Admire Terra (Japanese: アドマイヤテラ, Hepburn: Adomaiya Tera; foaled 7 February 2021) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He has competed since 2023, recording six wins in fourteen starts, including the Meguro Kinen (GII) in 2025 and the Hanshin Daishoten (GII) in 2026. His racing name combines the "Admire" prefix used by owner Junko Kondo with "Terra," the Latin word for "Earth."
Background Admire Terra is a grey colt bred in Abira, Hokkaido, by Northern Farm. He was sired by Rey de Oro, a son of King Kamehameha, and his dam was Admire Miyabi, a daughter of Heart's Cry who won the 2017 Queen Cup (GIII). His fourth dam, Wind in Her Hair, is the winner of the 1995 Aral-Pokal and also is the dam of Deep Impact. He is owned by Junko Kondo and sent into training with Yasuo Tomomichi at the JRA's Ritto Training Center.
Racing career
2023: two-year-old season Admire Terra debuted on November 19, in a maiden race on the turf at Kyoto Racecourse. The horse was initially supposed to be ridden by Ryan Moore, but due to a fall which he suffered mid-race earlier that day, he was instead ridden by Yuga Kawada, who would win the race by 1.75 lengths.
2024: three-year-old season
Admire Terra won a one-win class race at Kyoto on January 7, 2024. He finished fourth in the Wakaba Stakes (Listed) at Hanshin Racecourse in March and fourth in the Kyoto Shimbun Hai (GII) at Kyoto in May, failing to qualify for the spring classics. He finished second in the Akanko Tokubetsu (Allowance) at Sapporo Racecourse in July and won the Chausuyama Kogen Tokubetsu (Allowance) at Chukyo Racecourse in September. He finished third in the Kikuka Shō (GI) at Kyoto in October, beaten 0.4 seconds by Urban Chic.
2025: four-year-old season
Admire Terra won the Osaka-Hamburg Cup (Open) at Hanshin in April. On June 1, he won the Meguro Kinen (GII) at Tokyo Racecourse, defeating Ho Elite by a neck, recording his first graded stakes victory. He finished fourth in the Kyoto Daishoten (GII) at Kyoto in October.
On November 30, he contested the Japan Cup (GI) at Tokyo. However, at the start his jockey Yuga Kawada was unseated, and Admire Terra continued as a riderless horse, crossing the finish line first ahead of Calandagan and Masquerade Ball. However, as a riderless horse, he was not officially placed in the race. He finished eleventh in the Arima Kinen (GI) at Nakayama Racecourse in December.
2026: five-year-old season On March 22, Admire Terra won the Hanshin Daishoten (GII) at Hanshin in a race-record time of 3:02.0. On May 3, he finished third in the Tennō Shō (Spring, GI) at Kyoto, beaten by 0.1 seconds by Croix du Nord.
After a summer break, Admire Terra is scheduled to run the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France after running the Sapporo Kinen in August. Yutaka Take was initially planned to ride the horse at Sapporo; but following the announcement that Take would ride Sixpence at Prix Jacques Le Marois instead, it was announced that Ryusei Sakai would ride Admire Terra instead. In the race, the horse started well but he suddenly made a move at the backstretch into second position. He was jostling with several horses before gassing up after the fourth corner. He touched the finish line in ninth place. Sakai admitted that he pushed the horse to the front when the pace started to slow down. This move made him run out of energy in the final phase. Sakai also stated that the horse was better suited to a longer race. His trainer, Tomomichi, agreed that the 2000 metres pace did not suit him, but this result would not affect their possible plan for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Statistics The following table details all 16 starts of Admire Terra's racing career based on official netkeiba and JBIS records. Record current as of 4 October 2026.
Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref2023 – two-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Good) 2-Y-O Newcomer Maiden Kyoto 6.9 (5th) 7 2:03.3 Yuga Kawada –0.3 (Win Liberale)2024 – three-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Firm) 3-Y-O 1-Win Class Allowance Kyoto 2.7 (1st) 9 2:02.8 Yuga Kawada –0.4 (Namura Ahab) Turf 2000 m (Firm) Wakaba Stakes Listed Hanshin 4.0 (3rd) 9 4th 2:00.0 Mirai Iwata 0.3 Mr G T Turf 2200 m (Firm) Kyoto Shimbun Hai GII Kyoto 11.6 (6th) 15 4th 2:11.7 Mirco Demuro 0.5 June Take Turf 2600 m (Good) Akanko Tokubetsu Allowance Sapporo 1.5 (1st) 12 2:41.0 Christophe Lemaire 0.7 Aster Bugie Turf 2200 m (Good) Chausuyama Kogen Tokubetsu Allowance Chukyo 1.5 (1st) 10 2:12.4 Christophe Lemaire –0.3 (Namura Hooker) Turf 3000 m (Firm) Kikuka Shō GI Kyoto 23.6 (7th) 18 3:04.5 Yutaka Take 0.4 Urban Chic2025 – four-year-old season Turf 2600 m (Good) Osaka-Hamburg Cup Open Hanshin 2.4 (1st) 11 2:39.8 Yutaka Take –0.1 (Nishino Revenant) Turf 2500 m (Firm) Meguro Kinen GII Tokyo 3.3 (1st) 18 2:32.9 Yutaka Take 0.0 (Hohelied) Turf 2400 m (Good) Kyōto Daishōten GII Kyoto 3.1 (1st) 18 4th 2:24.2 Yuga Kawada 0.3 Deep Monster Turf 2400 m (Firm) Japan Cup GI Tokyo 46.1 (10th) 17 DNF – Yuga Kawada – Calandagan Turf 2500 m (Firm) Arima Kinen GI Nakayama 50.3 (9th) 16 11th 2:32.4 Yuga Kawada 0.9 Museum Mile2026 – five-year-old season Turf 3000 m (Firm) Hanshin Daishōten GII Hanshin 3.1 (1st) 10 Yutaka Take –0.5 (Aqua Vernal) Turf 3200 m (Firm) Tennō Shō (Spring) GI Kyoto 3.0 (2nd) 15 3:13.8 Yutaka Take 0.1 Croix du Nord Turf 2000 m (Firm) Sapporo Kinen GII Sapporo 4.4 (2nd) 16 9th 1:59.4 Ryusei Sakai 1.2 Shake Your HeartOct 4Turf 2400 m (Good to Soft)Prix de l'Arc de TriompheGILongchamp66/1 (13th)1611th2:28.0Cristian Demuro0.9Daryz
Pedigree
Admire Terra is inbred 4 × 5 to Mr. Prospector (sire side) and 4 × 4 to Wind in Her Hair (sire and dam side). His dam Admire Miyabi won the 2017 Queen Cup (GIII). His fourth dam Wind in Her Hair won the 1995 Aral-Pokal (German Group 1) and is the dam of Deep Impact and Black Tide.
See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan Meguro Kinen Hanshin Daishoten
References