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| Sumita Pawar |
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Ryusei Sakai, a young and talented jockey from Japan, is all set to ride two Japanese contenders at the FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin, which is going to take place on Sunday 28th April. Sakai has become quite popular in recent years, both in Japan and internationally, and has won many Grade One races on the JRA circuit. He has won races like the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, the Shuka Sho, the February Stakes, the Champions Cup, and the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, to name a few.
Sakai's father was a jockey in his time, and now he is a trainer on the National Association of Racing. Sakai started his jockey career in 2016, and since then, he has won 437 Japan Racing Association races from an overall of 4,608 rides.
Sakai has also had the opportunity to travel to many countries, such as the USA, Europe, the Middle East, Australia, and Korea, to ride Japanese horses. He has won the 2022 G2 Godolphin Mile at Meydan and the 2023 Gr.3 1351 Turf Sprint at King Abdulaziz on Bathrat Leon. In 2024, he won the Gr.3 Saudi Derby in dramatic style on the star prospect Forever Young. He punched the tickets to the Kentucky Derby with a dominating victory on Forever Young again in the Gr.2 UAE Derby at Meydan last month.
Sakai will ride two Japanese contenders at Sha Tin: Mad Cool in the HKUS$22 million Gr.1 Chairman's Sprint Prize and Champagne Color in the HKUS$22 million Gr.1 FWD Champions Mile. Although he has regularly ridden Mad Cool, Champagne Color will be the one he will ride for the first time. The 5YO grey Irish-bred horse had a third straight win under Sakai in 2022.
After finishing below par in the Gr.3 CBC Sho last July, he was beaten by only a nose to Mama Cocha in the Gr.1 Sprinters Stakes. Unfortunately, Sakai did not have an opportunity to ride the horse in the Gr.1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint, but the pair reunited this year, avenging Sprinters Stakes defeat in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
After the FWD Champions Day at Sha Tin, Sakai will ride in the Gr.1 race at NAR-Funabashi racecourse on 1st May before he heads out to the USA again.
Sakai said after winning the race, “I have been riding on this horse since he raced in the novice at three and even at that time I talked to the assistant trainer ‘Let’s take the Takamatsunomiya Kinen with him.’. He has lots of rooms for improvement and I am looking forward to his coming future.”
Sakai received ample international exposure under the tutelage of his mentor, Yahagi, who himself is an internationally experienced trainer. In November 2017, Sakai traveled to Down Under, where he spent a year honing his riding skills and gaining invaluable experience. This exceptional opportunity has further fueled his ambitions to ride on global platforms, not just in Japan. His impressive track record indicates that he may soon clinch his first Gr.1 victory in an international race, and we might witness it as early as Sunday.