Sol Oriens

Sol Oriens（Japanese: ソールオリエンス, Foaled April 4, 2020）is an active Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. His major wins include the Keisei Hai and the Satsuki Shō (Japanese 2000 Guineas).

His name was derived from a Latin word which means "rising sun".

Background
Sol Oriens' father is Kitasan Black, who was owned by enka singer Saburo Kitajima, won seven GI races during his career. His offspring include Equinox, who is the Japanese Horse of the Year in 2022 and the world's best racehorse in 2023 according to Timeform. His mother, Skia, has won the G3 Prix Fille de l'Air and three other races in France. His half-brother Vin de Garde won the G2 Fuji Stakes as well as finishing 2nd and 3rd in the GI Dubai Turf in 2021 and 2022 respectively. His half-sisters Foteinos and Selenophos each have two wins. His damsire, Motivator, won the Epsom Derby. His maternal grand dam, Light Quest, won one race in France. His maternal grand dam's sire, Quest for Fame, also won the Epsom Derby.

Sol Oriens was foaled at the Shadai Farm in Abira, Hokkaido on April 4, 2020. He is currently in training by Takahisa Tezuka. He is currently owned by Shadai Racehorse Co Ltd, an organization that offers stakes in horse ownership (Hitokuchi Banushi; Japanese: 一口馬主) for a total of 60 million yen (150,000 yen per share).

In November 2021, Sol Oriens suffered a mild fracture in his left hind leg. He was raised at the Shadai Farm until August 2022. Whenever Teruya Yoshida visited the stable, he always asked about his weight as he was concerned about how much it was increasing. Regarding Kitasan Black's offspring, he said, "Most of them improve gradually as time goes on, it might be better to not run too much as a 2 year old". His trainer Takahisa Tezuka met him for the first time in May 2021. He said, "His gait felt springy. I thought the firmness of his muscles were good for an untrained horse."

2022: Two-year old season
On September 8, 2022, Sol Oriens passed his gate test at Miho training center. Afterwards, he underwent adjustments at the Yamamoto training center, and returned to his home stable at Miho training center on October 8. He was supposed to debut with Yutaka Take has his jockey, but it was changed to Keita Tosaki instead. Before the race, Keita commented, "His running style seems flexible. He has something good" and his trainer expressed his hopes, saying, "He's a horse that I want to ride in the classics".

Sol Oriens made his debut at the Tokyo Racecourse on November 13 in a 2-year-old newcomer race on turf (1800m). Upon leaving the gate, he bumped into the horse next to him and settled in on third position during the race. He won the race by the neck in a fierce battle with Lebensstil. Keita commented, "He had the ability and has good footwork. He ran the race well. His siblings can be a bit high-strung, but today he was fine. We'll see how he performs with more experience. I believe he has potential."

2023: Three-year old season
Sol Oriens was scheduled to run on January 15, 2023, at the Keisei Hai at the Nakayama Racecourse. His jockey, Takeshi Yokoyama, mentioned before the race, "It seems like it will take some time for him to reach his full potential, but even in graded races, he might deliver some good performance." His trainer stated, "He will run well. I have some concerns about his suitability in Nakayama, but I have no doubts about his running ability." He started as the second favorite at the odds of 2.7 on the race day. After the start, he raced in fourth position from the rear during the middle of the race. Making a move around the 3rd and 4th corner, he approached the leading pack. Despite veering outwards, he corrected himself and unleashed his powerful legs in the homestretch, breaking through the rest of the field. He won convincingly by a two and a half lengths with the fastest final 3 furlongs in 34.5 seconds. This marked his second consecutive victory and his first win in a graded stakes race. Additionally, both his trainer and his jockey achieved their first Keisei Hai victories. His jockey commented, "He tends to lean to the right during training, so I was cautious. Unfortunately, he veered outward, causing inconvenience to other horses. I feel sincerely sorry. I hope he grows both mentally and physically and becomes more considerate of other horses. However, I believe we can expect good things from him for the classics." His trainer added, "He looked like Duramente. While there are many areas to work on, it's clear that he can handle the distance. I think we can proceed to the next race with confidence."

