Dai Yusaku (Japanese: ダイユウサク, Hepburn: Dai Yūsaku; 12 June 1985 – 8 December 2013) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He competed from 1988 to 1992, recording eleven wins in thirty-eight starts, including the Kyōto Kimpai and the Arima Kinen in 1991. He is best known for winning the 1991 Arima Kinen as a 137.9-1 outsider, defeating the overwhelming favorite Mejiro McQueen in a Japanese record time.
Background Dai Yusaku is a bay horse bred in Hokkaido by Yushun Bokujo. He was sired by the French-bred stallion Nonoalco, and his dam was Kuninokiyoko, a daughter of Daitakahata.
The horse was originally intended to be named "Daikousaku" by his owner, Kohei Hashimoto, combining the prefix "Dai" from his damsire and the name of his grandson, Kousaku. However, due to a handwriting error on the registration documents where the katakana character "コ" (ko) was written to resemble "ユ" (yu), the horse was officially registered as "Dai Yusaku". He was sent into training with Shigeharu Naito at the JRA's Ritto Training Center.
Racing career
1988 and 1989: Early career Dai Yusaku debuted on October 30, 1988, in an allowance race on the dirt at Kyoto Racecourse, finishing eleventh. In his second start at Fukushima Racecourse, he finished fourteenth, trailing the winner by over seven seconds. Due to chronic shin splints and a weak back, he struggled in his early career and was briefly considered for retirement or a transition to jumping, though the latter was abandoned due to safety concerns.
He recorded his first victory on April 16, 1989, in a dirt allowance race at Niigata Racecourse. After securing another win on the turf at Kyoto in May, he became a regular mount for jockey Shigefumi Kumazawa. In September, he won a 1200-meter allowance race at Hanshin Racecourse, setting a new track record of 1:08.9 on a firm track.
1990: Five-year-old season Returning from a layoff in June 1990, Dai Yusaku finished fourth in the CBC Sho (GII). He later won the Moonlight Handicap (Allowance) at Chukyo Racecourse in September, the Topaz Stakes (Open) at Kyoto in November, and the Asuka Stakes (Open) at Kyoto in December.
1991: Six-year-old season Dai Yusaku began his 1991 campaign by winning the Kyōto Kimpai (GIII) on January 5. He finished second in the Sankei Osaka Hai (GII) in March before being sidelined for six months due to a quarter crack.
Returning in the autumn, he finished unplaced in the Kyoto Daishoten (GII) and the Swan Stakes (GII), and fifth in the Mile Championship (GI). On December 7, he won the Hanshin Racecourse Renovation Memorial (Open).
On December 22, Dai Yusaku contested the Arima Kinen (GI) at Nakayama Racecourse. Despite his recent open-class victory, he was largely ignored by bettors and started as the 14th favorite (second-to-last) at odds of 137.9-1. The race was heavily favored towards Mejiro McQueen, who started at 1.7-1. Ridden by Kumazawa, Dai Yusaku tracked the leaders and launched a strong late charge on the inside rail, overtaking Mejiro McQueen in the final straight to win by 0.2 seconds. His winning time of 2:30.6 set a new Japanese record for 2500 meters on turf. The victory produced a massive upset, with the win ticket paying ¥13,790.
1992: Seven-year-old season Dai Yusaku remained in training for the 1992 season but failed to win in six starts. He finished sixth in the Sankei Ōsaka Hai (GII), ninth in the Tennō Shō (Spring, GI), and eighth in the Yasuda Kinen (GI) and Takarazuka Kinen (GI). Following a fifteenth-place finish in the Swan Stakes (GII) on October 31, he was retired from racing.
Statistics The following table details all 38 starts and 1 scheduled entry of Dai Yusaku's racing career based on official netkeiba and JBIS records.
Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Jockey Ref1988 – three-year-old season Dirt 1800 m (Standard) 4-Y-O Allowance Allowance Kyoto 56.1 (10th) 11 11th 2:06.7 13.0 Kyoei Wells Hideyoshi Mizohashi Turf 1800 m (Firm) 4-Y-O Maiden Maiden Fukushima 81.3 (13th) 14 14th 2:00.0 7.3 Kyoei Touch Seiji Harada1989 – four-year-old season Dirt 1700 m (Standard) 5-Y-O Allowance Allowance Chukyo 8.4 (4th) 10 5th 1:51.9 0.7 Eishin Kansai Hideyoshi Mizohashi Dirt 1000 m (Muddy) 5-Y-O Allowance Allowance Chukyo 11.9 (7th) 16 8th 1:02.1 0.7 Ascot Jaguar Hideyoshi Mizohashi Dirt 1700 m (Sloppy) 5-Y-O Allowance Allowance Niigata 26.7 (10th) 12 1:47.4 –0.5 (Hakusan Coppel) Takayoshi Deguchi Dirt 1200 m (Sloppy) Sanjo Tokubetsu Allowance Niigata 10.7 (5th) 8 4th 1:13.8 1.1 Gin Sekai Takayoshi Deguchi Turf 1600 m (Soft) 5-Y-O Allowance Allowance Kyoto 15.6 (9th) 18 1:37.9 –0.0 (Great Napoleon) Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2000 