever Young also received 103 votes for being named the Best Three-Year-Old Colt that year, but lost out to Japanese Derby winner Danon Decile by 41 votes, and also received the second most votes for Best Dirt Horse and Japanese Horse of the Year.^[44][45][46]

Forever Young received invitation for both the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup, both of which were accepted.^[47][48]

On February 22, the Saudi Cup was held, where the horse ran around 2nd or 3rd of the pack for most of the race. At the final stretch, Romantic Warrior briefly took the lead from Forever Young, before Forever Young regained the lead in what effectively became a match race between the two. The race ended with Forever Young beating Romantic Warrior by a neck, earning him his fourth Grade 1 title, and his first Grade 1 title outside Japan. The horse also became the third richest horse in JRA history, after adding the 10 million USD prize money. This was their first Grade I victory abroad for both Forever Young's jockey, Sakai, and owner, Susumu Fujita. It also made Forever Young's trainer, Yoshito Yahagi, the first trainer ever to win the Saudi Cup twice after he won the race with Panthalassa in 2023, and was his 16th graded race win abroad, including 9 Grade I races.^[49] After the Saudi Cup, the horse was immediately sent to Dubai in preparation for the Dubai World Cup, together with Shin Emperor who won the Neom Turf Cup that same day and was scheduled to run the Dubai Sheema Classic.^[50]

In November, Forever Young returned to America for a second attempt at the Breeders' Cup Classic.^[51] He was second favorite of those taking the start after pre-race favorite Sovereignty was scratched days before the race. This time, Forever Young took victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic, holding off the previous year's winner Sierra Leone by 1⁄2 length. Forever Young became only the fifth foreign-foaled horse to win the Breeders' Cup Classic, and the first from Japan.^[52]

Following the Breeders' Cup Classic, trainer Yoshito Yahagi said that he was planning to keep Forever Young in training for a five-year-old campaign, with the goal of returning to the Middle East to defend his title in the Saudi Cup before heading to the Dubai World Cup. He added that he did not plan to run Forever Young before the Saudi Cup, because he didn't feel the horse needed a race.^[12]

For his accomplishments during the 2025 racing season, Forever Young became the first dirt horse ever to be named the JRA Horse of the Year.^[53] He also won the JRA awards for Best Dirt Horse and Best Older Male Horse.^[14]

Forever Young returned to Saudi Arabia in February 2026 to defend his victory in the Saudi Cup the previous year. Sent off as the favorite in the American and British betting pools at 1/5 and 1/3, respectively, Forever Young sat along the inside rail, once again as a pace chaser. He accelerated to the lead in the stretch, where he was challenged by Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile champion Nysos.^[54] Forever Young held off Nysos under steady pressure from Ryusei Sakai to win by one length and become the first horse to win the Saudi Cup in consecutive years.^[55][56] Trainer Yoshito Yahagi said after the race that Forever Young would be pointed towards Dubai. "Of course, our next target is the Dubai World Cup," he said, "so that is what we have to concentrate on now. And then, I have no idea."^[55]

Owner Susumu Fujita also spoke of a possible Saudi Cup three-peat in 2027, stating that:

"I also realized how popular he is here [in Saudi Arabia]... The plan was to retire him by the end of the year, but if we keep him racing for another 2 months, we could retire him in Saudi Arabia. We don’t have plans after Dubai, so we’ll think it over. But, retirement in February of next year is now a possibility.”^[57]

In an interview, Fujita said Forever Young can be a popular Umamusume ("horse girl") in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, a multimedia franchise created by Cygames, if he won the Kentucky Derby.^[82]

Following the horse winning the Breeders' Cup Classic, the official X account of Umamusume released a teaser silhouette at Del Mar with colored tags corresponding to the Breeders' Cup, the Saudi Cup and the Tokyo Daishoten and a date of "2026.02.24" – both Forever Young's fifth birthday and the fifth anniversary of the mobile game’s Japanese launch – widely speculated by fans to be Forever Young as a character of Umamusume, due to a growing improvement of the CyberAgent-Konami Joint Partnership.^[83][84] Fujita would later confirm in an interview with Idol Horse following the horse's second Saudi Cup win that “Forever Young will be in Umamusume soon, I can’t say the exact details, but it’s a huge thing for me personally that Forever Young can contribute to Umamusume.”^[85] A week later, during the anniversary PakaLive TV livestream, the teased character was confirmed to be Forever Young, with Shuri Miyumi announced as the character's voice actress.^[86]

Forever Young's Umamusume design also includes a fedora over one ear in reference to Yahagi, while the horse's birthday and Fujita being his owner are represented by the character's birthday being a holiday in the world of Umamusume and the character having logical thinking fostered by watching races and businesses from all around the world at a young age.^[87]

• Forever Young is inbred 4S x 4D to the stallion Mr Prospector, meaning that he appears fourth generation on the sire side of his pedigree and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.
• Forever Young is closely related to Sierra Leone, who won the 2024 Blue Grass Stakes, 2024 Breeders' Cup Classic, and 2025 Whitney Stakes, through Darling My Darling. Both have raced each other in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, and the 2024 and 2025 Breeders' Cup Classic.

• Kentucky Derby top four finishers

• Forever Young race record at Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association
• Forever Young race record at Netkeiba