On February 17, it was announced that Sol Oriens would run directly at the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) without using a trial race. The race was scheduled on April 16 at the Nakayama Racecourse. His jockey, Takeshi Yokoyama, mentioned before the race, "No complaints. His condition is flawless". His trainer remarked, "Even though he is popular, I think he is a horse that can live up to that expectation." On the day of the race, he was the second favorite at the odds of 5.2, following Phantom Thief at 3.8, and track was at its softest since 1989. The race unfolded at a fast pace within the first 1,000 meters clocking in 58.5 seconds. Starting from the innermost gate, he chose to avoid the rough inner part of the track, staying towards the back. Around the fourth corner, he swung widest from second position from the back entering the homestretch. Putting in a strong finishing kick, he overtook Tastiera, who was in a good position forward, winning the race with an undefeated record and claiming his first Grade 1 victory. It was the first time in history that a horse that used the Keisei Hai as a preparatory race to win in the Satsuki Sho. Winning the Satsuki Sho in his third race since debut is the fewest career starts for a winner. He ran the fastest final 3 furlongs in 35.5 seconds, 0.9 seconds faster than the second placer Phantom Thief, which was a historic difference (the previous record was 0.6 seconds, shared by Narita Taishin and Duramente). The victory, starting from the 17th position around the fourth corner, was the largest comeback win in history (the previous record was Narita Taishin from the 12th position). He was the 20th undefeated horse to win since Efforia in 2021. He was the 4th horse in history to win from the innermost gate, following Yaeno Muteki in 1988, Triple Crown winner Narita Brian in 1994, and Triple Crown winner Contrail in 2020. It's also the first Japanese classic victory for Kitasan Black's offspring and the first Satsuki Sho victory for his trainer Takahisa Tezuka. Takeshi Yokoyama expressed, "The track was bad so I wanted to run on the outside. His initial speed was not as expected when I planned to take a position, but I decided to go with the horse's rhythm. If there was a chance of losing, it might have been due to the pace of the race or if there were stronger horses, but his condition was outstanding, and I was confident from his warm-ups. He's a very good horse." He continued, "Despite riding many good horses regularly, I was not able to achieve good results last year, so I researched everyday, and even then, the results didn't come. Thanks to this horse, I'm really happy to finally achieve good results here. Winning a GI after a long time, there's no greater joy than this. I haven't had good results in the Japanese Derby. Undoubtedly, he should be still improving, so I hope to showcase an improved performance with this horse on the next big stage for everyone." His trainer Takahisa Tezuka added, "It was beyond my imagination and it was amazing. In a few races, he became popular among the fans and have delivered results under unfavorable conditions. I was wondering how he would handle difficult track conditions, but Takeshi rode him skillfully. Since he was the widest and farthest from the back, I didn't know if he would reach the goal in time. He galloped really well." Shadai Farm owner Teruya Yoshida said, "When he drew the innermost gate, I thought it would be tough. His damsire is Motivator, so from the beginning, I saw him as a type that could handle the extended distance and was suitable for the Derby." Shadai Racehorse owner Tetsuya Yoshida commented, "This pedigree is challenging to control, but this horse was relatively calm, so it may have worked out in a positive direction."

Sol Oriens was registered to the Japanese Derby (Tōkyō Yūshun), and the horse underwent training smoothly without any incidents leading up to the race. On May 25, the gate positions for the derby were announced, and he drew gate number 5. This marked the third instance in the history of graded races where an undefeated horse who won the Satsuki Sho drew gate 5 in the Derby, following Symboli Rudolf in 1984, Deep Impact in 2005, and Contrail in 2020. All three of these horses went on to become undefeated Triple Crown winners, and notably, Contrail also drew gate 1 for the Satsuki Sho. In addition, among the horses that won from gate 5 was the Triple Crown winner Orfevre. The gate position drew a lot of expectations and his winning odds went 1.8, making him the favorite. The race began and he had a great start and positioned himself near the front. The race was led by Pax Ottomanica, who won the Principal Stakes, and set a slow pace as the head of the pack. Sol Oriens positioned himself in mid-pack along the inside, waiting for his moment. In the homestretch, his jockey Takeshi Yokoyama let him off the bridle. With 350m left in the race, they found a path to the outside and made a final charge. In the final stretch, they held off late challengers, Hearts Concerto on the outside and Bellagio Opera, ridden by Takeshi's older brother Kazuo Yokoyama, from the inside. However, they couldn't catch Tastiera, whom Sol Oriens had defeated previously in the Satsuki Sho, finishing in second place, just a neck behind. Takeshi Yokoyama, who rode the favorite Efforia, finished second to Shahryar two years ago on the same race. This experience added to the intensity of Takeshi's desire to win the Derby this time. Despite the strong determination he expressed before the race, he fell short of redemption and was instead defeated by the horse he had previously defeated. The owner Shadai Racehorse was also unable to complete the double crown with Isla Bonita back in 2014. After the race, Takeshi Yokoyama expressed his regret, stating, "I apologize for not living up to being the favorite. There were moments where he showed a tendency to lean inward balance-wise." He also mentioned, "The slow pace affected his ability to show his speed in the stretch. It was really unlucky."

Racing statistics
Below data is based on data available on JBIS Search, and netkeiba.com.

Legend: