Big Arthur (, ; foaled 18 March 2011) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He recorded eight wins from fifteen starts between 2014 and 2017, including the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (GI) and the Centaur Stakes (GII) in 2016. In Hong Kong he raced under the name .
Background Big Arthur is a bay stallion bred in Urakawa, Hokkaido, by Bamboo Stud. He was sired by Sakura Bakushin O, and his dam was Shabona (USA), a mare by Kingmambo. He was owned by Akira Nakatsuji and trained by Kenichi Fujioka at the JRA's Ritto Training Center. His younger half-brother Sekifu (by Henny Hughes) won the 2021 Hyogo Junior Grand Prix and the 2023 Elm Stakes.
Racing career 2014: three-year-old season Big Arthur debuted on 13 April 2014 in a maiden race over 1200 metres on turf at Fukushima Racecourse, after the newcomer races had ended. Ridden by Kota Fujioka, he won by 2.5 lengths against experienced runners. He was then sidelined for ten months with an injury sustained during transport.
2015: four-year-old season He returned on 28 February, winning the Yatsushiro Tokubetsu at Kokura Racecourse by 2.5 lengths. He then won the Okazaki Tokubetsu at Chukyo Racecourse with the fastest final furlongs of the race, and the Yodoyabashi Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse, where he won by a neck despite losing a shoe during the race. On 20 June, he won the Minazuki Stakes at Hanshin, defeating two graded stakes winners, for his fifth consecutive win.
On 23 August, he made his graded stakes debut in the Kitakyushu Kinen (GIII) at Kokura, finishing second to Bel Canto. He was then excluded from the Sprinters Stakes after priority entry was given to higher-rated horses. On 11 October, he won the Opal Stakes at Kyoto Racecourse by 3 lengths. On 29 November, he finished second in the Keihan Hai (GIII), a head behind Satono Lupin. On 26 December, he ran in the Hanshin Cup (GII), his only start over 1400 metres, and finished third behind Rosa Gigantea.
2016: five-year-old season Big Arthur began the season on 31 January in the Silk Road Stakes (GIII) at Kyoto, finishing fifth with Mirco Demuro. On 27 March, he contested the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (GI) at Chukyo with Yuichi Fukunaga. He tracked the fast pace in a good position and defeated Mikki Isle by 3/4 length in a course record time of 1:06.7, recording his first Grade 1 victory and the first Grade 1 victory for trainer Kenichi Fujioka.
After a six-month break, he won the Centaur Stakes (GII) at Hanshin on 11 September, leading from the start. On 2 October, he started 1st favourite at 1.8 odds in the Sprinters Stakes (GI) at Nakayama Racecourse. Drawn the inside stall, he was blocked in the straight and finished 12th. On 11 December, he ran in the Hong Kong Sprint (G1) at Sha Tin Racecourse. With Fukunaga injured after a fall the previous week, he was ridden by Ryan Moore and finished 10th.
2017: six-year-old season He missed the Takamatsunomiya Kinen with a bruised left foreleg, and the Centaur Stakes with pain in his left foreleg heel. He went straight to the Sprinters Stakes on 1 October, where his record of thirteen consecutive starts as 1st favourite ended as he started 8th favourite. He finished sixth behind Red Falx. His JRA registration was cancelled on 6 October 2017, and he entered Arrow Stud as a stallion.
Race record The following table details all 15 starts of Big Arthur's racing career based on official JBIS and netkeiba records. Record current as of his final start on 1 October 2017. Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref2014 – three-year-old season Turf 1200 m (Good) 3-Y-O Maiden Maiden Fukushima 8.3 (4th) 16 1:09.5 Kota Fujioka –0.4 (Crown Iris)2015 – four-year-old season Turf 1200 m (Good) Yatsushiro Tokubetsu 1-win Kokura 4.6 (1st) 18 1:07.9 Kota Fujioka –0.4 (Yamano Hayabusa) Turf 1200 m (Yielding) Okazaki Tokubetsu 2-win Chukyo 2.1 (1st) 18 1:08.6 Kota Fujioka –0.3 (Teehaff) Turf 1200 m (Yielding) Yodoyabashi Stakes 3-win Hanshin 1.4 (1st) 12 1:09.3 Suguru Hamanaka –0.0 (Époisses) Turf 1200 m (Good) Minazuki Stakes 3-win Hanshin 1.3 (1st) 13 1:08.1 Kota Fujioka –0.0 (Forevermore) Turf 1200 m (Good) Kitakyushu Kinen GIII Kokura 2.5 (1st) 18 1:07.5 Kota Fujioka 0.2 Bel Canto Turf 1200 m (Good) Opal Stakes Open Kyoto 1.7 (1st) 16 1:06.7 Kota Fujioka –0.5 (Makoto Nawaratana) Turf 1200 m (Good) Keihan Hai GIII Kyoto 1.5 (1st) 15 1:07.4 Kota Fujioka 0.0 Satono Lupin Turf 1400 m (Yielding) Hanshin Cup GII Hanshin 2.7 (1st) 17 1:21.6 Kota Fujioka 0.2 Rosa Gigantea2016 – five-year-old season Turf 1200 m (Yielding) Silk Road Stakes GIII Kyoto 2.1 (1st) 16 5th 1:08.5 Mirco Demuro 0.6 Dance Director Turf 1200 m (Good) Takamatsunomiya Kinen GI Chukyo 3.9 (1st) 18 Yuichi Fukunaga –0.1 (Mikki Isle) Turf 1200 m (Good) Centaur Stakes GII Hanshin 2.1 (1st) 13 1:07.6 Yuichi Fukunaga –0.2 (Nero) Turf 1200 m (Good) Sprinters Stakes GI Nakayama 1.8 (1st) 16 12th 1:08.0 Yuichi Fukunaga 0.4 Red Falx Turf 1200 m (Good) Hong Kong Sprint G1 Sha Tin 7.0 (3rd) 13 10th 1:09.47 Ryan Moore 0.67 Aerovelocity2017 – six-year-old season Turf 1200 m (Good) Sprinters Stakes GI Nakayama 16.1 (8th) 16 6th 1:07.8 Yuichi Fukunaga 0.2 Red Falx indicated that it was a record time finish
Stud career Big Arthur stood at Arrow Stud from 2018, with 126 foals registered in his first crop. His first winner came on 17 July 2021, when Win Monarch won a maiden race at Fukushima. His stud fee was raised from 1 million yen to 1.5 million yen in 2023 and to 3 million yen in 2024, before returning to 1.5 million yen in 2026. Foaled Name Sex Major wins 2019 Toshin Macao c Centaur Stakes, Keio Hai Spring Cup, Keihan Hai (twice), Ocean Stakes 2020 Kangchenjunga c Centaur Stakes, Hankyu Hai 2020 Big Caesar c Keihan Hai 2020 Bouton d'Or c Hakodate Nisai Stakes c = colt, f = filly
Pedigree
Big Arthur is inbred 4 × 5, 4 to Northern Dancer and 5 × 5 to Special (within the dam line).
See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan
References