Marvelous Sunday (Japanese: マーベラスサンデー, Hepburn: Māberasu Sandē; 31 May 1992 – 30 June 2016) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire.
He is most known for winning the 1997 Takarazuka Kinen and Sankei Osaka Hai. He was awarded the JRA Award for Best Male Horse Aged 4-and-Up that same year. During his racing career, he suffered four different fractures, yet was affectionately referred to as the "Model Student" due to his consistent record and mild-mannered behaviour.
Background
Marvelous Sunday's name is a combination of his owner's crown name, "Marvelous", as well as an homage to his sire, Sunday Silence. Additionally, Marvelous Sunday was born on a Sunday.
Early Years Marvelous Sunday was born in , in Niikappu, Hokkaido. He was from the first crop of Sunday Silence, a stallion who would go on to lead the sire rankings 12 times. Despite his strong pedigree, he was considered quite a weak foal; eventually he was purchased by Sadao Sasahara, the owner of Marvelous Crown. In March of 1994, having reached racing age, Marvelous Sunday was transported to , training with the goal of a fall debut.Yushun Magazine, July 2004 issue, p. 55.
Sometime in August, the decision was made to have Yutaka Take be his jockey. That same month however, a fracture to his right knee was discovered during training, and he was sent out to pasture. While resting, he developed a severe case of Colic. His weight plummeted from a healthy 480-kilogram range, down to 390 kilograms. Stable-hand Furukawa remarked, "I was astonished to see a horse in such a state. Usually, the flesh on the face is the one thing that doesn't waste away, but even his face looked gaunt; his body was truly nothing but skin and bones."Yushun Magazine, July 2004 issue, p. 55.
Early treatment saved his life, but as a result of his critical condition, his planned debut was significantly delayed.
Racing career
Marvelous Sunday's first race was the Four-Year-Old Newcomer at the Kyoto Racecourse on February 4, 1995, which he won. He would compete in his first Grade 3 race, the Epsom Cup, on June 30, 1996, resulting in a victory. He would then go on to win two more G3 Races that year, the Sapporo Kinen and the Asahi Challenge Cup. He would compete in his first Grade 2 race, the Kyoto Daishoten on October 6 that same year, resulting in another win. He would finally compete in his first Grade 1 race, the Autumn Tenno Sho on October 27, 1996, placing fourth. His only G1 Victory was the 1997 Takarazuka Kinen. His final race was the Arima Kinen on December 21, 1997, where he placed second behind Silk Justice.
Racing Statistics The following racing statistics were taken from JBIS. Date Race Class Distance Racecourse Track Finish Entry Time Jockey Winner(2nd Place)1995 – four-year-old season Feb 04 Four Year Old Newcomer Maiden 1800m Kyoto Dirt 2 1:55.8 Y. Take (Yagura Graviton) Mar 05 Yukiyanagi Sho Pre-OP 2000m Kyoto Turf 13 2:02.6 Y. Take (Daitaku Surgeon)1996 – five-year-old season Apr 13 Akashi Tokubetsu Pre-OP 2000m Hanshin Turf 6 2:01.5 Y. Take Miller's Eight May 5 Komogawa Tokubetsu Pre-OP 1800m Kyoto Turf 2 1:48.1 Y. Take (First Sonia) May 18 Okehazama Stakes Pre-OP 1800m Chukyo Turf 2 1:48.3 Y. Take (Nishino Daio) Jun 01 Epsom Cup G3 1800m Tokyo Turf 10 1:45.7 Y. Take (Yu Sensho) Jun 30 Sapporo Kinen G3 2000m Sapporo Turf 13 2:01.6 Y. Take (Maillot Jaune) Sep 08 Asahi Challenge Cup G3 2000m Hanshin Turf 1 1:59.5 Y. Take (Star Man) Oct 10 Kyoto Daishoten G2 2400m Kyoto Turf 5 2:25.1 Y. Take (Minamoto Marinos) Oct 27 Tenno Sho (Autumn) G1 2000m Tokyo Turf 11 1:58.9 Y. Take Bubble Gum Fellow Dec 22 Arima Kinen G1 2500m Nakayama Turf 11 2:34.2 Y. Take Sakura Laurel1997 – six-year-old season Mar 30 Sankei Osaka Hai G2 2000m Hanshin Turf 7 2:02.0 Y. Take (Yutosei) Apr 27 Tenno Sho (Spring) G1 3200m Kyoto Turf 14 3:14.7 Y. Take Mayano Top Gun Jul 06 Takarazuka Kinen G1 2200m Hanshin Turf 8 2:11.9 Y. Take (Bubble Gum Fellow) Dec 21 Arima Kinen G1 2500m Nakayama Turf 3 2:34.8 Y. Take Silk Justice
Stud career and death
After his final race in 1997, Marvelous Sunday became a stallion. He sired a total of 946 children, including King Joy and Marvelous Kaiser who both won the G1 Nakayama Daishogai in 2008 and 2012 respectively. He fully retired from the stud duty in 2014 and spent the rest of his years at Yushun Stallion Station before moving to Oda Yoneharu Farm in Shinhidaka Town in 2016. He died in the same year due to old age.
In popular culture An anthropomorphized version of Marvelous Sunday appears as a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Marie Miyake. She is depicted as a short, upbeat girl with twintails who has an obsession with spreading positivity to those around her, often through the use of inexplicable magical abilities. This behavior stemmed from her early childhood when she gained an appreciation for life after surviving a life-threatening disease, similar to her real-life counterpart. She is one of the major characters featured in the Umamusume manga adaptation Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Star Blossom.
Pedigree
References