In October, he took on two of Japan’s best thoroughbreds, [[T M Opera O]] and [[Narita Top Road]], in the [[Kyoto Daishoten]] and defeated them. However, during the race he cut off Narita Top Road, injuring both the horse and his jockey, and leading to his [[Ejection (sports)|disqualification]] from the race.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ishida |first=Toshinori |script-title=ja:黄金の旅路 : 人智を超えた馬・ステイゴールドの物語 |date=May 2014 |publisher=[[Kodansha]] |isbn=978-4-062-18972-9 |page=69 |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kimura |first=Shunta |script-title=ja:テイエムオペラオー : 孤高の王者 |publisher=Kosaido Shuppan |year=2002 |isbn=978-4-331-50889-3 |pages=223–224 |language=ja}}</ref>
In October, he took on two of Japan’s best thoroughbreds, [[T M Opera O]] and [[Narita Top Road]], in the [[Kyoto Daishoten]] and defeated them. However, during the race he cut off Narita Top Road, injuring both the horse and his jockey, and leading to his [[Ejection (sports)|disqualification]] from the race.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ishida |first=Toshinori |script-title=ja:黄金の旅路 : 人智を超えた馬・ステイゴールドの物語 |date=May 2014 |publisher=[[Kodansha]] |isbn=978-4-062-18972-9 |page=69 |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kimura |first=Shunta |script-title=ja:テイエムオペラオー : 孤高の王者 |publisher=Kosaido Shuppan |year=2002 |isbn=978-4-331-50889-3 |pages=223–224 |language=ja}}</ref>
His last run was [[Hong Kong Vase]] at [[Sha Tin Racecourse]], [[Hong Kong]]. There, he wore a saddle towel with his name written as “{{lang|zh|黃金旅程}}” in the [[Traditional Chinese language]], which in [[Chinese characters]] means “Golden Journey”. Stay Gold caught [[Ekraar]] in the final strides and won by a head. After the race, Yutaka Take, who rode him, said, “Wings grew on his back.” At the end of the season, the [[Japan Racing Association]] gave Stay Gold the JRA Special Award for becoming the first overseas G1 race winner bred by Japanese farms.{{efn|In fact, the first Japanese-bred horse to win at the highest level was [[Shiva (horse)|Shiva]] in the 1999 [[Tattersalls Gold Cup]], but she did not belong to JRA and was trained in Britain at the time.}}
His last run was [[Hong Kong Vase]] at [[Sha Tin Racecourse]], [[Hong Kong]]. There, he wore a saddle towel with his name written as “{{lang|zh|黃金旅程}}” in the [[Traditional Chinese language]], which in [[Chinese characters]] means “Golden Journey”. Stay Gold caught [[Ekraar]] in the final strides and won by a head. After the race, Yutaka Take, who rode him, said, “Wings grew on his back.” At the end of the season, the [[Japan Racing Association]] gave Stay Gold the JRA Special Award for becoming the first overseas G1 race winner bred by Japanese farms.{{efn|In fact, the first Japanese-bred horse to win at the highest level was [[Shiva (horse)|Shiva]] in the 1999 [[Tattersalls Gold Cup]], but she did not belong to JRA and was trained in Britain at the time.}}
Although initially unplanned, fan outcry and a request from the JRA after his victory at Hong Kong led to Stay Gold’s retirement ceremony being performed at [[Kyoto Racecourse]] on January 20, 2002.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Yushun |publisher=Japan Racing Association |year=2002 |publication-date=March 2002 |page=116 |language=Japanese}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Naoko |first=Takahashi |script-title=ja:ステイゴールド物語 – 遙かなる黄金旅程 |publisher=East Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-4-872-57291-9 |page=192 |language=ja |trans-title=Stay Gold Story – The Everlasting Golden Journey}}</ref>
Although initially unplanned, fan outcry and a request from the JRA after his victory at Hong Kong led to Stay Gold’s retirement ceremony being performed at [[Kyoto Racecourse]] on January 20, 2002.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Yushun |publisher=Japan Racing Association |year=2002 |publication-date=March 2002 |page=116 |language=Japanese}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Naoko |first=Takahashi |script-title=ja:ステイゴールド物語 – 遙かなる黄金旅程 |publisher=East Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-4-872-57291-9 |page=192 |language=ja |trans-title=Stay Gold Story – The Everlasting Golden Journey}}</ref>
Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse
Stay Gold (ステイゴールド, March 24, 1994 – February 5, 2015) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who had his greatest success in international races. He was sired by Sunday Silence and was out of the mare Golden Sash by Dictus. Famously known as a “Silver Collector”, running good results but unable to win in major races; he eventually won the Dubai Sheema Classic and Hong Kong Vase towards the end of his career. He also became a successful sire in Japan after his retirement from racing.
