was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. His wins included the Kikuka Sho, Arima Kinen, Takarazuka Kinen, Hanshin Daishoten and Tenno Sho. In the 1995 JRA Awards, he was declared the Japanese Horse of the Year and the Best Three-year-old Colt.
Background Mayano Top Gun was a chestnut horse with a white blaze and a long white stocking on his left foreleg bred in Japan by Etsuo Kawakami. He was sired by the American stallion Brian's Time, who finished second in the Preakness Stakes in 1988 before becoming a highly successful breeding stallion in Japan. His dam Alp Me Please was sired by Blushing Groom and was a half-sister of the Grand Prix de Paris winner Swink: as a descendant of the broodmare Sonrisa, she was also a distant relative of the Belmont Stakes winner Ruler on Ice.
His name came from the owner's crown name Mayano which was derived from Mount Maya in Kobe, Hyogo, and Top Gun, the 1986 American movie.
Racing career 1995: three-year-old season Mayano Top Gun began his career racing on dirt and won three of his nine races in the early part of 1995. He was then switched to turf, being placed twice at both Kobe Shimbun Hai and Kyoto Shimbun Hai in September and October. He emerged as a top class performer in the late autumn in the Kikuka Sho. In the race, he was the third favourite behind Dance Partner and Narita King O. When the race began, he was chasing comfortably from a good position, was already close to the front by the fourth corner, and in the straight he pulled away from the rest of the pack to take the win by one and a quarter length over Tokai Palace and Hokkai Rousseau. In December, he contested one of Japan's most prestigious weight-for-age races, the Arima Kinen over 2500 metres at Nakayama. He pulled away early in the race, maintained that position throughout the race and won by two lengths from Taiki Blizzard and Sakura Chitose O.
1996: four-year-old season
In March 1996, Mayano Top Gun was matched against the 1994 Japanese Horse of the Year Narita Brian in the Hanshin Daishoten and was beaten into second place. In June at Kyoto he recorded his biggest success as a four-year-old at the Takarazuka Kinen over 2200 metres. At the race, the thirteen starters battling it out closed the whole race. Mayano Top Gun himself was held back by Kanetsu Cross and Legacy World. At the final kilometer, Mayano Top Gun surged past both of those horses and held the position to win the race, beating Sunday Branch and the mare Dance Partner by a length and half. Later in the year he finished second to Bubble Gum Fellow in the autumn edition of the Tenno Sho where the three-year-old colt took the early lead and had the extra energy on the final straight over Mayano Top Gun and Sakura Laurel.
1997: five-year-old season In March 1997, Mayano Top Gun raced in the Hanshin Daishoten. His jockey, Seiki Tabara made a bold call to change the horse running strategy from early lead to final pursuit. On the race day, Mayano Top Gun stayed mostly at the back. Then, in the final stretch, he began to sprint in between the third and fourth corner. Entering the straight, he unleashed a powerful finishing kick and broke through for his first win of the season over Big Symbol and Gigaton. A month later he contested the Spring edition of the Tenno Sho over 3200 metres at Kyoto. This would be an epic battle between the three strongest older horses (Sakura Laurel, Marvelous Sunday and himself). Both Sakura Laurel and Marvelous Sunday took the lead at the ending phase but Mayano Top Gun, stuck to the strategy from previous race, chased after both in the final straight and crossed the line first. He won the race from Sakura Laurel (winner of the race in 1996), with Marvelous Sunday in third place and etched a new record finish at the time. Unfortunately, he had to retire right after the race as he developed tendonitis on his legs. A retirement ceremony was held at Hanshin Racecourse during the lunch break on November 30.
