Yutaka Take Brings 60 Seconds In 2 Minutes

"You can't explain much in 60 seconds, but when you show Michael Jordan, you don't have to. It's that simple.”  - Phil Knight, Chairman of Nike

When we think of the face of NBA basketball, we may picture Michael Jordan. Maybe we think of Peyton Manning for football. Other faces of sport may include Dale Earnhardt, Tiger Woods, Babe Ruth, and Jackie Robinson, but who would you say is the face of Thoroughbred horse racing?

The majority of enthusiasts would probably suggest Secretariat without lifting a brow. What about the human face of racing?  Fans of the past 20 years may identify Chris McCarron, Mike Smith, Gary Stevens, or Victor Espinoza. How about the name Yutaka Take?

 “There has probably been no other jockey in Japan that can compare to Yutaka Take's impact on Japanese racing. He is more than just a top jockey in Japan, he is basically the face of Japanese racing as a whole.” Kate Hunter, communications manager at Paca Paca Farm in Japan said. “Honestly, based on his career stats, the only person I think you could compare (Yutaka Take to) from US racing would be Eddie Arcaro.”

Yutaka Take has a robust resume bursting at the seams, which should be considered when examining his impact on the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) this year.

The popular Japanese rider celebrated his 10,000th career mount in 2002 despite fracturing his pelvis during a maiden race at Nakayama racecourse later in the year. Take has been Japan's leading rider 10 times, in 1989-90, and from 1992-99, and he holds more individual records than any other Japanese jockey.

In July of 2007, Yutaka Take broke the previous record of 3,000 career wins during a maiden special weight. Following the win, Take told the Japan Racing Association, "I've had so much support, from the connections and the fans, from the horses who have given me the 3,000 wins. I also learned a lot from the horses who I couldn't (win) with. I owe everyone so much."

Take became Japan's first jockey to win 100 grade or group I races when he guided Tosen Ra to victory in the Mile Championship (Jpn-I) at Kyoto Nov. 17, 2008. Following this win Take stated "I am very pleased to be able to achieve this milestone of  (my) 100th career group I win, but I hope to capture more titles in the future,"

With his 2016 Tenno Sho (Spring) (Jpn-I) victory aboard Kitasan Black, Yutaka Take extended a record he holds of seven Tenno Sho victories, one of Japan’s most prestigious races. He also reached a milestone of 70 JRA-G1 wins. Kitasan Black is by Black Tide, a full brother to Deep Impact. Japan’s superstar stallion Deep Impact holds the Tenno Sho record time of 3 minutes, 13.4 seconds, which was established with Take aboard in 2006.

Reviewing Deep Impact’s Tenno Sho performance, Take was last due to a bad start at the gate, later settled, and then strategically gained gradual position. Though different in distance, this was a similar situation in the unfolding of the 2016 UAE Derby (UAE-II) win by Lani.

Lani stumbled at the start of the UAE Derby, which cost him position and resulted in trailing the field. Going at least four wide through the backstretch, Lani easily moved up to challenge the pace. He moved with purpose when asked in the final turn at about 200 meters, but really didn’t run against the challengers until 100 meters. He grinded to the finish. This is what you want to see in a Kentucky Derby horse, the ability to overcome a bad start and to make several moves.

Gainesway Farm stands Lani’s sire Tapit. While visiting, I asked Ian Tapp, Sales & Bloodstock Development at Gainesway Farm, if he was excited to have Take riding Lani in the Kentucky Derby? Ian responded, “It is exciting to have Yutaka Take riding Lani, especially since he has previous experience aboard Ski Captain.” Take rode Ski Captain in the 1995 Derby won by Thunder Gulch. Ski Captain finished 14th in the race as the first Japanese-based horse to run in the first Saturday in May.

