Winning Ticket

Winning Ticket (Japanese: ウイニングチケット, Hepburn: Uiningu Chiketto; 21 March 1990 – 18 February 2023) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and stud. He is best known for winning the 1993 Tōkyō Yūshun. Winning Ticket was part of the "BNW" trio along with Biwa Hayahide and Narita Taishin that were rivals challenging for the Japanese Triple Crown. Winning Ticket was also a moderately successful sire after his racing career.

Background Winning Ticket was foaled 21 March 1990 at Fujiwara Breeding Stud in Shizunai, Hokkaido. Winning Ticket was one of the first significant horses sired by Tony Bin, who would become one of the leading sires in Japan during the 1990s. His dam was Powerful Lady, who was a daughter of JRA Hall of Fame horse Maruzensky. His breeders remarked that Winning Ticket's body shape was nearly identical to Tony Bin's, while his face was nearly identical to that of his great-damsire Tesco Boy.『優駿』2004年6月号 55頁 Only three days after Winning Ticket's birth, veteran trainer Yuji Ito visited the Fujiwara farm and, after viewing Winning Ticket, decided to have Winning Ticket admitted to the Ritto Training Center for horse racing and convinced longtime friend and horse owner Yoshimi Ota to buy him.『優駿』1993年8月号 85頁

In autumn of his first year, Winning Ticket began suffering from sesamoiditis, which rendered him unable to even leave his stable for over a month.『優駿』1993年4月号 17頁 He did recover from the illness, and eventually grew to be healthy. In the spring of 1992, Winning Ticket was moved to Yuji Ito's stables for race training. Shortly after, Ito asked veteran jockey Masato Shibata to ride Winning Ticket once the horse began racing, stating to Shibata that Winning Ticket was a horse that could win the Tōkyō Yūshun, a race that Shibata had not yet won as a jockey despite having raced since 1967.『優駿』2008年5月号 64頁

Racing career Two-year-old season Winning Ticket made his racing debut at Hakodate Racecourse in September 1992, where he finished fifth.関西競馬四季報93年秋 p. 305 A week later, Winning Ticket was entered in to another maiden race at Hakodate, this time jockeyed by Norihiro Yokoyama. This time Winning Ticket took victory, the first of his career. He was then rested until December, where he was then entered in to two open races at Nakayama Racecourse - the Habotan Sho and the Hopeful Stakes. He won both of these races, marking him as a contender for his three-year-old season.『優駿』2007年6月号 107頁『優駿』2004年6月号 56頁

Three-year-old season Winning Ticket's next race was the Yayoi Sho, a Grade II race often used as preparation for the Triple Crown. Winning Ticket was the favorite ahead of Narita Taishin. Winning Ticket took victory in the race, in the process earning entry to the Triple Crown races.『優駿』1993年5月号 130-131頁 Winning Ticket was then entered in to the triple crown, with his next race being the Satsuki Shō. Winning Ticket was the pre-race favorite ahead of Biwa Hayahide and Narita Taishin.『優駿』1993年6月号 132頁 In the race, Winning Ticket held with the leaders for much of the race, but was unable keep up in the final stretch and fell to fifth, while Narita Taishin took a narrow victory ahead of Biwa Hayahide.『優駿』1993年6月号 134頁 Post-race, Galleon, the horse the originally finished third, was disqualified for obstructing another runner, promoting Winning Ticket to a fourth place finish and guaranteeing him entry in the Tōkyō Yūshun.関西競馬四季報94年春 p. 47

Winning Ticket's next race was the Tōkyō Yūshun. Winning Ticket was the favorite again, once more ahead of Biwa Hayahide and Narita Taishin. In the race, the battle for victory was between these three horses, with Winning Ticket pulling ahead in the last stretch to win by lengths over Biwa Hayahide, with Narita Taishin coming in third.『優駿』1993年7月号 140頁 With a winning time of 2:25.5, Winning Ticket ran the second-fastest Tōkyō Yūshun to that point, with only Ines Fujin's run in 1990 being faster.『優駿』1993年7月号 140頁『優駿』2014年6月号 51頁 For 44-year-old jockey Masato Shibata, it was his first victory in the Tōkyō Yūshun in his 19th attempt at the event.『優駿』2007年10月号 140頁

After the Tōkyō Yūshun, Winning Ticket was sent to Shadai Farm in Chitose, Hokkaido to recover during the summer.『優駿』2014年6月号 52頁 He returned to racing at the Kyoto Shimbun Hai in October in preparation for running the Kikuka-shō, the final leg of the Triple Crown. Winning Ticket won the Kyoto Shimbun Hai.『優駿』1993年12月号 156-157頁 At the Kikuka-shō, Winning Ticket entered as the second favorite behind Biwa Hayahide. Biwa Hayahide won, while Winning Ticket finished third. Their other rival Narita Taishin finished a distant 17th after suffering an injury during the summer. At the end of November, Winning Ticket was entered in to the Japan Cup; Winning Ticket finished third again, three lengths behind Legacy World. To end the year, Winning Ticket was entered in to the Arima Kinen, but was not able to keep up with the leaders and finished only 11th.関西競馬四季報94年春 p. 525

