Last year's Japanese Triple Crown winner and dual champion Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}–Rhodochrosite, by Unbridled's Song) will retire to Shadai Stallion Station in Japan after making his final start in the G1 Japan Cup on Nov. 28. The news was first reported by BloodHorse. A fee for the 4-year-old North Hills Co., Ltd-bred will be announced later.
The Shinji Maeda colourbearer, who is trained by Yoshito Yahagi, was named the Japanese Champion 2-Year-Old Colt of 2019 on the back of a flawless campaign that culminated in a 1 1/2-length win in the G1 Hopeful S. after taking the 1800-metre G3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai S. in a record time of 1:44.50 in November of that year.
Contrail made his 3-year-old bow in the Apr. 19 G1 Japanese 2000 Guineas, and maintained his unbeaten record with more victories in the May 31 G1 Japanese Derby and G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai on Sept. 27. He just lasted for a neck score in the G1 Japanese St. Leger to become the eighth Japanese Triple Crown Winner on Oct. 25, 2020. Although he lost the G1 Japan Cup to the Japanese Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) running second, Contrail still earned divisional honours as the Japanese Champion 3-Year-Old Colt. His 2021 record shows a third in the G1 Osaka Hai at Hanshin in April and a second in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) to 2021 Japanese 2000 Guineas hero Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) on Halloween. He has earned $8,311,887 from just 10 starts, with seven wins, two seconds and a third.
His dam, the placed Unbridled's Song mare Rhodochrosite, was picked up by Koji Maeda for $385,000 as a Keeneland September yearling in 2011. Contrail is her third foal, while his granddam Folklore (Tiznow) was a winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the GI Matron S. and the GII Adirondack S. and was also named the Eclipse Champion Juvenile Filly in 2005. A half-sister to Folklore, the multiple stakes-placed Delightful Quality (Elusive Quality), is the dam of 2020 U.S. Champion Juvenile Colt and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Essential Quality (Tapit), who progressed to take the 2021 GI Belmont S. as a sophomore and will stand for $75,000 at Darley America next year.
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