m (Firm) 5-Y-O Allowance Allowance Hanshin 3.5 (1st) 13 2:05.0 0.1 Hirayoshi Rookie Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2000 m (Soft) Taka Tokubetsu Allowance Hanshin 5.2 (3rd) 12 2:04.6 0.1 Wonder Merveille Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2000 m (Soft) Ontake Tokubetsu Allowance Chukyo 2.9 (1st) 15 2:01.6 –0.2 (Mint Star) Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2000 m (Good) Takamatsunomiya Hai GII Chukyo 47.8 (11th) 14 7th 2:00.3 1.4 Mejiro Ardan Seiji Harada Turf 1800 m (Firm) Hazuki Sho Allowance Kokura Scratched 12 Scratched Senshu UruruScratched Turf 1200 m (Firm) 4-Y-O Allowance Allowance Hanshin 4.3 (2nd) 14 –0.6 (Tireil) Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 1400 m (Firm) Koto Tokubetsu Allowance Hanshin 1.4 (1st) 14 1:21.8 –0.0 (Hakuyo Command) Shigefumi Kumazawa Dirt 1400 m (Standard) Kifune Stakes Allowance Kyoto 3.1 (1st) 16 10th 1:26.1 1.8 Dancing Tham Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2000 m (Firm) Hiei Stakes Allowance Kyoto 3.3 (1st) 14 2:01.5 0.1 Million Highline Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2000 m (Firm) Golden Whip Trophy Allowance Kyoto 1.8 (1st) 12 2:00.6 0.2 Satsuki Oasis Katsumi Minai Turf 1600 m (Firm) Sakasegawa Stakes Allowance Hanshin 2.0 (1st) 12 1:35.7 0.6 Meisho Masamune Shigefumi Kumazawa1990 – five-year-old season Turf 1200 m (Good) CBC Sho GII Chukyo 19.9 (9th) 16 4th 1:09.1 0.8 Passing Shot Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 1200 m (Firm) July Stakes Allowance Chukyo 3.2 (2nd) 14 4th 1:09.6 0.9 Louis Tate Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 1200 m (Firm) Centaur Stakes GIII Chukyo 12.1 (5th) 11 1:08.6 0.1 Aco Caesar Yoshiyuki Muramoto Turf 2000 m (Good) Moonlight Handicap Allowance Chukyo 1.6 (1st) 9 2:01.3 –0.6 (Yamahisa Boy) Yoshiyuki Muramoto Turf 2000 m (Firm) Tennō Shō (Autumn) GI Tokyo 33.8 (11th) 18 7th 1:59.0 0.8 Yaeno Muteki Yoshiyuki Muramoto Turf 2000 m (Firm) Topaz Stakes Open Kyoto 1.9 (1st) 14 2:00.1 –0.7 (Nichido Thunder) Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 1600 m (Firm) Asuka Stakes Open Kyoto 1.3 (1st) 10 1:35.0 –0.3 (Yagura Stella) Shigefumi Kumazawa1991 – six-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Firm) Kyōto Kimpai GIII Kyoto 2.7 (1st) 16 2:00.1 –0.2 (White Arrow) Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2000 m (Good) Sankei Osaka Hai GII Kyoto 3.9 (3rd) 10 2:01.7 0.2 White Stone Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2000 m (Good) Asahi Challenge Cup GII Chukyo 9.6 (5th) 16 7th 1:59.9 0.8 Nuevo Tosho Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2400 m (Firm) Kyoto Daishoten GII Kyoto 9.3 (3rd) 7 5th 2:28.5 2.0 Mejiro McQueen Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 1400 m (Firm) Swan Stakes GII Kyoto 13.9 (6th) 16 4th 1:20.9 0.3 K.S. Miracle Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 1600 m (Firm) Mile Championship GI Kyoto 15.4 (5th) 15 5th 1:35.3 0.5 Daitaku Helios Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 1600 m (Firm) Hanshin Renovation Memorial Open Hanshin 3.7 (2nd) 16 1:36.1 –0.1 (Stage Hero) Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2500 m (Firm) Arima Kinen GI Nakayama 137.9 (14th) 15 –0.2 (Mejiro McQueen) Shigefumi Kumazawa1992 – seven-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Firm) Sankei Ōsaka Hai GII Hanshin 17.1 (4th) 8 6th 2:07.1 0.8 Tokai Teio Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 3200 m (Firm) Tennō Shō (Spring) GI Kyoto 46.0 (5th) 14 9th 3:24.0 4.0 Mejiro McQueen Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 1600 m (Firm) Yasuda Kinen GI Tokyo 21.8 (8th) 18 8th 1:34.6 0.8 Yamanin Zephyr Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2200 m (Firm) Takarazuka Kinen GI Hanshin 11.5 (4th) 13 8th 2:21.8 3.2 Mejiro Palmer Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 2000 m (Good) Takamatsunomiya Hai GII Chukyo 9.3 (5th) 18 14th 2:02.7 2.1 Mr. Spain Shigefumi Kumazawa Turf 1400 m (Firm) Swan Stakes GII Kyoto 15.3 (6th) 16 15th 1:23.8 2.4 Dictor Girl Shigefumi Kumazawa indicates a track record.
Stud career Following his retirement, Dai Yusaku stood at Yagi Bokujo in Hokkaido. He sired only 17 registered foals, with his most notable progeny being Grand Oracion, who won the Grand Mix in the regional NAR circuit. He was retired from stud duties in 1998 and spent his remaining years at the Urakawa Yushun Village AERU facility. Dai Yusaku died of old age on December 8, 2013, at the age of 28.
Pedigree
Dai Yusaku is outcross within five generations.
See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan Arima Kinen
References