Darley Japan

Lemon Pop, who recently became the first dual winner of the G1 Champions Cup for over a decade, has been introduced at a fee of ¥5 million (€30,615) for 2025, identifying him as the most expensive stallion on the Darley Japan roster. The six-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid, who was crowned the JRA Best Dirt Horse in 2023, will embark on his first season in Hokkaido following his Chukyo swansong which saw him retire as the winner of 13 of his 18 career starts. Trained by Hiroyasu Tanaka, he...

Recent Japanese transplant Palace Malice covered 262 mares in his first season at Darley Japan, the stud announced. The 2013 GI Belmont Stakes-winning son of Curlin has already enjoyed success in the Land of the Rising Sun with his progeny. Jantar Mantar (Jpn) is a winner of the G1 NHK Mile Cup this year and the 2023 G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes the same term he was crowned Japanese Champion 2-Year-Old Colt. Palace Malice, who stood for ¥3,500,000 (€22,139) in 2024, also has the Japanese Group 3 winner Noble Roger...

Harry Sweeney is one of Irish racing's finest exports. A qualified vet, he has been based in the Far East for 35 years, where he operates from the world renowned Paca Paca Farm as well as holding the position of President at Darley Japan.  From big-money pinhooks to sleepless nights after some frightening losses, breeding Japanese Derby winner Deep Brilliante and how he engineered a plan to be granted an owner's licence in the country, Sweeney makes for a fascinating and entertaining Q&A.  The Marco Polo of Irish racing sat...

The Japanese stallion studs are in the midst of hosting their annual parades in Hokkaido and there will doubtless be plenty of interested onlookers at Darley Japan, where the stallion yard has been boosted by a quartet of new recruits for the 2024 season. Two of the four are brand new to stud and have arrived from Britain with pretty lofty reputations, and rightly so. Both Adayar (Ire) and Hukum (Ire) are winners of the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., while Adayar, more pertinently, is a Derby...

Having been announced as one of the newest members of the stallion roster at Darley Japan, Palace Malice remained in a rich vein of form with his young progeny, as US-bred Noble Roger was given a perfect steer by Yuga Kawada to take out Monday's G3 Shinzan Kinen at Kyoto. It was the sire's second pattern winner in the last month, adding to the success of the American-conceived, but Japanese-foaled Jantar Mantar (Jpn) in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity. Looking to build on a smart debut victory going a mile...

The 14-strong Darley Japan roster and fees for 2024 were announced on Thursday morning. Leading the way with a ¥4 million fee is GI Forego S. victor Pyro, who is standing his 14th season in Japan. The sire of eight stakes winners is joined by former American-based transplants Palace Malice and Yoshida (Jpn), who will stand for ¥3.5 million and ¥1.5 million, respectively. Palace Malice, a GI Belmont S.-winning half-brother to Justin Palace (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Iron Barows (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) who will face off in Sunday's G1...

Three Chimneys Farm's GI Belmont S. hero Palace Malice (Curlin) and WinStar Farm's versatile multiple Grade I winner Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) are bound for 2024 Japanese stud duty, Darley Japan said in a release late Wednesday. On the heels of the announcement that Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will stand at Darley in Japan next year, Palace Malice and Yoshida add even more star power as they accrued four Grade I wins and 10 black-type wins between them. Palace Malice was a...

Godolphin's G1 Derby winner Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}--Anna Salai, by Dubawi {Ire}) will join Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) at Darley Japan for stallion duty in 2024, Darley announced on Thursday. Fees for the G1 King George-winning duo will be revealed later. The first horse to win the Derby and the King George in the same year since his paternal grandsire Galileo (Ire), Adayar was retired in July. The bay broke his maiden by nine lengths at Nottingham at second asking at two for Charlie Appleby, and was group-placed...

Champion Will Take Charge (Unbridled's Song--Take Charge Lady, by Dehere), whose 13 black-type winners includes this year's GI Hollywood Gold Cup hero There Goes Harvard, will join the stallion roster at Darley Japan in 2023, according to a post on the nursery's website. Will Take Charge has stood his first eight seasons at stud at Three Chimneys Farm. Campaigned by the late Willis Horton during his first two seasons at the races and trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Will Take Charge won the 2013 GI Travers S. and GII Pennsylvania...

Alice Haynes trainee Harry's Hero (GB) (Hawkbill--Flora Medici {GB}, by Sir Percy {GB}) became the first winner for his Darley Japan freshman sire (by Kitten's Joy) when dominating his rivals in the closing stages of Wednesday's British Stallion Studs EBF Restricted Maiden S. over an extended seven furlongs at Musselburgh. 1st-Musselburgh, £8,000, Mdn, 8-24, 2yo, 7f 33yT, 1:33.50, gd. HARRY'S HERO (GB) (c, 2, Hawkbill--Flora Medici {GB}, by Sir Percy {GB}), an Aug. 4 debut third going a shade over six furlongs at Great Yarmouth last time, was well away...

2017 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf hero and MG1SW Talismanic (GB) (Medaglia d'Oro) sired his first foal, a colt, on Jan. 25, Darley Japan announced. The bay colt is the first produce of the winning Dynamis (Jpn) (Street Sense), from the family of Japanese Horse of the Year Air Groove (Jpn) (Tony Bin {Ire}), herself the dam of Japanese Champion Older Mare Admire Groove (Jpn) (Sunday Silence). Admire Groove, a half-sister to G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup winner and sire Rulership (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) is already a proven commodity...