Stay Gold was bred at the Shadai Group’s Shiraoi Farm in Shiraoi, Hokkaido. He was notable for being a very small horse, standing 15.3 hands tall (161cm) at maturity,[1] and weighing less than 450 kilograms during his racing career. One of his defining traits other than his rather small physical stature was his personality – Stay Gold was a particularly violent and bad mannered horse, with his trainer Yasutoshi Ikee remarking that “he was so violent, he might even eat meat if I gave it to him,”[2] and his jockey Shigefumi Kumazawa saying that Stay Gold would rear, kick and bite even during regular exercise.[3]
Stay Gold made his debut at Hanshin Racecourse on December 1, 1996 but it was more than a year before he won his first race. On September 7, 1997, he won a minor race, the “Lake Akan-ko special (阿寒湖特別)”, and then did not win again for approximately two years and eight months, from 6 September 1997, to 20 May 2000.[4]
From 1998 to 2000, Stay Gold ran prominently in many of Japan’s top races, including the Diamond Stakes, Tenno Sho (Spring), Takarazuka Kinen, Arima Kinen, and Tenno Sho (Autumn). He collected 9 places and 7 shows, but victory proved elusive.
Although he did not win any graded races, Stay Gold accumulated significant earnings. His title was “Major Racing Wins: Lake Akan-ko special” and he was deemed “the successor to Nice Nature,” another Japanese racehorse who won 6 graded races but was better known for his many placed efforts.
On May 20, 2000, he was ridden by Yutaka Take and in the Meguro Kinen and obtained victory for the first time in 2 years and 8 months. It was his only win of the year.
In 2001, Stay Gold began with a win in the Grade II Nikkei Shinshun Hai and was then aimed at the Dubai Sheema Classic (UAE-G2:then) at Nad Al Sheba Racecourse. Fantastic Light, winner of the previous year’s World Series Racing Championship, was the clear favourite, with Stay Gold a 33-1 shot. Fantastic Light took the lead a furlong out, but Stay Gold rallied to get up on the line, winning by a nose after finding an opportunity to move through a gap in the final straight.[5] It was the first victory outside Japan for Sunday Silence’s progeny.
In October, he took on two of Japan’s best thoroughbreds, T M Opera O and Narita Top Road, in the Kyoto Daishoten and defeated them. However, during the race he cut off Narita Top Road, injuring both the horse and his jockey, and leading to his disqualification from the race.[6][7]
His last run was Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin Racecourse, Hong Kong. There, he wore a saddle towel with his name written as “黃金旅程” in the Traditional Chinese language, which in Chinese characters means “Golden Journey”. “黃金旅程” is pronounced in standard Chinese as “huáng jīn lù chéng”. On the final straight, Stay Gold closed a gap of approximately 5 lengths and caught up to Ekraar in the final strides and won by a head.[8] After the race, Yutaka Take, who rode him, said, “Wings grew on his back.” At the end of the season, the Japan Racing Association gave Stay Gold the JRA Special Award for becoming the first overseas G1 race winner bred by Japanese farms.[a]
Although initially unplanned, fan outcry and a request from the JRA after his victory at Hong Kong led to Stay Gold’s retirement ceremony being performed at Kyoto Racecourse on January 20, 2002.[9][10]
At the end of his racing career, Stay Gold was retired to become a breeding stallion and proved to be a very successful sire, fathering 13 Group 1 winners. Orfevre won the Japanese Triple Crown and finished second in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for two consecutive years. Gold Ship won six Grade 1 races including the Arima Kinen, Kikuka Shō, and Takarazuka Kinen twice; Dream Journey and Fenomeno also achieved considerable successes.
Stay Gold died suddenly of an arterial rupture on February 5, 2015, at the age of 20.[11]
c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding
| Foaled | Name | Sex | Major Wins |
| 2003 | Meiner Neos | c | Nakayama Grand Jump |
| 2004 | Dream Journey | c | Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, Takarazuka Kinen, Arima Kinen |
| 2004 | El Dorado | g | Singapore Gold Cup (three times) |
| 2006 | Nakayama Festa | c | Takarazuka Kinen |
| 2008 | Orfevre | c | Satsuki Sho, Tokyo Yushun, Kikuka Sho, Arima Kinen (twice), Takarazuka Kinen |
| 2009 | Gold Ship | c | Satsuki Sho, Kikuka Sho, Arima Kinen, Takarazuka Kinen (twice), Tenno Sho (Spring) |
| 2009 | Fenomeno | c | Tenno Sho (Spring) (twice) |
| 2011 | Oju Chosan | c | Nakayama Grand Jump (six times), Nakayama Daishogai (three times) |
| 2011 | Red Reveur | f | Hanshin Juvenile Fillies |
| 2013 | Admire Lead | f | Victoria Mile |
| 2013 | Rainbow Line | c | Tenno Sho (Spring) |
| 2014 | Win Bright | c | Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Hong Kong Cup |
| 2015 | Indy Champ | c | Yasuda Kinen, Mile Championship |
An anthropomorphized version of Stay Gold appears in Uma Musume Pretty Derby. Initially, Stay Gold was represented by “Kin’iro Ryotei”, a background character in the anime, before officially being featured in the series as himself in 2025.[12][13]
- ^ In fact, the first Japanese-bred horse to win at the highest level was Shiva in the 1999 Tattersalls Gold Cup, but she did not belong to JRA and was trained in Britain at the time.
