Fusaichi Concorde

Fusaichi Concorde (フサイチコンコルド, February 11, 1993 – September 8, 2014) was a former Japanese thoroughbred racehorse who won the Tokyo Yushun in 1996.^[5] He was dubbed as a "miracle derby" horse after winning the Tokyo Yushun in three races deep into his career.^[6] The commentator named his final spurt to the finish line in the Tokyo Yushun as a sonic finishing kick.^[7] He only managed to ran on his classic year as he suffered a career-ending tendonitis injury after the Kikuka Sho.^[3]

His dam, Ballet Queen who was pregnant with the French Derby winner horse, Caerleon was listed at Newmarket broodmare sale in England for 30 million yen.^[8] Katsumi Yoshida bought her for that price and after being quarantined, she arrived in Japan in January 1993.^[8]

The next month, Fusaichi Concorde who was her first foal was born.^[8] The aftermath of the foaling process was not pleasant as Ballet Queen bit her foal due to being stressed in a new environment.^[8] However, the staff jumped into the stable and managed to treat both of them to allow a smooth horse-to-human interaction process.^[8] He was then raised properly by her dam and by 1995, he was sold for 100 million yen to Fusao Sekiguchi and transferred from the Northern Farm to the Ritto Training Centre.^[3][9] His junior year training did not went well as he suffered a pneumonia up to 40 °C due to unstable body temperature.^[9] Despite this, his trainer Kobayashi devised a special training plan for him and believed that this horse could win the coveted Tokyo Yushun.^[9]

On January 8, he made his debut in at Kyoto Racecourse. He was the favorite to win and after a strong start, he closed in on the rival horse, surpassed them and won by a length and a half.^[9][10] He took a two-month break before winning his next race, the Sumire Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse.^[3][11] After this race, Kobayashi made a tough decision to abandon the Satsuki Sho due to Fusaichi Concorde's overheating problems when transporting from one place to another.^[3] With enough prize money gained from his previous two races, Fusaichi Concorde did not need another race but for the preparation, the team decided to try him in the Aoba Sho.^[12] This suggestion did not came to fruition as it coincided with the Golden Week, causing traffic jams to the racecourse which certainly unfit for the horse's weak condition.^[12] Then, they registered him for the Principal Stakes. However, upon arriving at the racecourse, the horse got a 38 °C fever, which denied him to race again.^[12]

Luckily, Fusaichi Concorde was fit for the targeted Tokyo Yushun. When the race began, Sakura Speed O started and lead with a slow pace. His main rival, Dance in the Dark started well and placed himself between third and fourth place while Fusaichi Concorde botched the start and ran between seventh and eighth position.^[12][7] At the final straight, Dance in the Dark started sprinting but Fusaichi Concorde moved to the outside and unleashed his final finishing burst in order to reach the line first, a neck in front of the second-placed Dance in the Dark.^[7] Fusaichi Concorde and Shinji Fujita became the first horse and jockey since 53 years after Kurifuji and Maeda Chokichi to have the Tokyo Yushun as their first major win.^[13] This is also the first G1 win for the owner, Sekiguchi.^[14]

His condition weakened after the race, causing him to miss on the Kyoto Shimbun Hai. In this situation, the team opted him for the Cassiopeia Stakes.^[14] he was the favourite for the race but lost out to Mejiro Suzumaru, who ran away early and finished five lengths ahead to take the win.^[15] The next race for him will be the Kikuka Sho where he came as the second favourite behind Dance in the Dark.^[16] In the race, Rosen Kavalier set up a slow pace that jumbled up the field. Despite that, Fusaichi Concorde ran pretty well in the middle field alongside Royal Touch and Dance in the Dark. In the final straight, both Dance in the Dark and Royal Touch surpassed Fusaichi Concorde and he ended up in third place.^[16] After the race, he suffered a periostitis injury and was sidelined until the next year.^[17] He was registered for the Tenno Sho (Spring) but cancelled due to another tendonitis injury. This injury eventually led towards his retirement.^[17] The retirement ceremony was held on November 16, 1997, at the Tokyo Racecourse, in which he came in with bandages on both injured legs.^[17]

Fusaichi Concorde won three races and placed in another two out of five starts. This data available on JBIS and netkeiba.^[18][4]

Legend:
  Turf

Fusaichi Concorde became a stud in 1998 at Shadai Stallion Station and Breeders Stallion Station, both in Hokkaido.^[19] He was funded by the 1.02 billion yen syndicate to be the stud. He retired in 2011 after the syndicate was abolished and moved out to Ota Farm in Aomori to spent the rest of his life.^[20] On September 6, 2014, he fell while grazing and broke his left hind leg. By the 7th, he was unable to stand up on his own, and passed away around 5:00 pm on September 8, 2014.^[2]

c = colt, f = filly
bold = grade 1 stakes

• Jo Cappuccino (2006) : NHK Mile Cup, Silk Road Stakes, Falcon Stakes (by Manhattan Cafe)
• Osumi Ichiban (2009) : Diolite Kinen, Hyogo Championship (by Agnes Tachyon)
• Ukiyono Kaze (2010) : Fukushima Himba Stakes, Keeneland Cup, Queen Cup (by On Fire)

• Fusaichi Concorde was an inbred by 3 x 3 to Northern Dancer and 4 x 5 to Hail to Reason (Bold Reason's sire)
• Fusaichi Concorde was a half-sibling of Born King (Keisei Hai's winner) and Unrivaled (Satsuki Sho's winner).^[24]