Taiki Shuttle
Taiki Shuttle at Arrow Stud
SireDevil's Bag
GrandsireHalo
DamWelsh Muffin
DamsireCaerleon
SexStallion
FoaledMarch 23, 1994
DiedAugust 17, 2022(2022-08-17) (aged 28)
ColourChestnut
BreederTaiki Farm
OwnerTaiki Farm
TrainerKazuo Fujisawa
Record13: 11-1-1
Earnings615,485,000 JPY + 1,000,000 FF
Major wins
Unicorn Stakes (1997)
Swan Stakes (1997)
Sprinters Stakes (1997)
Mile Championship (1997, 1998)
Keio Hai Spring Cup (1998)
Yasuda Kinen (1998)
Prix Jacques Le Marois (1998)
Awards
JRA Award for Best Sprinter or Miler (1997, 1998)
JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse (1998)
Japanese Horse of the Year (1998)
Honours
Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame
Last updated on February 24, 2023

Taiki Shuttle (タイキシャトル, March 23, 1994 – August 17, 2022) was an American-bred, Japanese-trained thoroughbred race horse and stallion. He won races at the highest level both home and abroad, most notably winning the Mile Championship (twice), Yasuda Kinen, and Sprinters Stakes in Japan and the Prix Jacques Le Marois in France. Taiki Shuttle was honored as the Japanese Racing Association's (JRA) Champion Sprinter in both 1997 and 1998, and was named the Japan Horse of the Year in 1998, along with Champion Older Male Horse.

In 1999, he was inducted into the JRA Hall of Fame.[1]

Taiki Shuttle died on August 17, 2022. He suffered a heart attack while he was sleeping due to his advanced age.[2][3]

Background

Foaled in the United States, Taiki Shuttle is a flaxen chestnut horse with a large white star, bred and owned by Taiki Farm. Taiki Shuttle is a son of Devil's Bag, the 1983 American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse. His dam, Welsh Muffin, a daughter of Caerleon, was a stakes winner in Ireland.[2][4]

During his racing career he was trained by Kazuo Fujisawa.

Racing career

1996 and 1997

Taiki Shuttle was originally slated to enter Fujisawa Stable's Miura training center in the fall of his juvenile year, but the schedule was delayed due to leg injury and hoof suppuration. He entered Fujisawa stable on February 5, 1997. Even after he entered the area, he was troubled by moyamoya disease in his legs, and the condition deteriorated with training, so his debut was again delayed.[5]

His connections' patience paid off as Taiki Shuttle broke his maiden at first asking in a maiden race at Tokyo Racecourse on April 19, 1997 going 1600 meters on dirt, and won his next two races, including the Shobu Stakes on turf. He tasted defeat in his fourth start when running second to Tenzan Storm in the Bodaiju Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse. Taiki Shuttle won his first graded stakes next in the Group 3 Unicorn Stakes. He would not be defeated again until his final race.[6]

He then won the Group 2 Swan Stakes as a prep race for the Mile Championship, a prestigious mile race in Japan, which he won. He then won the Sprinters Stakes to close out the year.[7] He was named Best Sprinter or Miler of 1997 by the Japanese Racing Association.[8]

1998

Taiki Shuttle opened 1998 with a win in the Group 3 Keio Hai Spring Cup in May. The next month he won the Group 1 Yasuda Kinen. After the Yasuda Kinen, Taiki Shuttle shipped out to France to run in the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois. He won the race and then went on to win his second Mile Championship.[9]

In his final career race, he tried to repeat in the Sprinters Stakes, finishing third behind Meiner Love.

Taiki Shuttle was named Horse of the Year, Best Sprinter or Miler, and Best Older Male of 1998 by the Japan Racing Association.[10]

Honours

Taiki Shuttle was voted Japan's Champion Sprinter/ Miler in 1997 and 1998. In the latter year he has also named Japanese Champion Older Male Horse and Japanese Horse of the Year. He has been inducted into the Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame.[11]

Retirement and stud career

Taiki Shuttle stood his stallion career at stud at Arrow Stud in Shinhidaka (former Shizunai), Japan. He periodically shuttled to East Stud in Hokkaido.

