Up to Date (, ; foaled 18 February 2010) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who competed on the flat and over steeplechase obstacles. He recorded ten wins from thirty-seven starts, including the Nakayama Grand Jump (J-GI) and the Nakayama Daishogai (J-GI) in 2015, and was named Best Steeplechase Horse that year. He was the first horse to complete the spring-autumn J-GI steeplechase double since the introduction of the jump grade system, and was regarded as the chief rival of Oju Chosan.
Background Up to Date is a grey stallion bred in Niikappu, Hokkaido, by North Hills. He was sired by Kurofune, and his dam was Linear Muse, a mare by Tony Bin. He was owned by Kazuo Imanishi, before briefly being transferred to Koji Maeda and later to Hiroe Imanishi. He was trained by Shozo Sasaki at the JRA's Ritto Training Center. He had a habit of yawning during the paddock parade.
Racing career 2012: two-year-old season Up to Date debuted on 7 July 2012 in a 2-year-old newcomer race over 1400 metres on dirt at Chukyo Racecourse, winning by 0.1 seconds. After a seventh in the Chukyo Nisai Stakes, he won the Yamaboshi Sho at Hanshin Racecourse on 29 September. He then finished second in the Hyogo Junior Grand Prix at Sonoda and third, as the 1st favourite, in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki.
2013: three-year-old season On the flat, Up to Date failed to reproduce his early form. His only placing in this period was a fifth in the Okehazama Stakes on 20 July at Chukyo. He finished unplaced in the Hyacinth Stakes, Fukuryu Stakes, Busan Stakes, Osaka Sports Hai, and Heijokyo Stakes.
2014: four-year-old season Up to Date continued to struggle on the flat, finishing unplaced in the Moji Stakes, Harima Stakes, Nobi Tokubetsu, and Kyushu Sports Hai. On 6 September, he was switched to steeplechase races with Mitsuaki Hayashi. Trainer Shozo Sasaki, who had avoided training jump horses after a riding accident, reasoned that a timid horse would jump carefully. After a second on his jump debut at Kokura, he won his next two starts at Hanshin and Kyoto Racecourse.
2015: five-year-old season He began the year with a second in the Nakayama Shinsun Jump Stakes and a fourth in the Hanshin Spring Jump (J-GII). On 18 April, he contested the Nakayama Grand Jump (J-GI) at Nakayama Racecourse. He won by a wide margin in a record time of 4:46.6, recording his first J-GI victory and the first J-GI victory for jockey Mitsuaki Hayashi in his 30th year as a rider. He then won the Kokura Summer Jump (J-GIII), and on 26 December he won the Nakayama Daishogai (J-GI), catching Sanacion in the final straight. He became the first horse to win both spring and autumn J-GI steeplechase races in the same year since the jump grade system was introduced, and was named Best Steeplechase Horse at the 2015 JRA Awards.
2016: six-year-old season He began the year in the Hanshin Spring Jump, ridden by Yuzo Shirahama after Hayashi was injured in a fall. He finished second behind Sanacion. He missed the Nakayama Grand Jump with a bone bruise in his left foreleg. He then finished eighth in the Niigata Jump Stakes, second in the Hanshin Jump Stakes, and second in the Nakayama Daishogai behind Oju Chosan.
2017: seven-year-old season Up to Date finished second in the Hanshin Spring Jump, third in the Nakayama Grand Jump, and second in the Kokura Summer Jump, all behind or beside Oju Chosan. On 16 September, he won the Hanshin Jump Stakes by 1.0 seconds. On 23 December, he finished second to Oju Chosan in the Nakayama Daishogai.
