was a champion Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, who was most notable for winning the 2010 Takarazuka Kinen and running second to Workforce in the 2010 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Pedigree Nakayama Festa was sired by the 2001 Hong Kong Vase winner Stay Gold, who was in turn sired by the influential American-bred sire Sunday Silence. Nakayama Festa's dam, Dear Wink, was sired by the American stallion Tight Spot, who was a Grade 1 stakes winner in the United States and has since been exported to China for stud services.
Racing career Nakayama Festa won the Nisai Stakes as a two-year-old, which was his only placing in 2008. He only won one race (St Lite Kinen) as a 3-year-old and placed in the 2009 Keisei Hai. Nakayama Festa won the 2010 Takarazuka Kinen in Japan by beating two-time champion filly Buena Vista. He also finished second at the 2010 Prix Foy and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France. Nakayama Festa ran in two races in 2011. He finished in last place out of a field of four horses at the Prix Foy run at Longchamp Racecourse in France, the race ultimately being won by the French horse Sarafina. In the final start of his career on October 2, 2011, at the same course, Nakayama Festa finished in 11th place out of a field of 16 horses in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, which was won by Danedream.
Racing form Nakayama Festa had raced in 15 races resulting in five wins. The data available is based on JBIS and netkeiba.com.
DateTrackRaceGradeDistance(Condition)EntryHNOdds(Favored)FinishTimeMarginsJockeyWinner(Runner-up)2008 – two-year-old seasonNov 2Tokyo2YO debut1600m（Firm）1725.6（3）1:35.90.0Hiroyuki Uchida(Viva Miracolo)Nov 22TokyoTokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes31800m（Firm）14527.5（9）1:47.70.0Masayoshi Ebina(Break Run Out)2009 – three-year-old seasonJan 18NakayamaKeisei Hai32000m（Firm）1322.6（1）2:02.70.0Masayoshi EbinaEarly RobustoApr 19NakayamaSatsuki Sho12000m（Firm）18724.2（6）2:00.11.4Masayoshi EbinaUnrivaledMay 31TokyoTokyo Yushun12400m（Heavy）18725.1（9）2:34.50.8Masayoshi EbinaLogi UniverseSep 20NakayamaSt. Lite Kinen22200m（Firm）18174.3（2）2:12.0–0.1Masayoshi Ebina(Sacred Valley)Oct 25KyotoKikuka Sho13000m（Firm）18168.4（4）3:05.21.7Masayoshi EbinaThree RollsDec 12ChukyoChunichi Shimbun Hai32000m（Firm）15105.0（3）1:59.52.1Masayoshi EbinaEarnestly2010 – four-year-old seasonApr 24TokyoMetropolitan StakesOP2400m（Firm）14105.6（3）2:26.1–0.3Yoshitomi Shibata(Top Coming)Jun 27HanshinTakarazuka Kinen12200m（Good）171737.8（8）2:13.0–0.1Yoshitomi Shibata(Buena Vista)Sep 12LongchampPrix Foy22400m（Soft）633.0（3）2:36.00.1Masayoshi EbinaDuncanOct 3LongchampPrix de l'Arc de Triomphe12400m（Soft）19723.0 (10）2:35.30.0Masayoshi EbinaWorkforceNov 28TokyoJapan Cup12400m（Firm）18117.7 (2）2:26.10.9Masayoshi EbinaRose Kingdom2011 – five-year-old seasonSep 11LongchampPrix Foy22400m（Good）437.0（3）2:32.60.4Masayoshi EbinaSarafinaOct 2LongchampPrix de l'Arc de Triomphe12400m（Good）16529.0 (10）2:26.42.0Masayoshi EbinaDanedream Legend:
Stud career
Nakayama Festa was retired from racing in October 2011 to stand at the Breeders Stallion Station in Hidaka, Hokkaido for the 2012 breeding season. On the decision to retire Nakayama Festa, his trainer Yoshitaka Ninomiya remarked, "He doesn't have any injuries but we thought it was better for him to retire when his condition was good."
Notable progeny c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding FoaledNameSexMajor Wins2013GankocNikkei Sho2017BabbittcSt Lite Kinen, Radio Nikkei Sho
Retirement and death Nakayama Festa retired from stud duty in 2023 and was pensioned at the Urakawa Yushun Village AERU in Urakawa, Hokkaido. He died on August 23, 2026, at the age of 20 after becoming unable to stand due to weakness caused by an illness he had contracted earlier in the month.
In popular culture An anthropomorphized version of Nakayama Festa appears as a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Shino Shimoji. She is depicted as a thrill-seeker with an addiction to gambling, with this being reflected in her skill set and one possible epithet rewarded requiring the player to take risky bets including succeeding at training with a substantial chance of failure and not failing any once in an entire playthrough. Her character is also depicted as having her passion for racing ignited by her former school teacher. She is friends with Gold Ship, whom she plays pranks together with as part of her thrill-seeking, with one of their regular victims being Fenomeno. The anthropomorphized Nakayama Festa was introduced to the global release of Umamusume: Pretty Derby in September 2026.
Pedigree
References