Taiki Shuttle was pensioned from breeding and moved to Kimura Farm in 2018, a retirement facility for racehorses connected with East Stud and Versailles Farm. He was moved to the farm along with Meisho Doto, another pensioned stallion. The two underwent successful castration in January 2019.

On September 15, 2019, the manes of Taiki Shuttle and Rose Kingdom, a fellow JRA Champion, were mysteriously cut by an unknown person. It appeared that a sharp tool had been used to cut the hair, but the horses were otherwise unharmed. The farm filed a report with the Hokkaido Police and ceased visitation to the farm for security and investigative purposes.[12] The suspect, 55 year old Kazuyo Tanaka from Kawaguchi, Saitama, was arrested the following year.[13]

Taiki Shuttle, along with Meisho Doto, were moved from the Versailles Farm to the Northern Lake Farm on June 16, 2021.[14] Taiki Shuttle would pass away at Northern Lake Farm the following year due to old age.[3]

Taiki Shuttle's notable progeny include:

  • Win Kluger (2000) winner of the NHK Mile Cup (Jpn-I) in 2003.
  • Meisho Bowler (2001) winner of the February Stakes (JPN-GI) in 2005.
  • Summer Wind (2005) winner of the JBC Sprint (Jpn-I) in 2010.

Pedigree

Pedigree of Taiki Shuttle
Sire
Devil's Bag		 Halo Hail to Reason Turn-to
Nothirdchance
Cosmah Cosmic Bomb
Almahmoud
Ballade Herbager Vandale
Flagette
Miss Swapsco Cohoes
Soaring
Dam
Welsh Muffin		 Carleon Nijinsky Northern Dancer
Flaming Page
Foreseer Round Table
Regal Gleam
Muffitys Thatch Forli
Thong
Contrail Roan Rocket
Azurine

Taiki Shuttle has a 3x5 inbreeding of Hail to Reason and a 5x5 inbreed of Mahmoud.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "タイキシャトル：競馬の殿堂　JRA". jra.jp (in Japanese). Japan Racing Association. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
  2. 1 2 "Welsh Muffin Horse Pedigree". www.pedigreequery.com. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  3. 1 2 Numata, Kyoko (2022-08-17). "訃報：タイキシャトル". 認定NPO法人 引退馬協会 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2022-08-17. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  4. ↑ "Taiki Shuttle Horse Pedigree". www.pedigreequery.com. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  5. ↑ "遅いデビューと連勝街道｜競馬最強の法則WEB". saikyo.k-ba.com. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  6. ↑ "Race Records:Lifetime Starts | Taiki Shuttle(USA) | JBIS-Search". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  7. ↑ "Race Records:Lifetime Starts | Taiki Shuttle(USA) | JBIS-Search". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  8. ↑ "Taiki Shuttle Horse Pedigree". www.pedigreequery.com. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  9. ↑ "Race Records:Lifetime Starts | Taiki Shuttle(USA) | JBIS-Search". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  10. ↑ "Taiki Shuttle Horse Pedigree". www.pedigreequery.com. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  11. ↑ "Manes of Two Japanese Racehorses Chopped Off, No Suspects In Vandalism Case". Horse Racing News | Paulick Report. 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  12. ↑ "Manes of Two Japanese Racehorses Chopped Off, No Suspects In Vandalism Case". Horse Racing News | Paulick Report. 2019-09-18. Retrieved 2019-09-20.
  13. ↑ "「タイキシャトル」のたてがみ切った疑い　女逮捕" [Woman arrested for cutting Taiki Shuttle's mane]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2020-03-27. Archived from the original on 2020-03-28. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  14. ↑ "功労馬のタイキシャトルとメイショウドトウ、北海道新冠町のノーザンレイクへ移動 | 競馬ニュース". netkeiba.com (in Japanese). 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  15. ↑ "Pedigree Summary:Five-generation Pedigree Table | Taiki Shuttle(USA)|JBIS-Search". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 2023-02-24.
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