Panthalassa (horse)

Panthalassa（パンサラッサ; ; foaled March 1, 2017) is a retired Japanese race horse whose main victories include the 2022 Dubai Turf and the 2023 Saudi Cup.

The name of the horse comes from the prehistoric superocean that surrounded Pangea, derived from his sire's name, which is from a God of the seas. Panthalassa is the first Japanese trained-horse to win the Saudi Cup, which has the largest purse in the world.

2019: Two-year old season
Panthalassa made his debut with Ryusei Sakai　as his jockey at a mile-long maiden race held at the Hanshin Racecourse on September 21, where he came in 6th place behind Lotus Land. After coming in 2nd place at another maiden race at Hanshin behind Akai Ito, his first victory came at a 2000-meter long maiden race held at the Kyoto Racecourse on October 12. Panthalassa would race his first group race at the end of the year at the Hopeful Stakes, but wound up finishing at 6th place behind Contrail, who was from the same stable.

2020: Three-year old season
Panthalassa started his three-year-old season with the Wakagoma Stakes, finishing 4th. He then ran 9th in the Yayoi Sho Deep Impact Kinen. Panthalassa clinched his 2nd victory on June 20 in an allowance race held at the Hanshin Race Course and came in 2nd at the Radio Nikkei Sho two weeks later. In autumn, the horse entered the Kobe Shimbun Hai and again lost to Contrail in 12th place. Panthalassa then lost three other listed races. He finished the season by running in his first dirt race at the Shiwasu Stakes, where he was favored but came in 11th.

2021: Four-year old season
Panthalassa returned to the turf with his first race being the Kammonkyo Stakes on February 7, where he came in 2nd by a neck behind World Winds. He then entered the Nakayama Kinen but finished 7th and was scratched from the Yomiuri Milers Cup after he was seen limping.

On October 17, he scored his first victory in over a year at the October Stakes (Tokyo, 2000m turf) with as his jockey, who took a front-running approach in this race. Four weeks later on November 14, Panthalassa was sent to the Fukushima Kinen (Fukushima, 2000m turf), this time with as his jockey. He started the race as the front runner, setting the pace of 57.3 seconds for the first 1000 meters, and kept the lead until finishing the race with a four-length gap, marking his first win in a group race. His victory coincided with the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, where Akai Ito, the same horse that beat him in his second race, won.

2022: Five-year old season
For his first race of the season, Panthalassa again entered the Nakayama Kinen. He was the 2nd most favored, and after again taking the lead from the start and setting a pace of 57.6s/1000m, he kept the lead to the finish line, marking his second group victory.

Panthalassa then was sent to his first race abroad to Dubai, where he entered the Dubai Turf. He started well and kept a length lead until the final stretch, where Lord North closed the gap. The race ended with the two horses and Vin de Garde finishing at almost the same time. In a photo finish, Panthalassa and Lord North were both declared the winner, giving Panthalassa his first GI victory. This was also the first GI victory for the horse's owner, Hiroo Racing. For Panthalassa's jockey, Yutaka Yoshida, this was the first foreign GI title he won and his first GI title since the Mile Championship Nambu Hai in 2010 with Oro Meister. After the race, Yahagi commented that he was planning to send Panthalassa to the Prince of Wales's Stakes, as Lord North was also being planned to race there.

However, Panthalassa did not enter the British race and instead entered the Sapporo Kinen on August 21. This race saw the horse become the favorite over other contenders such as, who had won that year's Kinko Sho in record time, as well as last year's winner Sodashi. Panthalassa could not take the lead at first and started the race in second but quickly took the lead by a narrow margin. Panthalassa attempted to widen the gap at the final stretch but was caught by Jack d'Or and finished second.

On October 26, Yoshito Yahagi announced that he had accepted the invitation to that year's Hong Kong Cup and that the horse would head to Sha Tin after the Tenno Sho.

Four days after the announcement was made, the horse competed in the Autumn edition of the Tenno Sho, held at the Tokyo Racecourse. Panthalassa, who was the 7th most favored, started from gate #3 and quickly took the lead. He covered the first 1000m in 57.4 seconds, the same time that Silence Suzuka made in his ill-fated race in 1998. He kept a wide lead of about 15 to 20 lengths even in the final stretch, only for Equinox, the favorite, to catch him at the final stretch as he covered the last 3 furlongs in 32.7 seconds, finishing second.

Panthalassa finished the season in the Hong Kong Cup as previously announced, running 10th.

2023: Six-year old season
It was announced at the end of 2022 that the horse would be sent to the Saudi Cup as his next race, and the horse was entered as planned. This was the first dirt GI race for Panthalassa, but he broke well from the inside and took the lead. He ran the first 800 meters at a high pace of 45 seconds, but the other horses followed him closely as they entered the final stretch. The horse was struggling in the final furlong but persisted, winning by 3/4-lengths over Country Grammer, who was coming in from the outside. His victory marked the first Japanese-trained horse ever to win the Saudi Cup, earning him the US$10 million, which is the highest purse of any race in the world. This race also made Panthalassa the only Japanese horse to win both dirt and turf international GI races.

Panthalassa was then sent to the Dubai World Cup. However, he started from the furthest outside gate and was unable to take the lead from Remorse, resulting in the horse sinking into the pack by the fourth corner, finishing 10th.

It was then announced that the horse was going to be sent to the Sussex Stakes and later the International Stakes in the United Kingdom, but the plan was scrapped after he contracted desmitis.

Panthalassa returned to the turf for the Japan Cup on November 26. He took the lead and ran the first 1000 meters in 57.6 seconds and held a 20-length lead at one point but lost momentum and finished 12th. On the day after the Japan Cup, it was announced that that race was going to be Panthalassa's last race. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi commented, "The horse showed no problems after the race, but we had already planned to retire him by the end of this year, so perhaps this was a good stopping point. Otherwise there wouldn't be one if we want more and more. We learned a lot (from Panthalassa). We can never understand horses. He was very different from Contrail (the winner of 5 GI races including the Japanese Triple Crown, also trained by Yahagi) who is the same age as him, but we never thought he'd go this far".

Currently, a retirement ceremony is planned to be held on December 23 at Nakayama Racecourse, and after retiring from racing the horse will stand stud at the in Shinhidaka, Hokkaido starting from 2024 for a service fee of 3,000,000JPY. In addition, he will be a shuttle stallion where he would stand stud in the Southern Hemisphere as well as Japan.

Racing statistics
The following statistics is based on information listed on JBIS search, netkeiba.com, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Sakab Jockey Club, Racing Post, the Emirates Racing Authority, and Total Performance Data as of November 26, 2023. All odds are written in the Japanese style.

Pedigree

 * "*" indicates that the horse was brought to Japan