Tenacious emblem

Two of the eighteen starters this year’s Oka Sho (JPN-IT; Japanese 1,000 Guineas) were sired by Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner War Emblem. It’s an impressive feat for any stallion, but can only be considered particularly remarkable when one learns that War Emblem sired just fifteen fillies in 2005.

War Emblem, a nine-year-old son of Our Emblem, has been at stud in Japan at the renowned Shadai Stallion Station since he retired back in the fall of 2002. Though he closed out his career with a disappointing sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I), he was still named Champion Three-Year-Old Colt by virtue of his earlier victories in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes (gr. I), Haskell Invitational (gr. I), and Illinois Derby (gr. II).

It is no coincidence that War Emblem arrived in Japan only months after the death of Sunday Silence, the 1989 Kentucky Derby winner who clinched Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Colt honors following a stirring victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic that same year.

Despite his lofty race record, American breeders showed little interest in Sunday Silence, who was eventually bought by Shadai Stallion Station owner Zenya Yoshida. The colt went on to legendary status as a sire in Japan, leading the sire list yearly from 1995 to 2007. The horse even had his own magazine, and pundits estimate that the winnings of his descendants at the exorbitant sum of $500,000,000.

The similarities between Sunday Silence and War Emblem are striking – both were slight-bodied, near-black colts who annexed both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before stumbling the final block in the Belmont. They were both willful creatures with little appeal to American breeders despite their race records.

If it weren’t for War Emblem’s reputation as a shy breeder, he might be dominating the sire lists much like his predecessor had.

War Emblem produced just four foals in his first crop, all of whom are winners. From that small crop are Clan Emblem and Admire Million, both allowance winners who have scored victories on dirt and turf.

War Emblem’s second crop was a slight improvement at 33 foals, and while the start of their careers were promising it has been only recently that they have begun to set the Japanese racing scene on fire. The jet-black colt King’s Emblem, a flashy debut winner on the turf last fall, recently captured his first stakes when taking the Surmire Stakes, also on the grass, though a start on the main track is likely in his future – King’s Emblem is a half-brother to Vermilion, a horse who won four consecutive grade I’s on dirt including the Japan Cup Dirt (JPN-I).

War Emblem’s two Oka Sho entrants, Air Pascale and Black Emblem, both of whom are expected to go off at odds of around 9-1, are also members of that 2005 crop. Air Pascale earned a birth in the Oka Sho by virtue of her victory in last month’s Tulip Sho (JPN-IIIT), a one-mile turf race and major prep for three-year-old fillies. Less than two weeks later, Black Emblem drew comparisons to her sire when wiring the Flower Cup (JPN-IIIT), the last major prep for the Oka Sho.

But the headliner of this talented bunch is surely Shonan Alba, who became his sire’s first graded stakes winner when capturing the Kyodo News Service Hai (JPN-IIIT) going about nine furlongs on the grass in February. Shonan Alba is a colt known for his virulent personality as much as his distinctive 5 x 3 inbreeding to the venerable Brigadier Gerard. In the Service Hai, he determinedly held off all challengers despite having fought jockey Masayoshi Ebina through much of the early going.

“His fiery temper goes along on the right track so far in the races. But it is evident that we will have to find some effective measures to make him relax,” said the colt’s conditioner Yoshitaka Ninomiya. “He chooses his rider. I have never seen a horse like him [with such a great deal of personality].”

War Emblem’s progeny are not the prettiest sort, but they are racy-looking and appealing in their own way and have proven popular with Japanese buyers. Air Pascale’s trainer, Yatsutoshi Ikee, had this to say of the stallion’s offspring:

“I think that War Emblem is a stallion whose [influence] runs strongly in his descendents. His sons and daughters inherit their sire's character and body a lot…If the horse can [be taught to] go comfortably on the bit, he/she can draw away as War Emblem did in the Kentucky Derby.”

Despite his having just twenty-one starters so far this year, War Emblem reached another milestone last month when he made the Top 20 in the Japan Racing Association’s sire rankings, which are based on the number of starters per stallion and average earnings per starter. War Emblem’s Earning Index is listed at an unheard of 3.74 – and it is worth noting that his closest pursuer on the list is the late El Condor Pasa at 2.71, and the sire with the third-highest earnings index is none other than the late Sunday Silence with an index of 2.06. No other stallions ranked in the top twenty with War Emblem breached the 2.00 mark.

Trainers and breeders aren’t the only ones taking note of War Emblem’s success. In late March the stallion was featured in GALLOP, Japan’s premier horse racing publication in Japan under the heading, “Miracle Blood” in Full Bloom.

For a stallion whose stud career was once labeled as a failure, War Emblem is proving that the flower that blooms despite vicissitude is perhaps the most valuable of all.