African Gold (, ; foaled 26 March 2015) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He recorded five wins from forty starts between 2017 and 2024, including the Kyoto Kinen (GII) in 2022.
Background African Gold is a chestnut gelding bred in Hidaka, Hokkaido, by Darley Japan Farm. He was sired by Stay Gold, and his dam was Blixen (USA), a mare by Gone West. His older half-brother African Story (by Pivotal) won the Dubai World Cup. He was owned by Godolphin and trained by Masato Nishizono at the JRA's Ritto Training Center.
Racing career 2017: two-year-old season African Gold debuted on 23 December 2017 in a 2-year-old newcomer race over 2000 metres on turf at Hanshin Racecourse, finishing ninth.
2018: three-year-old season He ran twice in maiden races in early 2018 without winning, then won his third maiden attempt on 29 April at Kyoto Racecourse by a nose. After a second-place finish in the Melbourne Trophy, he won the Atsumi Tokubetsu on 22 July and the Hyogo Tokubetsu on 2 October. On 21 October, he made his graded stakes and Grade 1 debut in the Kikuka Shō at Kyoto, finishing 12th behind Fierement.
2019: four-year-old season He began the year on 13 January in the Nikkei Shinshun Hai (GII) at Kyoto, finishing 15th. After a fourth in the Midosuji Stakes and a second in the Karasuma Stakes, he was gelded due to his difficult temperament. He then finished fourth in the Malaysia Cup before winning the Rokusha Stakes at Tokyo on 6 October, his first win in a year. On 3 November, he finished third in the Copa Republica Argentina (GII) behind Muito Obrigado.
2020: five-year-old season He started the year on 19 January in the Nikkei Shinshun Hai, finishing 11th. He then finished tenth in the Metropolitan Stakes, 11th in the Meguro Kinen, and 18th in the Takarazuka Kinen (GI). He did not race again that year.
2021: six-year-old season He returned on 30 January in the Shirofuji Stakes (Listed) at Tokyo, finishing fourth. After unplaced runs in the Osakajo Stakes, Toohata Stakes, Naruo Kinen and Cepheus Stakes, he ran in the Chunichi Shimbun Hai (GIII) on 11 December. Starting 17th favourite of 18 runners, he finished second behind Shonan Bardi; the trifecta payout of 2,368,380 yen reflected the upset.
2022: seven-year-old season He began the year on 16 January with a fifth in the Nikkei Shinshun Hai. On 13 February, he contested the Kyoto Kinen (GII), run that year at Hanshin. Starting 12th favourite, he led from the start and held on to win by 0.2 seconds, recording his first graded stakes victory and giving jockey Kyosuke Kokubun his first graded win since 2018. He then finished seventh in the Osaka Hai (GI), 16th in the Takarazuka Kinen, 12th in the Kyoto Daishoten, and tenth in the Copa Republica Argentina.
2023: eight-year-old season He finished ninth in both the Nikkei Shinshun Hai and the Kyoto Kinen. On 19 March, he led in the Hanshin Daishoten (GII) and stuck on for fourth. On 30 April, he contested the Tennō Shō (Spring) (GI) at Kyoto. He took the early lead but suffered atrial fibrillation on the second backstretch and was pulled up. He returned on 20 August in the Sapporo Kinen, finishing 12th, then ran fifth in the Kyoto Daishoten, eighth in the Copa Republica Argentina, and 11th in the Stayers Stakes.
2024: nine-year-old season He began the year on 11 February in the Kyoto Kinen, finishing tenth. His retirement was announced by trainer Masato Nishizono on 24 February, and his JRA registration was cancelled on 29 February 2024. He was donated to the JRA and became a riding horse at Hanshin Racecourse, later serving as a lead pony at the same course.
