Marvelous Sunday

Marvelous Sunday (In Japanese マーベラスサンデー; 31 May 1992 – 30 June 2016) was a Japanese thoroughbred racehorse and Stallion.

He is most known for winning the 1997 Takarazuka Kinen and Sankei Osaka Hai.^[2] He was awarded the JRA Award for Best Male Horse Aged 4-and-Up that same year. During his racing career, he suffered four different fractures, yet was affectionately referred to as the "Model Student" due to his consistent record and mild-mannered behaviour.^[3]

Marvelous Sunday's name is a combination of his owner's crown name, "Marvelous", as well as an homage to his sire, Sunday Silence.^[4][5] Additionally, Marvelous Sunday was born on a Sunday.

Marvelous Sunday was born in Hayada Farm, in Niikappu, Hokkaido. He was from the first crop of Sunday Silence, a stallion who would go on to lead the sire rankings 12 times.^[6] Despite his strong pedigree, he was considered quite a weak foal; eventually he was purchased by Sadao Sasahara, the owner of Marvelous Crown. In March of 1994, having reached racing age, Marvelous Sunday was transported to Rittō Training Center, training with the goal of a fall debut.^[7]

Sometime in August, the decision was made to have Yutaka Take be his jockey. That same month however, a fracture to his right knee was discovered during training, and he was sent out to pasture. While resting, he developed a severe case of Colic. His weight plummeted from a healthy 480-kilogram range, down to 390 kilograms. Stable-hand Furukawa^[8] remarked, "I was astonished to see a horse in such a state. Usually, the flesh on the face is the one thing that doesn't waste away, but even his face looked gaunt; his body was truly nothing but skin and bones."^[9]

Early treatment saved his life, but as a result of his critical condition, his planned debut was significantly delayed.^[10]

Marvelous Sunday's first race was the Four-Year-Old Newcomer at the Kyoto Racecourse on February 4, 1995, which he won. He would compete in his first Grade 3 race, the Epsom Cup, on June 30, 1996, resulting in a victory. He would then go on to win two more G3 Races that year, the Sapporo Kinen and the Asahi Challenge Cup. He would compete in his first Grade 2 race, the Kyoto Daishoten on October 6 that same year, resulting in another win. He would finally compete in his first Grade 1 race, the Autumn Tenno Sho on October 27, 1996, placing fourth. His only G1 Victory was the 1997 Takarazuka Kinen. His final race was the Arima Kinen on December 21, 1997, where he placed second behind Silk Justice.^[2][11]

The following racing statistics were taken from JBIS.^[12]

After his final race in 1997, Marvelous Sunday became a stallion.^[13] He sired a total of 946 children,^[14] including King Joy and Marvelous Kaiser who both won the G1 Nakayama Daishogai in 2008^[15] and 2012 respectively.^[16] He fully retired from the stud duty in 2014 and spent the rest of his years at Yushun Stallion Station before moving to Oda Yoneharu Farm in Shinhidaka Town in 2016.^[10] He died in the same year due to old age.^[1]

An anthropomorphized female version of Marvelous Sunday appears as a playable character in the Japanese mobile game Umamusume: Pretty Derby developed by Cygames. In the game, she appears as a short, upbeat girl with large twintails and unexplained fantastical powers and is voiced by Marie Miyake.^[17]