Jockey Yutaka Take achieves 4,500th JRA victory

Jockey Take Yutaka , who has been active as a jockey in the Japan Central Horse Racing Association since 1987, won the second race, '3-year-old maiden' at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday, May 12, 2024, achieving his 4,500th career win. In 2018, jockey Take Yutaka achieved an unprecedented 4,000th JRA win , so of course, 4,500 wins is also an unprecedented record.

Sunday, May 12, 2024 2nd Tokyo 8th 2nd Race 3-Year-Old Maiden Race Results JRA
https://www.jra.go.jp/JRADB/accessS.html?CNAME=pw01sde0105202402080220240512/55

In this race, jockey Yutaka Take rode No. 16 Wet Season, and took the lead right from the start.

In the straight, he overtook the American runner who had led the pack and took the lead.

However, the favorite Tango Bailarin came from behind and closed in on him, forcing him to take the lead for a while.

Here in the wet season, he latched on to Tango Bairalin and ran side by side, then overtook him and won by a head.

Yutaka Take made his debut in March 1987, and in 1995, at the age of 26 years and 4 months, he became the fastest and youngest jockey in history to achieve 1,000 career wins. He went on to achieve his 2,000th career win in 2002 and his 3,000th career win in 2007.

Between 1992 and 2009, he achieved triple-digit wins in every year except for 2001, his first year in France, but struggled in 2012, when his winning percentage fell below 10% for the first time in his career as a jockey.

However, he recovered after that and achieved his 4,000th career win on September 29, 2018.

The full record up to 4000 wins can be viewed on the official website.

Records and Results - 4000 Wins List | Yutaka Take Official Site
http://www.yutaka-take.com/record/victory_all/

It took five years and eight months to reach 500 wins from 3,500 to 4,000, and five years and seven months to reach 4,500 from 4,000. If Take Yutaka continues to compete and continues winning at the same pace, he is expected to reach 5,000 wins around 2030 when he is 61 years old. The oldest jockey on the JRA record is Shibata Yoshiomi, who is 57 years old as of May 2024. If regional horse racing is included, the 'Emperor of Oi,' Matoba Fumio, is 67 years old and also active. Matoba achieved a total of 7,400 wins in regional horse racing in March 2023.

On the same day, jockey Ryuji Wada won the '1 win class' held at Kyoto Racecourse with Diadochus, achieving his 1,500th victory. Wada made his debut in 1996 and was the main jockey for TM Opera O, who was active from 1998 to 2001.

1999 Satsuki Sho (GI) | TM Opera O | JRA Official - YouTube


He rode Kiseki in the 2021 Kyoto Daishoten, where 2016 Derby winner Makahiki won for the first time in five years. It is also known that Kansai TV announcer Takeo Kawashima commented on the horse's advance from the third corner, saying, 'Wada Ryuji, fighting spirit injected, whip flying.'

Derby horse Makahiki wins for the first time in 5 years [Kyoto Daishoten 2021] - YouTube