Meiner Fanrong (Japanese: マイネルファンロン, Hepburn: Mainā Fanron; foaled 19 February 2015) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He competed from 2017 to 2024, recording five wins in forty-eight starts, including the Niigata Kinen (GIII) in 2021. He is the half-brother of Uberleben, winner of the 2021 Yūshun Himba, and Meiner Emperor, winner of the 2025 Nikkei Shō.
Background Meiner Fanrong is a dark bay horse bred in Niikappu, Hokkaido, by Big Red Farm. He was sired by Stay Gold, a son of Sunday Silence, and his dam was Meiner Theresia, a daughter of the American-bred stallion Roses in May. His dam Meiner Theresia is also the dam of Uberleben (by Gold Ship), who won the 2021 Yūshun Himba (Japanese Oaks). His racing name combines the "Meiner" prefix used by owner Thoroughbred Club Ruffian with "Fanrong," the Chinese word for "prosperity" (繁榮). He was sent into training with Takahisa Tezuka at the JRA's Miho Training Center.
Racing career
2017: Two-year-old season Meiner Fanrong debuted on September 16, 2017, in a maiden race on the turf at Nakayama Racecourse, finishing second. He won a maiden race at Tokyo Racecourse on October 7. He finished third in the Habotan Sho (Allowance) at Nakayama in December.
2018: Three-year-old season Meiner Fanrong finished second in the Freesia Sho (Allowance) at Tokyo in February. He finished third in the Spring Stakes (GII) at Nakayama in March, earning priority entry to the Satsuki Shō. He finished thirteenth in the Satsuki Shō (GI) in April.
Ridden by João Moreira, he won a 5-million-yen allowance race at Sapporo Racecourse in August and the Narashino Tokubetsu (Allowance) at Nakayama in September. He finished third in the November Stakes (Allowance) at Tokyo in November.
2019: Four-year-old season Meiner Fanrong won the Wangan Stakes (Allowance) over 2200 meters at Nakayama in April. He finished second in the Hakodate Kinen (GIII) at Hakodate Racecourse in July, losing by a neck to My Style. He finished unplaced in his remaining four starts that year.
2020: Five-year-old season Meiner Fanrong ran in seven races in 2020 without a win. His best finish was fourth in the October Stakes (Listed) at Tokyo.
2021: Six-year-old season Meiner Fanrong finished second in the Tomoe Sho (Open) at Hakodate in July. On September 5, he contested the Niigata Kinen (GIII) at Niigata Racecourse. Ridden by Mirco Demuro, he tracked the leaders from the rear and won by 0.1 seconds over Tosen Surya, recording his first graded stakes victory. He finished unplaced in his remaining three starts that year.
2022: Seven-year-old season Meiner Fanrong finished second in the American Jockey Club Cup (GII) at Nakayama in January. He finished sixth in the Tennō Shō (Spring, GI) and fifth in the Takarazuka Kinen (GI). He finished unplaced in his remaining two starts.
2023: Eight-year-old season Meiner Fanrong finished unplaced in three flat races in early 2023. He was transferred to steeplechase racing in August, finishing eighth in a hurdle maiden at Niigata. In his second steeplechase start at Nakayama on September 9, he fell at the fourth fence on the second circuit and was pulled up. He returned to flat racing and finished seventh in the Chunichi Shimbun Hai (GIII) in December.
2024: Nine-year-old season and retirement
Meiner Fanrong ran in four races in 2024 without a win. Following a thirteenth-place finish in the Thailand Cup (Open) at Sapporo on September 1, trainer Tezuka stated that the horse's age made further improvement unlikely. His retirement was announced by owner Thoroughbred Club Ruffian on September 4, 2024. He was deregistered from JRA competition on September 6, 2024.
Following his retirement, Meiner Fanrong became a riding horse at Niigata Racecourse, with the aim of serving as a lead pony. He served as a lead pony at the 2025 Niigata Kinen.
Statistics The following table details all 48 starts of Meiner Fanrong's racing career based on official netkeiba and JBIS records.
Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref2017 – two-year-old season Turf 1800 m (Firm) 2-Y-O Newcomer Maiden Nakayama 2.0 (1st) 16 1:50.3 Daichi Shibata 0.0 Spearano Turf 2000 m (Soft) 2-Y-O Maiden Maiden Tokyo 1.7 (1st) 13 2:02.3 Daichi Shibata –0.6 (Rose Phoenix) Turf 2000 m (Firm) Habotan Sho Allowance Nakayama 5.4 (3rd) 9 2:01.5 Daichi Shibata 0.1 Generale Uno2018 – three-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Firm) Freesia Sho Allowance Tokyo 5.4 (4th) 11 2:01.6 Daichi Shibata 0.1 Gibeon Turf 1800 m (Firm) Spring Stakes GII Nakayama 16.0 (6th) 13 1:48.7 Daichi Shibata 0.6 Stelvio Turf 2000 m (Good) Satsuki Shō GI Nakayama 151.8 (13th) 16 13th 2:02.3 Daichi Shibata 1.5 Epoca d'Oro Turf 2000 m (Firm) 3-Y-O Allowance Allowance Sapporo 1.4 (1st) 13 2:01.9 João Moreira –0.7 (Cerberus) Turf 1800 m (Good) WASJ Round 4 Allowance Sapporo 3.4 (2nd) 14 6th 1:51.2 Shane Foley 0.9 Smart Elements Turf 2000 m (Good) Narashino Tokubetsu Allowance Nakayama 2.0 (1st) 16 2:01.8 João Moreira –0.2 (Freezing Rain) Turf 2000 m (Good) November Stakes Allowance Tokyo 7.0 (4th) 10 1:59.0 Daichi Shibata 0.2 Langadia Turf 2000 m (Soft) Welcome Stakes Allowance Tokyo 7.6 (5th) 10 5th 1:47.2 Daichi Shibata 0.5 Up Quark2019 – four-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Firm) Kotobuki Stakes Allowance Kyoto 3.3 (3rd) 6 4th 2:01.7 Keita Tosaki 0.3 K T Clever Turf 2000 m (Firm) Amethyst Stakes Allowance Tokyo 14.9 (6th) 11 5th 1:58.9 Daichi Shibata 0.6 Rochefort Turf 2000 m (Good) Tajima Stakes Allowance Hanshin 6.8 (4th) 13 5th 2:02.8 Ryuji Wada 0.7 Mauve Sapphire Turf 2200 m (Firm) Wangan Stakes Allowance Nakayama 5.2 (3rd) 8 2:12.3 Yuji Tannai –0.2 (Acuto) Turf 1800 m (Good) Tomoe Sho Open Hakodate 10.7 (5th) 16 12th 1:48.7 Yuji Tannai 1.3 Suzuka Devious Turf 1800 m (Good) Hakodate Kinen GIII Hakodate 17.6 (9th) 16 1:59.6 Yuji Tannai 0.0 My Style Turf 1800 m (Firm) Mainichi Ōkan GII Tokyo 139.7 (9th) 10 10th 1:46.7 Daichi Shibata 2.3 Danon Kingly Turf 2000 m (Firm) Fukushima Kinen GIII Fukushima 11.9 (5th) 16 16th 2:01.1 Yuji Tannai 1.6 Crescendo Love2020 – five-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Firm) Kinko Sho GII Chukyo 175.9 (11th) 12 8th 2:02.7 Yuji Tannai 1.1 Saturnalia Turf 2000 m (Soft) Fukushima Minpo Hai Listed Fukushima 8.0 (5th) 16 5th 2:02.1 Yuji Tannai 0.3 Meiner Surpass Turf 1800 m (Heavy) Epsom Cup GIII Tokyo 31.9 (12th) 18 12th 1:49.8 Kosei Miura 2.1 Daiwa Cagney Turf 2000 m (Firm) Hakodate Kinen GIII Hakodate 22.6 (10th) 16 14th 2:01.5 Yuji Tannai 1.8 Admire Justa Turf 2000 m (Good) October Stakes Listed Tokyo 46.0 (12th) 16 4th 2:00.3 Daichi Shibata 0.8 Territorial Turf 2000 m (Firm) Fukushima Kinen GIII Fukushima 36.5 (14th) 16 15th 2:00.9 Kanichiro Fujii 1.3 Bio Spark Turf 1800 m (Firm) December Stakes Listed Nakayama 57.0 (10th) 15 6th 1:49.7 Yuji Tannai 0.5 Taurus Gemini2021 – six-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Firm) Shirafuji Stakes Listed Tokyo 82.9 (12th) 13 11th 1:59.9 Daichi Shibata 0.9 Potager Turf 1800 m (Firm) Tomoe Sho Open Hakodate 19.1 (7th) 13 1:48.0 Yuji Tannai 0.0 Satono Eldor Turf 2000 m (Firm) Hakodate Kinen GIII Hakodate 19.9 (7th) 16 14th 2:00.6 Toshiki Akiyama 1.9 Tosen Surya Turf 2000 m (Firm) Niigata Kinen GIII Niigata 42.8 (12th) 17 1:58.4 Mirco Demuro –0.1 (Tosen Surya) Turf 1800 m (Firm) Mainichi Ōkan GII Tokyo 61.5 (13th) 13 12th 1:46.0 Takeshi Yokoyama 1.2 Schnell Meister Turf 2000 m (Firm) Fukushima Kinen GIII Fukushima 40.2 (14th) 16 8th 2:00.5 Masami Matsuoka 1.3 Panthalassa Turf 2000 m (Firm) Chunichi Shimbun Hai GIII Chukyo 62.0 (14th) 18 17th 2:01.0 Masami Matsuoka 1.2 Shonan Baldi2022 – seven-year-old season Turf 2200 m (Firm) American Jockey Club Cup GII Nakayama 87.9 (11th) 14 2:12.9 Masami Matsuoka 0.2 King of Coji Turf 3200 m (Good) Tennō Shō (Spring) GI Hanshin 82.9 (14th) 18 6th 3:18.7 Masami Matsuoka 2.5 Titleholder Turf 2200 m (Firm) Takarazuka Kinen GI Hanshin 175.2 (14th) 17 5th 2:10.6 Mirco Demuro 0.9 Titleholder Turf 2400 m (Good) Kyoto Daishoten GII Hanshin 13.0 (8th) 14 14th 2:26.6 Mirco Demuro 2.3 Vela Azul Turf 2500 m (Firm) Copa Republica Argentina GII Tokyo 65.5 (15th) 18 15th 2:32.5 Mirco Demuro 1.4 Break Up2023 – eight-year-old season Turf 2200 m (Firm) Kyoto Kinen GII Hanshin 141.4 (11th) 13 12th 2:12.6 Yoshihiko Kawasu 1.7 Do Deuce Turf 2500 m (Heavy) Nikkei Shō GII Nakayama 63.3 (8th) 12 8th 2:39.2 Yuji Tannai 2.4 Titleholder Turf 2000 m (Firm) Naruo Kinen GIII Hanshin 122.8 (11th) 15 11th 1:59.7 Ryusei Sakai 0.6 Boccherini Hurdle 2850 m (Firm) 3-Y-O Hurdle Maiden Maiden Niigata 3.1 (1st) 14 8th 3:10.8 Yasunori Minoshima 4.7 Sakura Top Run Hurdle 2880 m (Soft) 3-Y-O Hurdle Maiden Maiden Nakayama 6.7 (3rd) 12 DNF – Yasunori Minoshima – Osiris Brain Turf 2000 m (Firm) Chunichi Shimbun Hai GIII Chukyo 117.8 (15th) 17 7th 1:59.3 Genki Maruyama 0.5 Yamanin Salvum2024 – nine-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Firm) Nakayama Kimpai GIII Nakayama 134.6 (15th) 17 10th 1:59.5 Genki Maruyama 0.6 Licancabur Turf 1800 m (Firm) Kokura Daishoten GIII Kokura 73.2 (13th) 15 13th 1:46.5 Genki Maruyama 1.4 Epiphany Turf 2000 m (Firm) Fukushima Minpo Hai Listed Fukushima 74.6 (14th) 16 14th 2:00.0 Masami Matsuoka 1.1 Reframing Turf 2600 m (Good) Thailand Cup Open Sapporo 88.4 (13th) 14 13th 2:44.5 Yuji Tannai 3.0 Shonan Bashit
In popular culture Meiner Fanrong appeared as the horse "Winged Yell" in the first episode of the television drama , broadcast on TBS in October 2025. Jockey Yutaka Take, who appeared in a cameo role, rode the horse in the scene.
In 2024, Meiner Fanrong won the "Idol Horse Audition 2024" conducted by the JRA Public Relations Center, receiving 13,469 votes in the active horse category. A plush toy of the horse was subsequently produced.
Pedigree
Meiner Fanrong is inbred 3 × 5 to Halo and 4 × 5 to Hail to Reason. His half-sister Uberleben (by Gold Ship) won the 2021 Yūshun Himba (GI). His half-brother Meiner Emperor (by Gold Ship) won the 2025 Nikkei Shō (GII). His dam Meiner Nouvelle won the 2003 Flower Cup (GIII).
See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan Niigata Kinen
References