Racing form Mayano Top Gun won eight race out of 21 starts and snatched four G1 win during his career. This data available is based on JBIS and netkeiba. DateTrackRaceGradeDistance(Condition)EntryHNOdds(Favored)FinishTimeMarginsJockeyWinner(Runner-up)1995 – three-year-old seasonJan 8Kyoto3yo Newcomer1,200 m (Fast)16131.7 (1)5th1:14.91.1Yutaka TakeWonder PerfumeFeb 19Kyoto3yo Maiden1,200 m (Fast)1427.6 (4)3rd1:14.20.4Seiki TabaraStar SwallowMar 11Kyoto3yo Maiden1,200 m (Good)811.8 (1)3rd1:14.20.7Yutaka TakePolish AdmiralMar 25Kyoto3yo Maiden1,200 m (Fast)1422.0 (2)1st1:13.0–0.2Yutaka Take(Land Zenobia)Apr 15Kyoto3yo Allowance1W1,200 m (Sloppy)1466.8 (3)3rd1:12.60.3Yutaka TakeFusaichi VictoryMay 7Kyoto3yo Allowance1W1,200 m (Fast)1145.2 (4)3rd1:12.10.6Seiki TabaraWakana InesMay 28Chukyo3yo Allowance1W1,700 m (Fast)1188.2 (4)1st1:46.8–1.2Seiki Tabara(Kitasan Silver)Jun 18ChukyoRoyal HKJC Trophy2,000 m (Firm)131315.3 (5)3rd2:01.30.1Seiki TabaraFair DanceJul 9ChukyoYamayuri Stakes1,800 m (Firm)1625.2 (2)1st1:49.8–0.2Seiki Tabara(Thrilling Hour)Sep 17KyotoKobe Shimbun Hai22,000 m (Firm)141413.5 (5)2nd1:59.80.0Seiki TabaraTanino CreateOct 15KyotoKyoto Shimbun Hai22,200 m (Firm)15114.4 (2)2nd2:11.50.1Seiki TabaraNarita King ONov 5KyotoKikuka Sho13,000 m (Firm)18106.5 (3)1st–0.2Seiki Tabara(Tokai Palace)Dec 24NakayamaArima Kinen12,500 m (Firm)121013.0 (6)1st2:33.6–0.3Seiki Tabara(Taiki Blizzard)1996 – four-year-old seasonMar 9HanshinHanshin Daishoten23,000 m (Firm)10102.0 (1)2nd3:04.90.0Seiki TabaraNarita BrianApr 21KyotoTennō Shō (Spring)13,200 m (Firm)1672.8 (2)5th3:18.81.0Seiki TabaraSakura LaurelJul 7HanshinTakarazuka Kinen12,200 m (Firm)1392.0 (1)1st2:12.0–0.2Seiki Tabara(Sunday Branch)Sep 15NakayamaSankei Sho All Comers22,200 m (Soft)961.8 (1)4th2:17.60.9Seiki TabaraSakura LaurelOct 27TokyoTennō Shō (Autumn)12,000 m (Firm)1788.1 (4)2nd1:58.80.1Seiki TabaraBubble Gum FellowDec 22NakayamaArima Kinen12,500 m (Firm)1435.9 (2)7th2:35.31.5Seiki TabaraSakura Laurel1997 – five-year-old seasonMar 16HanshinHanshin Daishoten23,000 m (Good)891.9 (1)1st3:07.2–0.6Seiki Tabara(Big Symbol)Apr 27KyotoTennō Shō (Spring)13,200 m (Firm)1643.7 (2)1st–0.2Seiki Tabara(Sakura Laurel)
Legend:
on the time indicates that this was a record time
Assessment and awards In 1995, Mayano Top Gun was voted Japanese Horse of the Year and the Best Three-year-old Colt.
Stud career and death After retirement, Mayano Top Gun stand as a stud at Yushun Stallion Station in Niikappu, Hokkaido until he retired in 2015. He stayed there for the rest of his life until he died of old age on November 3, 2019, at 27 years old.
Major winners c = colt, f = filly +Grade winners Foaled Name Sex Major Wins1999Bamboo JuventuscNikkei Shinshun Hai1999Precise MachinecSwan Stakes, Hankyu Hai, Chunichi Shimbun Hai (2x)2000ChakracMeguro Kinen, Stayers Stakes2002Hokko Pas de ChatcNiigata Kinen2002Meisho TokoncTokai Stakes, Breeders' Gold Cup, Heian Stakes, Nagoya Daishoten2002Top Gun JoecNiigata Kinen, Epsom Cup2003King Top GuncMeguro Kinen, Hakodate Kinen2008MousquetairecMeguro Kinen
In popular culture An anthropomorphized version of Mayano Top Gun appears as a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Mio Hoshitani. She is depicted as a bubbly, rambunctious, and highly observant girl who wants to be treated like an adult, leading her to adopt whatever she perceives as "mature" behavior, such as by asking for romantic outings from the player trainer. The daughter of an aircraft pilot, she often incorporates aeronautical terms in her speech. She is one of the major characters featured in the Umamusume manga adaptation Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Star Blossom.
In August 2021, Cygames, the publisher of Umamusume: Pretty Derby and Paramount Pictures announced a collaboration in Japan between Umamusume: Pretty Derby and Top Gun: Maverick. Mayano Top Gun – whose real-life namesake was also named in part after the original 1986 Top Gun film – was named a special advertising pilot, and the collaboration featured her in an alternate version of the movie's poster, with Mio Hoshitani additionally interviewing some of the cast and crew of the movie.
Pedigree
References