Lani would also become the ninth Kentucky Derby starter that raced exclusively outside North America, prior to competing in the Run for the Roses. None finished in the top five: Dr Devious (seventh in 1992), Thyer (13th in 1992), Citadeed (ninth in 1995), Ski Captain (14th in 1995), China Visit (sixth in 2000), Curule (seventh in 2000), Castle Gandolfo (12th in 2002), and Mubtaahij (eighth in 2015).

Horses that raced outside North America have a record of 2-1-0 in 43 starts since 1967. The two winners were Venezuela's Canonero II (1971) and Puerto Rico's Bold Forbes (1976). England's Bold Arrangement is the only other foreigner to hit the board. He was second to Ferdinand in 1986.

Does Yutaka Take hold the key in Lani winning once again and will he change the tides of foreign competitors? His stats combined with Lani’s prep race seem to indicate he is a serious contender.

Jennie Rees mentions the event of Lani and Yutaka Take participating in the Kentucky Derby, especially following American Pharoah’s Triple Crown campaign in 2015, has the attention of a nation. "Lani taking on America's best 3-year-olds in the Derby is a big story in Japan. A video crew from Western Japan's Kansai Telecasting Corp. was in town working on a documentary on Lani.”

Yutaka Take said this week through Kieta Tanaka, agent for owner Yoko Maeda and who has been serving as the barn's translator, "For a very long time, I have been wishing to ride in the Derby again, … The time has come now, and I'm very excited about it. ... For the jockeys riding outside the U.S., it's extremely difficult to even get a ride in the Kentucky Derby. So I understand how precious the experience this time will be."

The Kentucky Derby may be the fastest two minutes in sports, but Yutaka Take only needs to show 60 seconds.

Further Reading:

Steve Haskin’s thoughts:

And I still find Lani very intriguing, despite his morning antics, unusual training methods, and an ugly-looking modified work in which he had to be hit three times to stay straight and never changed his leads. But I love the long three-mile gallops and interval training of jogging, galloping, open galloping, jogging, walking, and then starting the process all over. And he’s looked a lot better in those gallops than he did in his work. Even in his three-furlong work, which was supposed to be five furlongs, he still came home his final quarter in :23 2/5. So I’m certainly not discounting his chances. I have watched all his races numerous times, and this horse has a powerful sustained move and can pick off horse in rapid fashion. He also can be effective from just off the pace or from 20 lengths back. We discovered too late that another foreign invader, Canonero II, was the same way. He could beat you from far back of right on the pace. In short, don’t mock, shun, or ignore this horse, despite his unusual training methods. We’ve seen the result of that before.

Further thoughts by Kate Hunter:

Kate Hunter had no trouble noting more accolades of Yutaka Take. “Every achievement (Take) makes goes into the history books as he has literally achieved more than any other jockey. Every time he reaches a new 100th win, be it his first 100 (his 2nd year riding shockingly fast) JRA wins or his 3800th(This January) he has been the fastest jockey to reach those numbers in JRA history. He is the winningest jockey in all of JRA history at the moment and claimed that title back in 2007. He was also the first JRA jockey to win 200 races in a single year. This January when he won the American Jockey Club Cup at Nakayama … he scored a new record, 30 consecutive years with a group win.”

“In December of last year he became the first jockey to win 300 JRA group races. If he can win the 2yo champion race the Asahi Hai Futurity he will have swept all the JRA group 1 races. He is also the President of the Japan Jockey Club. Busy guy!” Hunter said.

Quick Note:
Eddie Arcaro’s accolades are vast, but in a quick glance we can remember his two Triple Crown wins aboard Citation and Whirlaway. Overall, Eddie Arcaro had 24,092 lifetime starts, 4,779 wins, was second 3,807 times, third 3,302, and earned $30,039,543.

Japan Jockey Rankings:

* Data is inclusive of JRA racing only
Source: http://japanracing.jp/en/information/jockey-trainer-ranking/index.html

*Earnings are inclusive of Added Money and Stakes Money only.
Source: http://japanracing.jp/_statistics/2015/s10.html