Gran Alegria Bids Her Fans Farewell at Nakayama

A retirement ceremony for Japan's six-time grade 1-winning mare Gran Alegria  was held at Nakayama Racecourse Dec. 18. At sunset, she entered the turf course over which she won the 2020 Sprinters Stakes (G1) with a wonderful turn of foot under Christophe Lemaire. She might have misunderstood that she would not have to race from now on, and it seemed her switch had been turned on, as she was a little bit keen while she was shown in front of a limited crowd of about 4,000 spectaculars. 

Gran Alegria is a Deep Impact daughter out of the Tapit   mare Tapitsfly , who in 2012 won the First Lady Stakes (G1T) and Longines Just a Game Stakes (G1T) in the United States. She captured nine of her 15 starts, including the 2019 Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas, G1), the Yasuda Kinen (G1), Sprinters Stakes, and Mile Championship (G1) in 2020, and in 2021 the Victoria Mile (G1) and a second Mile Championship. She defeated Japan's best mare Almond Eye  in the 2020 Yasuda Kinen under Kenichi Ikezoe. This year's Mile Championship Nov. 21 at Hanshin was her last race. 

Her trainer, Kazuo Fujisawa, who will retire in February, said: "Even though it was my last year, it was a good study for me that I could train her. I'd like to say to her, 'Well done, good job, and thank you.'"

Lemaire said: "Gran Alegria is a special horse for me so I am relieved that she would return to the farm. Her life is wonderful. I had a good feeling every time I rode her. Her running was different to the others."

"Whenever I rode her, she was a lady so that I could ride (her) very (easily) and she could run according to her ability," Ikezoe said, adding with a laugh: "She was so strong in the Yasuda Kinen and I prayed Christophe would ride the other horses after that."

Gran Alegria will return to her home at Northern Farm to be a broodmare and be mated to Epiphaneia next year.

Gran Alegria was bred by Northern Farm, whose CEO Katsumi Yoshida purchased Tapitsfly for $1.85 million from Romans Racing & Sales at The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton's premier breeding stock sale, in 2012. 

"It's hard to find a horse so fast from the beginning," Yoshida said of Gran Alegria. "I think she might be the fastest horse in the world. I hope that her foals inherit her speed. If they are fillies, they would be the good mares and I think it would be great if a son could become a good stallion."

Shunsuke Yoshida of Sunday Racing, which campaigned Gran Alegria, said: "Her first child will debut as early as three years and a half later. It's a pity that I can't make their debut as the members of Fujisawa Stable, but I would be grateful if her children were supported returning to the turf."