Natural Rise (Japanese: ナチュラルライズ, Hepburn: Nachuraru Raizu; foaled 2 February 2022) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He has competed since 2024, recording five wins in eleven starts, including the Haneda Hai (JpnI) and Tokyo Derby (JpnI) in 2025, and the (JpnII) in 2025. He won the first two legs of the 3-Year-Old Dirt Triple Crown but finished second in the Japan Dirt Classic (JpnI), the third leg.
Background Natural Rise is a bay colt bred in Shinhidaka, Hokkaido, by Grand Bokujo. He was sired by Kizuna, a son of Deep Impact, and his dam was Lady Madonna, a daughter of the American-bred stallion Distorted Humor. His racing name combines "Natural" with "Rise." He was purchased for ¥33,000,000 by Hiroyuki Yoshioka at the 2022 Select Sale weanling session. He was sent into training with Keizo Ito at the JRA's Miho Training Center.
Racing career
2024: Two-year-old season Natural Rise debuted on July 20, 2024, in a maiden race on the dirt at Sapporo Racecourse, ridden by Takeshi Yokoyama, winning by six lengths. He was scratched from the Platanus Sho (Allowance) at Tokyo in October due to right foreleg phlegmon. On November 23, he won the Cattleya Stakes (Open) at Tokyo Racecourse, defeating Cracking by 0.75 lengths. He finished fourth in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun (JpnI) at Kawasaki Racecourse in December.
2025: Three-year-old season On March 26, Natural Rise won the Keihin Hai (JpnII) at Oi Racecourse by six lengths, recording his first graded stakes victory. On April 29, he won the Haneda Hai (JpnI) at Oi by five lengths, recording his first Grade 1-level victory. On June 11, he won the Tokyo Derby (JpnI) at Oi by 2.5 lengths in a race record time of 2:03.8, completing the first two legs of the 3-Year-Old Dirt Triple Crown.
On October 8, he finished second in the Japan Dirt Classic (JpnI) at Oi, beaten three lengths by Narukami, failing to complete the triple crown. He finished eleventh in the Tokyo Daishoten (GI) at Oi in December.
2026: Four-year-old season Natural Rise finished seventh in the February Stakes (GI) at Tokyo in February. He finished eighth in the Kashiwa Kinen (JpnI) at Funabashi Racecourse in May and eighth in the Teio Sho (JpnI) at Oi in July. One month later, he finished in fourth place in the Elm Stakes. Yokoyama stated that even though he carried a pretty heavy load at 59 kg, the horse ran well and he satisfied with the result. However, not long after the race, the horse was diagnosed with a bowed tendon on his right forearm, forcing him off the racetracks for at least 9 months.
Statistics The following table details all 12 starts of Natural Rise's racing career based on official netkeiba and JBIS records. Record current as of 8 August 2026.
Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref2024 – two-year-old season Dirt 1700 m (Firm) 2-Y-O Newcomer Maiden Sapporo 3.0 (1st) 14 1:45.7 Takeshi Yokoyama –1.0 (Berber Compass) Dirt 1600 m (Good) Cattleya Stakes Open Tokyo 3.6 (2nd) 16 1:36.4 Takeshi Yokoyama –0.1 (Clay King) Dirt 1600 m (Firm) Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun JpnI Kawasaki 1.4 (1st) 11 4th 1:42.9 Takeshi Yokoyama 0.5 Myriad Love2025 – three-year-old season Dirt 1700 m (Firm) Keihin Hai JpnII Oi 1.9 (1st) 14 1:45.5 Takeshi Yokoyama –1.2 (Riko Sparrow) Dirt 1800 m (Soft) Haneda Hai JpnI Oi 1.3 (1st) 15 1:52.1 Takeshi Yokoyama –1.0 (Night of Fire) Dirt 2000 m (Heavy) Tokyo Derby JpnI Oi 1.5 (1st) 16 2:03.8 Takeshi Yokoyama –0.5 (Clay King) Dirt 2000 m (Firm) Japan Dirt Classic JpnI Oi 1.9 (1st) 16 2:04.3 Takeshi Yokoyama 0.6 Narukami Dirt 2000 m (Soft) Tokyo Daishoten GI Oi 5.5 (3rd) 15 11th 2:07.2 Takeshi Yokoyama 2.9 Diktaean2026 – four-year-old season Dirt 1600 m (Firm) February Stakes GI Tokyo 21.4 (7th) 16 7th 1:36.2 Takeshi Yokoyama 0.8 Costa Nova Dirt 1600 m (Firm) Kashiwa Kinen JpnI Funabashi 6.9 (4th) 13 8th 1:41.1 Takeshi Yokoyama 2.5 Wilson Tesoro Dirt 2000 m (Good) Teio Sho JpnI Oi 24.2 (8th) 13 8th 2:04.5 Takeshi Yokoyama 1.7 Mikki Fight Dirt 1700 m (Good) Elm Stakes GIII Sapporo 9.4 (5th) 11 4th 1:44.8 Takeshi Yokoyama 1.0 Luxor Cafe
Pedigree
Natural Rise is inbred 3 × 4 to Storm Cat, 5 × 5 to Northern Dancer, and 4 × 5 to Mr. Prospector (dam side).
See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan Haneda Hai Tokyo Derby
References