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Tales from the Crib: Crown Pride

Apr 11, 2022 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

The first Japanese shipper to try the Kentucky Derby (G1), Ski Captain, represented Shadai Racehorse Co. back in 1995. Now Shadai Farm proprietor Teruya Yoshida is back at Churchill Downs with another homebred, Crown Pride. 

But the contrasts between Ski Captain, who was 14th behind Thunder Gulch, and Crown Pride reflect the phenomenal rise of Japan on the international racing stage. 
Ski Captain was actually a Kentucky-bred foaled at Fontainebleau Farm, then the Yoshida family’s Bluegrass operation. He was sired by a European champion standing in Kentucky, Northern Dancer’s son Storm Bird, out of a Fontainebleau homebred mare. Ski Captain was exported to Japan, where he raced exclusively on turf before returning for the Derby.
Crown Pride, on the other hand, was bred and raised under the Shadai banner in Japan, the product of generations of bloodlines cultivated by the farm. And he has raced exclusively on dirt. Earning his way to Churchill Downs by defeating a cosmopolitan field in the UAE Derby (G2), he was one of an amazing five Japanese winners on Dubai World Cup night.
Japan’s global prominence is intertwined with the story of the Yoshida family. Teruya’s grandfather, Zensuke, was among the trailblazers on the Japanese racing scene earlier in the 20th century. Teruya’s father, Zenya, made it his life’s mission to enhance the quality of the nation’s Thoroughbreds. In addition to collecting elite bloodlines from Europe and North America, Zenya implemented the best farm management practices, literally down to the soil, to produce equine athletes. 
Zenya founded the Shadai enterprise in 1955, initially in the region of Tokyo. But that land had to be sold to the Japanese government for the development of Narita International Airport. Shadai was then re-established on the northern island of Hokkaido, now known as the heartland of Japan’s booming bloodstock industry. 
It was Zenya who acquired Sunday Silence, the 1989 Kentucky Derby (G1)-winning Hall of Famer, when American breeders had no interest. His foresight would have breed-shaping consequences. 
After Zenya passed away in 1993, the Shadai holdings were apportioned among his sons – Teruya, who continues to uphold the original name; Katsumi, whose operation is Northern Farm; and Haruya, who runs Oiwake. 
The three brothers are all involved in the celebrated Shadai Stallion Station. Aside from the late, great Sunday Silence, Shadai was for a time the stud home of 2002 Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem, who turned out to be a shy breeder and eventually was repatriated to the United States. Current Shadai stallions with American backgrounds are Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar, champion Drefong, Mind Your Biscuits, Nadal, and New Year’s Day, sire of champion Maximum Security. 
Crown Pride’s pedigree is replete with Shadai stallions and homebred mares. Sire Reach the Crown is himself a homebred son of the Sunday Silence stallion Special Week and Crownpiece, a Seattle Slew mare who was imported in utero. Crown Pride’s female line descends from another import, Grey Quill. She was bought, in the name of Fontainebleau, for $8,500 as a newly-turned yearling at the 1982 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale. 
Crown Pride’s dam, Emmy’s Pride, has a predominantly turf-oriented pedigree. Yet the daughter of champion and leading sire King Kamehameha raced exclusively on dirt, winning nine of 27 starts on the lesser NAR (National Association of Racing) circuit. Emmy’s Pride went out on top by capturing her finale, an about six-furlong race at Funabashi on Feb. 7, 2018. 
That breeding season, Emmy’s Pride visited Reach the Crown, then standing at Shadai. Their marriage offered inbreeding to Sunday Silence, who appears as the grandsire of Reach the Crown and great-grandsire of Emmy’s Pride. The resulting offspring arrived on May 4, 2019, and fittingly, was a dark bay colt. 

The team at Shadai has shared their impressions of Crown
Pride, from his baby days through early training.

Small at birth as his dam’s first foal, Crown Pride went on
to develop along the normal growth curve. He enjoyed his time outside at night,
when he would graze. His caretakers found him easy to handle, with a willing
personality and good temperament at every stage.

Crown Pride’s yearling year was uneventful, without much to
report – a case of no news being good news. But the one interesting point is
that he was giving the impression of a colt who would strengthen with maturity.

As a juvenile, Crown Pride learned his early lessons on the
farm and exercised over the training track at home. True to his cooperative
nature, he was easy for anyone to ride, and did not require a specialist in the
saddle. He dealt with a few back issues, but was a strong colt overall. Crown Pride was light on his feet, showed speed, and never got out of breath.

He was not a standout on dirt or turf during his early training, but the yearling stable manager thought the dirt would be suitable based on his pedigree.

Crown Pride has turned out better than could have been predicted, and he's been a surprise package for bettors too. The wagering
public keeps underestimating the colt from the yard of Koichi Shintani, who is
in just his third season as a trainer.

An 8-1 chance when romping in a newcomers’ race at Chukyo,
Crown Pride was let go at 6-1 in his dominant allowance score at Hanshin. He gained
a little more attention in the Hyacinth S. on the Japan Road to the Kentucky
Derby, as a 7-2 chance, only to be hampered at the start and wind up sixth. Overlooked
next time at 16-1 in the UAE Derby, he rewarded his backers well.

If Crown Pride has become a pleasant surprise as the
Kentucky Derby challenger for Japan, he’s certainly well named for the mission.

Special thanks to Shadai’s Tsubasa Sato for the information
on Crown Pride’s early life on the farm. All photos courtesy of Shadai. 

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