Race record The following table details all 40 starts of African Gold's racing career based on official JBIS and netkeiba records. Record current as of his final start on 11 February 2024. Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref2017 – two-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Good) 2-Y-O Newcomer Maiden Hanshin 27.0 (7th) 12 9th 2:07.1 Manabu Sakai 1.0 Kitano Commandeur2018 – three-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Yielding) 3-Y-O Maiden Maiden Kyoto 116.0 (11th) 15 4th 2:04.0 Fuma Matsuwaka 0.3 Jack Rose Turf 2000 m (Good) 3-Y-O Maiden Maiden Kyoto 16.4 (5th) 13 6th 2:03.2 Manabu Sakai 1.7 Neptunite Turf 2400 m (Good) 3-Y-O Maiden Maiden Kyoto 10.5 (5th) 11 2:27.1 Fuma Matsuwaka –0.0 (Meikei Gold) Turf 2200 m (Good) Melbourne Trophy 1-win Kyoto 7.1 (5th) 10 2:14.9 Fuma Matsuwaka 0.2 Drake Turf 2200 m (Good) Atsumi Tokubetsu 1-win Chukyo 6.5 (4th) 14 2:11.9 Fuma Matsuwaka –0.4 (Shadow Brillante) Turf 2400 m (Good) Hyogo Tokubetsu 2-win Hanshin 1.7 (1st) 8 2:26.8 Fuma Matsuwaka –0.7 (Aroma Dulce) Turf 3000 m (Good) Kikuka Shō GI Kyoto 24.5 (9th) 18 12th 3:07.8 Fuma Matsuwaka 1.7 Fierement2019 – four-year-old season Turf 2400 m (Good) Nikkei Shinshun Hai GII Kyoto 7.5 (4th) 16 15th 2:29.3 Filip Minařík 3.1 Glory Vase Turf 2400 m (Good) Midosuji Stakes 3-win Hanshin 4.1 (3rd) 9 4th 2:26.2 Fuma Matsuwaka 0.1 Shirvanshah Turf 2400 m (Good) Karasuma Stakes 3-win Kyoto 3.2 (1st) 12 2:25.4 Fuma Matsuwaka 0.1 Renovar Turf 2000 m (Yielding) Malaysia Cup 3-win Chukyo 3.6 (2nd) 10 4th 2:00.9 Yuga Kawada 0.1 Kaval Turf 2400 m (Good) Rokusha Stakes 3-win Tokyo 3.9 (2nd) 15 2:25.8 Yuichi Fukunaga –0.2 (Trust Kenshin) Turf 2500 m (Good) Copa Republica Argentina GII Tokyo 2.8 (1st) 13 2:31.7 Christophe Lemaire 0.2 Muito Obrigado2020 – five-year-old season Turf 2400 m (Good) Nikkei Shinshun Hai GII Kyoto 5.4 (3rd) 14 11th 2:28.1 Yuichi Fukunaga 1.2 Mozu Bello Turf 2400 m (Good) Metropolitan Stakes Listed Tokyo 6.1 (4th) 11 10th 2:26.6 Yasunari Tanabe 0.8 Uranus Charm Turf 2500 m (Good) Meguro Kinen GII Tokyo 28.6 (11th) 18 11th 2:30.3 Yuichi Fukunaga 0.7 King of Koji Turf 2200 m (Yielding) Takarazuka Kinen GI Hanshin 413.5 (17th) 18 18th 2:21.8 Kanichiro Fujii 8.3 Chrono Genesis2021 – six-year-old season Turf 2000 m (Good) Shirofuji Stakes Listed Tokyo 63.3 (10th) 13 4th 1:59.2 Yasunari Tanabe 0.2 Potager Turf 1800 m (Good) Osakajo Stakes Listed Hanshin 25.1 (10th) 16 10th 1:46.9 Kanichiro Fujii 0.8 Hindu Times Turf 2000 m (Good) Toohata Stakes Listed Chukyo 7.5 (4th) 11 7th 2:00.0 Kota Fujioka 0.5 Mount Gold Turf 2000 m (Good) Naruo