Rusei Sakai’s Confession: The Jockey Who Made History with Kentucky Derby and BC Classic Wins

A rising star in her mid-20s who has already won 11 GI races reveals her true feelings

May 4, Churchill Downs Racetrack in Kentucky, USA. On that day, the history of Japanese horse racing was set in motion.

It was the last straight line of the “Kentucky Derby,” the biggest race in the United States. Forever Young, a 3-year-old gelding, led by Rusei Sakai (27), was closing in on the lead horse with a powerful final leg. In a big race that is said by Japanese horsemen to be “impossible to run well” and has never even been on the placing board, Forever Young crossed the finish board in third place by a nose plus a half length.

The horse was owned by Susumu Fujita, 51, president of Cyber Agent. It was also a challenge that was filled with the three parties’ hopes and aspirations.

Now in his ninth year, Sakai has become one of the top jockeys in Japan, having already won 11 GI races (including races for Japanese-trained horses only) and four overseas prizes, despite being in his mid-20s. This year, he is ranked fourth in the JRA leaderboard with 94 wins (as of October 6, 2012).

He was brought up in an environment where horse racing was close to him from an early age. His father, Eikoh, was a jockey (now a trainer) at Oi Horse Racetrack, and his uncle was a jockey at Kasamatsu Horse Racetrack, so the family had a long history of horse racing.

I never had any other choice but to become a jockey,” he said. Before I can remember, I wrote in my kindergarten graduation album that I would be a jockey in the future.

After graduating from horse racing school, Sakai was assigned to Yoshito Yahagi Stables. When Sakai’s parents came to greet him, they had this exchange.

He said to my parents, ‘Please take care of me as if I were your real parent. He is like a mentor and a real father to me. He taught me everything from the very beginning, from how to greet people to how to approach my work. Even now, he is the one who is the strictest with me.

In his rookie year, he became the most victorious new jockey in the Kansai region, and in his second year he went to Australia by himself to hone his skills.

After living in Australia for a year, he won a series of Grand Prix races with less popular horses in 1919. The following year, he won the GI title. From ’21, he had more opportunities to ride overseas. It was during this time that he met Forever Young, a horse that was a true horse.

My first impression was that he was a big horse. Nothing special caught my attention in his training. Sakai says, “The stable staff had the same impression. However, during the warm-up for the new horse race, I was shocked. Even Sakai, who knows the backs of many famous horses, had never felt this way before.

UAE deserved to win.

Once the switch is turned on, the level of speed obviously goes up. I could tell from the return that he was ‘totally different’ from other horses. I knew I was going to win a big race.

His hunch came true, as he won the “All-Japan 2-Year-Old Championship” by 7 lengths after two consecutive wins. He also won the “Saudi Derby” overseas and headed to the “UAE Derby. On the day before the race, owner Fujita came to support him.

He, the owner, and the staff were already talking about the next trip to the United States. Everyone knows how hard it is to win overseas, but the UAE is based on the assumption that we will win. From my point of view, it was super pressure, and I told them to stop it (laughs).”

Sakai overcame the not inconsiderable pressure to win. Fujita entrusts his beloved horse to Sakai because of the undeniable trust that exists between them. In the Kentucky Derby, too, Fujita entrusted Sakai, rather than a local jockey, with his back. Although he fell just short of glory, history was made.

I wanted to win because I was so close,” Sakai said. I may never get another chance like that in my career as a jockey. That is the level of this race. I want to be the kind of jockey who is always riding in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Dubai, and the U.S. I have a lot of work to do to achieve that. I have a lot of work to do for that. I realized that I still have a lot of work to do.

Sakai, who stands out for his stoicism, rarely shows interest in anything other than horse racing. One episode illustrates this.

He says, “I ask Mr. Yahagi’s wife to take care of my money, but she doesn’t know how much is in my account. She tells me, ‘You should spend more money,’ but I have no interest. I’m really a person who can’t do anything when I take horse racing. My teacher often gets angry with me, saying, ‘You’re a professional, so say something interesting in your interviews’ (laughs).”

Sakai and Forever Young went to the U.S. again and placed third in the big race, the BC Classic, on November 2.

Sakai said, “I’m still not at the level I’m aiming for. I want to treasure the small steps I take every week.

Sakai is just looking ahead. Sakai has his sights set on accomplishing this feat with “Team Yahagi.

From the November 1 and 8, 2024 issue of FRIDAY