Equinox retired soon after his famous Japan Cup 2023 win and will now stand at the Shadai Stallion Station Stud. The superstar colt will end his career having won eight of his 10 starts and winning over £14m in total prize money.
Equinox Retired After Famous Japan Cup Win
Connections of Equinox announced soon after his Japan Cup 2023 win that their superstar colt, who is the world’s best racehorse, will be retired.
The Equinox retirement comes just four days after his facile 4-length Japan Cup win in Tokyo (watch below) – beating Liberty Island. See the full 2023 Japan Cup result here.
That latest win was Equinox’s eighth success from his 10 career starts and his sixth straight victory. He returned just 30/100 fav with the best UK horse racing betting sites.
During those wins Equinox won £14,038,786 in total prize money and despite losing two of his 10 races, was never out of the first two. Six were also in Group One company.
Christophe Lemaire Rode Equinox In All His Races
French jockey Christophe Lemaire, who was visibly moved after his Japan Cup win, rode Equinox in all his 10 career races and with jockeys getting on average 10% of all winnings, would have won around £1.4m himself thanks to Equinox.
Equinox retires as a 4 year-old, with this owners – Silk Racing Co – now sending him off for his next chapter, which is a career at stud. The son of Kitasan Black will stand at the Shadai Stallion Station in Hokkaido and can be expected to command a huge fee.
The world’s best racehorse will also be reunited with his father – Kitasan Black, who is also at the Shadai Stallion Station.
One of the past best racehorses – Frankel – stands at the Banstead Manor Stud for £350,000, so you can expect Equinox to not be too far off this figure.
Despite likely to command a big fee, there are sure to still be plenty of takers. He could be a busy boy.
WATCH: Equinox Winning The 2023 Japan Cup (26th November)
Equinox Horse Profile
- Age: 4
- Trainer: Tetsuya Kimura
- Jockey: Christophe-Patrice Lemaire
- Owners: Silk Racing Co Ltd
- Sire: Kitasan Black
- Dam: Chateau Blanche
- Runs: 10
- Wins: 8
- Top Two Finishes: 10
- Grade/Group One Wins: 6
- Career Winnings: £14,038,786
Equinox Horse Race Wins During His Career
- 2023 Japan Cup (G1)
- 2023 Tenno Sho Autumn (G1)
- 2023 Takarazuka Kinen (G1)
- 2023 Dubai Sheema Classic (G1)
- 2022 Arima Kinen Grand Prix (G1)
- 2022 Tenno Sho Autumn (G1)
- 2021 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes (G2)
- 2021 Maiden
Equinox’s Sire Also Won The Japan Cup
Class runs in the Equinox family as his sire Kitasan Black, who will be a familiar name to Japanese horse racing fans between 2015 and 2017, also won the Japan Cup.
Kitasan Black also stands at the Shadai Stallion Stud in Japan for 10,000,000 JYP.
During his racing career he won 12 of his 20 races and has only been out of the first three on two occasions.
Kitasan Black amassed £11,454,079 in total prize money during his career and won seven Grade One races in Japan.
Of those big races, Kitasan Black won the 2016 Japan Cup and also the Tenno Sho (Autumn). A race his son Equinox also won twice.
Hisashi Shimizu trained Kitasan Black and was ridden in most of his races by superstar Japanese jockey Yutaka Take.
Equinox Broke Global 2000m World Record By Almost A Second
In 2023 Equinox also won his second Grade One Tenno Sho at Tokyo – winning with the contest by 2 1/2 lengths (watch below). But that victory made further headlines as he also broke the 2000m record by just under a second.
The winning time being 1:55.2.
This time was just under a second quicker than the previous world record at that distance of 1:56.1.
Equinox Lands Takarazuka Kinen (June 2023)
Another big win for Equinox in 2023 was in the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin racecourse on 25th June 2023.
That day he had to race wide around the home bend and in the process jockey Christophe Lemaire lost a lot of ground.
However, Equinox’s class kicked in and was still able to run down the other horses down the straight. Seeing off the other 16 entries – by only a neck at the winning post (watch below).
Equinox Takes Tenno Sho 2022 in Tokyo – An Unbelievable Win
In October 2022, Equinox hit the headlines again as he was involved in a remarkable (watch below).
Panthalassa had attempted to win the race from the front under jockey Yutaka Yoshida when racing 15 lengths clear turning into the Tokyo straight.
However, Equinox’s jockey Christophe Lemaire got his fractions right and eventually the long-time leader come back to the others. But only just.
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