2018: eight-year-old season He won the Hanshin Spring Jump (J-GII) on 10 March, then finished second to Oju Chosan in the Nakayama Grand Jump and the Kokura Summer Jump. On 15 September, he won the Hanshin Jump Stakes for the second consecutive year, his sixth jump graded stakes victory. On 22 December, he started 1st favourite in the Nakayama Daishogai in the absence of Oju Chosan, but fell at the final obstacle and was pulled up. He did not race again. His JRA registration was cancelled on 26 July 2019, and he became a riding horse at the JRA Equestrian Park.
Race record The following table details all 37 starts of Up to Date's racing career based on official JBIS and netkeiba records. Record current as of his final start on 22 December 2018. Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref2012 – two-year-old season Dirt 1400 m (Heavy) 2-Y-O Newcomer Maiden Chukyo 17.7 (5th) 12 1:25.0 Tetsuzo Sato –0.1 (Chrysolite) Turf 1400 m (Yielding) Chukyo Nisai Stakes Open Chukyo 22.1 (7th) 8 7th 1:25.0 Tetsuzo Sato 1.1 A Shin Top Dirt 1400 m (Good) Yamaboshi Sho 1-win Hanshin 8.1 (4th) 14 1:25.4 Tetsuzo Sato –0.0 (Malvern Hills) Dirt 1400 m (Yielding) Hyogo Junior Grand Prix JpnII Sonoda 2.6 (2nd) 11 1:27.3 Osamu Shimohara 0.9 Keiai Leone Dirt 1600 m (Good) Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun JpnI Kawasaki 3.2 (1st) 14 1:42.6 Yasunari Iwata 0.7 Someries2013 – three-year-old season Dirt 1600 m (Good) Hyacinth Stakes Open Tokyo 14.8 (5th) 16 10th 1:38.2 Yasunari Iwata 1.6 Charlie Brave Dirt 1800 m (Good) Fukuryu Stakes Open Nakayama 73.3 (12th) 15 14th 1:55.4 Shu Ishibashi 1.8 Copano Rickey Dirt 1400 m (Good) Okehazama Stakes 3-win Chukyo 76.7 (14th) 16 5th 1:23.3 Yuya Mizuguchi 0.2 Narita Spring Dirt 1700 m (Heavy) Busan Stakes 3-win Kokura 13.3 (3rd) 16 10th 1:45.2 Yuya Mizuguchi 1.6 Machan Tamer Dirt 1400 m (Good) Osaka Sports Hai 3-win Hanshin 24.8 (6th) 10 8th 1:25.0 Yuya Mizuguchi 1.8 Qismah Dirt 1800 m (Good) Heijokyo Stakes 3-win Kyoto 39.0 (8th) 12 8th 1:52.5 Shinichiro Akiyama 0.8 Vent Nouveau2014 – four-year-old season Dirt 1700 m (Yielding) Moji Stakes 3-win Kokura 77.4 (12th) 15 13th 1:44.7 Hayato Yoshida 1.6 Sambista Dirt 1400 m (Yielding) Harima Stakes 3-win Hanshin 150.7 (13th) 16 14th 1:25.2 Toru Ojima 1.3 Graceful Leap Dirt 1800 m (Yielding) Nobi Tokubetsu 2-win Chukyo 34.3 (10th) 15 9th 1:51.6 Yutaka Take 1.4 Asukano Roman Turf 2000 m (Yielding) Kyushu Sports Hai 2-win Kokura 82.0 (8th) 9 8th 2:00.4 Futoshi Komaki 1.5 Satono Aladdin Jump 2900 m (Good) Jump 3-Y-O+ Maiden Maiden Kokura 5.0 (2nd) 8 3:11.4 Mitsuaki Hayashi 0.4 Amakusa Haiya