Kinen GIII Chukyo 88.0 (11th) 13 10th 2:01.9 Kota Fujioka 1.2 Unicorn Lion Turf 2000 m (Heavy) Cepheus Stakes Open Chukyo 50.4 (12th) 13 9th 2:01.9 Kota Fujioka 0.7 Arata Turf 2000 m (Yielding) October Stakes Listed Tokyo 73.9 (16th) 18 8th 2:00.9 Kyosuke Kokubun 0.9 Panthalassa Turf 2000 m (Good) Chunichi Shimbun Hai GIII Chukyo 154.0 (17th) 18 1:59.9 Kyosuke Kokubun 0.1 Shonan Bardi2022 – seven-year-old season Turf 2200 m (Good) Nikkei Shinshun Hai GII Chukyo 87.9 (12th) 16 5th 2:12.6 Kyosuke Kokubun 0.9 Yoho Lake Turf 2200 m (Yielding) Kyoto Kinen GII Hanshin 51.5 (12th) 13 2:11.9 Kyosuke Kokubun –0.2 (Tagano Diamante) Turf 2000 m (Good) Osaka Hai GI Hanshin 92.9 (11th) 16 7th 1:59.0 Kyosuke Kokubun 0.6 Potager Turf 2200 m (Good) Takarazuka Kinen GI Hanshin 122.0 (12th) 17 16th 2:12.4 Kyosuke Kokubun 2.7 Titleholder Turf 2400 m (Yielding) Kyoto Daishoten GII Hanshin 25.6 (12th) 14 12th 2:26.1 Kyosuke Kokubun 1.8 Vela Azul Turf 2500 m (Good) Copa Republica Argentina GII Tokyo 46.8 (14th) 18 10th 2:31.9 Tom Marquand 0.8 Breakup2023 – eight-year-old season Turf 2200 m (Yielding) Nikkei Shinshun Hai GII Chukyo 70.8 (12th) 14 9th 2:15.0 Kyosuke Kokubun 0.8 Weltreisende Turf 2200 m (Good) Kyoto Kinen GII Hanshin 111.2 (10th) 13 9th 2:12.3 Kyosuke Kokubun 1.4 Do Deuce Turf 3000 m (Good) Hanshin Daishoten GII Hanshin 114.0 (10th) 14 4th 3:06.5 Kyosuke Kokubun 0.4 Justin Palace Turf 3200 m (Yielding) Tennō Shō (Spring) GI Kyoto 213.8 (13th) 17 DNF – Kyosuke Kokubun – Justin Palace Turf 2000 m (Yielding) Sapporo Kinen GII Sapporo 204.9 (13th) 15 12th 2:05.1 Kyosuke Kokubun 3.6 Prognosis Turf 2400 m (Heavy) Kyoto Daishoten GII Kyoto 58.3 (10th) 14 5th 2:25.5 Kyosuke Kokubun 0.2 Pradaria Turf 2500 m (Good) Copa Republica Argentina GII Tokyo 48.8 (12th) 18 8th 2:30.3 Kyosuke Kokubun 0.4 Zeffiro Turf 3600 m (Good) Stayers Stakes GII Nakayama 16.3 (6th) 16 11th 3:47.7 Kyosuke Kokubun 2.3 Iron Barows2024 – nine-year-old season Turf 2200 m (Good) Kyoto Kinen GII Kyoto 46.0 (7th) 12 10th 2:13.2 Kyosuke Kokubun 1.1 Pradaria
In popular culture In October 2018, a Twitter account was opened in the horse's own name, posting reports on his gelding, his next races and polls on his running style; he became known as "the horse that tweets". In the 2023 Idol Horse Audition run by the JRA's PR Center, he received 30,545 votes, placing first in the active horse division, and a plushie of him was produced.
Pedigree
African Gold is inbred 5 × 5 to Northern Dancer. His older half-brother African Story won the Dubai World Cup.
See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan
References