Brave Smol Spark 🇨🇿

One more: Tokyo Daishoten, Dec. 29th. Win or lose, he’s one of the all-time greats. Bravo @yahagistable Forever Young’s mother sold for $8,000. That filly, Forever Darling by Congrats, won the Santa Ynez, went to Japan, and was bred to a grandson of Sunday Silence. This is also the family of Zenno Rob Roy and Sierra Leone. Secretariat is on both sides. American blood. Japanese horsemanship. 17 starts, on the board 16 times. $32.5 million earned. Only Romantic Warrior has earned more, mostly at home in Hong Kong. Forever Young earned almost all of his on the road. He traveled about 80,000 miles: Japan, Riyadh, Dubai, Louisville, Del Mar, New York, Keeneland—three times around the planet. 170 horses beaten. 13,000 gallons of water drunk. 13 tons of hay and grain eaten. 150 new shoes worn. Two Saudi Cups. A Breeders’ Cup Classic. Horse of the Year in Japan. The next generation knows him. Over three years his name has likely hit young fans’ feeds hundreds of millions of times. You can’t buy that exposure for our business. Yoshito Yahagi has sent out more than 10,000 starters. I don’t think he’s ever had a better one. Mr. Fujita, Ryusei Sakai, the grooms and travel crew kept him on and off planes for three years, and he ran his race nearly every time. That’s management. He’s a credit to our sport. First-ballot Hall of Fame. A resounding yes. Photo: Barbara D. Livingston