Four-year-old season Winning Ticket did not race again until July of 1994. At this point, jockey Masato Shibata had suffered career-ending injuries in a fall while riding a different horse, and so Yoshitomi Shibata was hired to ride Winning Ticket in his next race, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.『優駿』1995年4月号 58頁 He was the favorite for this race, but only managed to finish fifth. His next race was in September at the Sankei Sho All Comers. Now jockeyed by Yutaka Take, Winning Ticket finished second to his rival Biwa Hayahide. At the end of October, Winning Ticket was entered in to the autumn Tenno Sho. He was the second favorite, but he finished in a distant eighth place. After the race, it was discovered that he had developed tendinitis, which would have a long recovery time. Due to the injury, the Tenno Sho would be Winning Ticket's final race, and he was officially retired from racing in February 1995.

Racing record Winning Ticket participated in 14 races in his career, winning 6.

Date Track Race Grade Distance (condition) Field Finish Time Winning (Losing) Margin Jockey Winner (Runner-up)1992 – two-year-old season 6 Sep Hakodate Two Year Old Newcomers 1200 m (Heavy) 14 5th1:16.4(3 lengths) Masato Shibata Multi 13 Sep Hakodate Two Year Old Newcomers 1700 m (Soft) 12 1st1:48.8 lengths Norihiro Yokoyama (Hinode Cross O) 6 Dec Nakayama Habotan Sho OP 2000 m (Firm) 9 1st2:02.9 lengths Katsuharu Tanaka (Major Winner) 27 Dec Nakayama Hopeful Stakes OP 2000 m (Firm) 7 1st2:02.33 lengths Masato Shibata (Maillot Jaune)1993 – three-year-old season 7 Mar Nakayama Yayoi Sho G2 2000 m (Firm) 11 1st2:00.12 lengths Masato Shibata (Narita Taishin) 18 Apr Nakayama Satsuki Shō G1 2000 m (Firm) 18 4th2:00.6(2 lengths) Masato Shibata Narita Taishin 30 May Tokyo Tōkyō Yūshun G1 2400 m (Firm) 18 1st2:25.5 lengths Masato Shibata (Biwa Hayahide) 17 Oct Kyoto Kyoto Shimbun Hai G2 2200 m (Firm) 10 1st2:13.3neck Masato Shibata (Maillot Jaune) 7 Nov Kyoto Kikuka-shō G1 3000 m (Firm) 18 3rd3:05.7(5 lengths) Masato Shibata Biwa Hayahide 28 Nov Tokyo Japan Cup G1 2400 m (Firm) 16 3rd2:24.6( length) Masato Shibata Legacy World 26 Dec Nakayama Arima Kinen G1 2500 m (Firm) 14 11th2:32.6(10 lengths) Masato Shibata Tokai Teio1994 – four-year-old season 10 Jul Chukyo Takamatsunomiya Kinen G2 2000 m (Firm) 13 5th2:01.7(6 lengths) Yoshitomi Shibata Nice Nature 18 Sep Nakayama Sankei Sho All Comers G3 2200 m (Soft) 8 2nd2:14.5(1 lengths) Yutaka Take Biwa Hayahide 30 Oct Tokyo Tenno Sho (Autumn) G1 2000 m (Firm) 13 8th1:59.2(3 lengths) Yutaka Take Nehai Caesar

Retirement

Winning Ticket was retired to stud at Shizunai Stallion Station in Hokkaidō.『優駿』2004年6月号 61頁 While never a leading sire, Winning Ticket was moderately successful as a stallion, producing multiple winners of local level graded races. Winning Ticket's most notable offspring was Berg Ticket, who won the Grade 3 Fairy Stakes in 1999. Winning Ticket has also seen some success as a broodmare sire through his daughter Oyster Ticket, who produced horses capable of qualifying for G1 races. Through Oyster Ticket, Winning Ticket is the great-damsire of Lei Papale, the 2021 Ōsaka Hai winner, and of Shining Lei, the 2014 Hopeful Stakes winner. Winning Ticket was retired from stud in 2005.

After being retired from stud, Winning Ticket was moved to the Urakawa Yushun Village AERU in Urakawa, Hokkaido. In retirement, Winning Ticket spent much of his time grazing with fellow racehorses Dai Yusaku and Hishi Masaru. When the horse Legacy World died in 2021, Winning Ticket became the oldest living G1 race winner.

Winning Ticket died on 18 February 2023 at age 32 due to colic.

In popular culture An anthropomorphized version of Winning Ticket appears in the Japanese media franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Yui Watanabe. She is depicted as a straightforward, loudmouthed, and enthusiastic girl who is prone to overreacting with intense emotional outbursts, especially uncontrollable sobbing, from even the most mundane situations, and has a childhood dream of winning the Tōkyō Yūshun which she pursues with a fervent determination. Similar to her real-life counterpart, her 1993 Triple Crown rivals, Narita Taishin and Biwa Hayahide, are her best friends and teammates in the anime series, making up the "BNW" trio.

Pedigree

Winning Ticket

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