Jump 2970 m (Good) Jump 3-Y-O+ Maiden Maiden Hanshin 1.6 (1st) 10 3:20.5 Mitsuaki Hayashi –2.5 (Admire Parthia) Jump 3170 m (Yielding) Jump 3-Y-O+ Open Open Kyoto 1.8 (1st) 13 3:35.6 Mitsuaki Hayashi –0.2 (Sunrise Royal)2015 – five-year-old season Jump 3200 m (Good) Nakayama Shinsun Jump Stakes Open Nakayama 1.7 (1st) 14 3:35.6 Mitsuaki Hayashi 0.0 Wanted Jump 3900 m (Yielding) Hanshin Spring Jump J-GII Hanshin 3.3 (1st) 13 4th 4:23.4 Mitsuaki Hayashi 0.0 Sanrei Duke Jump 4250 m (Good) Nakayama Grand Jump J-GI Nakayama 12.0 (4th) 15 Mitsuaki Hayashi –1.7 (Sombrero) Jump 3390 m (Good) Kokura Summer Jump J-GIII Kokura 2.5 (2nd) 8 3:42.8 Mitsuaki Hayashi –0.2 (Biko Pililani) Jump 4100 m (Good) Nakayama Daishogai J-GI Nakayama 3.5 (2nd) 14 4:37.9 Mitsuaki Hayashi –0.1 (Acorn Path)2016 – six-year-old season Jump 3900 m (Yielding) Hanshin Spring Jump J-GII Hanshin 2.1 (1st) 13 4:23.4 Yuzo Shirahama 0.9 Sanacion Jump 3250 m (Good) Niigata Jump Stakes J-GIII Niigata 1.7 (1st) 14 8th 3:32.4 Mitsuaki Hayashi 2.5 Taisei Dream Jump 3140 m (Good) Hanshin Jump Stakes J-GIII Hanshin 3.1 (2nd) 11 3:28.3 Mitsuaki Hayashi 0.1 Nihonpiro Baron Jump 4100 m (Good) Nakayama Daishogai J-GI Nakayama 3.2 (2nd) 11 4:47.1 Mitsuaki Hayashi 1.5 Oju Chosan2017 – seven-year-old season Jump 3900 m (Good) Hanshin Spring Jump J-GII Hanshin 4.9 (2nd) 11 4:28.5 Mitsuaki Hayashi 0.4 Oju Chosan Jump 4250 m (Good) Nakayama Grand Jump J-GI Nakayama 4.4 (2nd) 13 4:51.4 Mitsuaki Hayashi 1.9 Oju Chosan Jump 3390 m (Good) Kokura Summer Jump J-GIII Kokura 1.6 (1st) 14 3:42.7 Mitsuaki Hayashi 0.0 Solor Jump 3140 m (Yielding) Hanshin Jump Stakes J-GIII Hanshin 1.8 (1st) 7 3:29.3 Mitsuaki Hayashi –1.0 (Le Pere Noel) Jump 4100 m (Good) Nakayama Daishogai J-GI Nakayama 6.8 (2nd) 15 4:36.2 Mitsuaki Hayashi 0.1 Oju Chosan2018 – eight-year-old season Jump 3900 m (Good) Hanshin Spring Jump J-GII Hanshin 1.2 (1st) 9 4:23.4 Mitsuaki Hayashi –1.3 (Good Sky) Jump 4250 m (Good) Nakayama Grand Jump J-GI Nakayama 2.3 (2nd) 12 4:45.4 Mitsuaki Hayashi 2.4 Oju Chosan Jump 3390 m (Good) Kokura Summer Jump J-GIII Kokura 1.2 (1st) 11 3:41.7 Yuzo Shirahama 0.4 Yokagura Jump 3140 m (Good) Hanshin Jump Stakes J-GIII Hanshin 1.1 (1st) 9 3:27.2 Yuzo Shirahama –0.1 (Love and Pop) Jump 4100 m (Good) Nakayama Daishogai J-GI Nakayama 1.4 (1st) 13 DNF – Yuzo Shirahama – Nihonpiro Baron indicated that it was a record time finish
After racing Following his retirement, Up to Date became a riding horse at the JRA Equestrian Park.
Pedigree
Up to Date is inbred 5 × 5 to Northern Dancer.
See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan
References