Horse

Forever Young

Born February 24, 2021

11 wins in 15 races

Forever Young (フォーエバーヤング) is a Japanese-bred Thoroughbred born February 24, 2021 at Northern Farm in Hokkaido, by the stallion Real Steel out of the American mare Forever Darling. Purchased at the 2022 JRHA Select Sale by Susumu Fujita for 107,800,000 yen and trained by Yoshito Yahagi out of Ritto, he was unbeaten through his two-year-old season with three wins including the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun (JpnI), where his Timeform rating of 113 set a record for a dirt 2yo in the Japanese ranking. In 2024 he stepped up to the international circuit, winning the Saudi Derby (G3) and the UAE Derby (G2) before finishing third by a head in the Kentucky Derby. He returned to Japan to take the Tokyo Daishōten (G1). In 2025 he reached the top of the dirt division by winning the Saudi Cup (G1) and the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) — the first Japanese-bred and Japanese-trained horse to do so — earning the JRA Horse of the Year (the first dirt horse in the award's history) and the Eclipse Award for Champion Older Dirt Male. In 2026 he repeated in the Saudi Cup, becoming the first horse to win it in consecutive runnings, and finished second in the Dubai World Cup. Through the first half of 2026 his record stood at 15 starts, 11 wins, and over 4.9 billion yen in cross-jurisdiction earnings.

Forever Young

breederscup.com·CC BY 4.0·fuente ↗

breederscup.com·CC BY 4.0·fuente ↗

Statistics

Calculated on the record loaded in Turfdex.

Races
15
Wins
11
Win rate
73.3%
Place rate
80%

Show rate: 100% · Seconds: 1 · Thirds: 3

Official career record

Career record reported by the official source — may not match the record loaded above.

Starts
15
Wins
11
2nd
1
3rd
3
Earnings
¥4.94B

Awards & honors

8 awards earned during the career.

JRA Awards(3)

  • 2025

    Japanese Horse of the Year (JRA)

    Primer caballo dirt en ganarlo en la historia del premio JRA Horse of the Year.

    Source
  • 2025

    JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse

    Mejor caballo de pista de arena en la temporada JRA 2025.

    Source
  • 2025

    JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse

    Mejor caballo macho de 4 años o más en la temporada JRA 2025.

    Source

Eclipse Awards(1)

  • 2025

    American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse (Eclipse Award)

    Primer caballo entrenado en Japón en ganar un Eclipse Award en categoría dirt.

    Source

NTRA(1)

  • 2025

    NTRA Moment of the Year

    Por la victoria en el Breeders' Cup Classic 2025 — primer JP-bred y JP-trained en ganar la prueba.

    Source

NAR(2)

  • 2025

    NAR Grand Prix Special Award

    Premio especial del circuito NAR (asociación nacional de racing JP).

    Source
  • 2024

    NAR Grand Prix Dirt Grade Race Special Award

    Premio NAR por la campaña dirt 2024 incluyendo Tokyo Daishōten (G1).

    Source

JRA — Other(1)

  • 2024

    JRA Special Award

    Premio especial JRA por la campaña 2024 con victorias en Saudi Derby + UAE Derby.

    Source

Full record

15 races

2026

2 races
  • Dubai World Cup(draft)G1

    Hipódromo de Meydan · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Mar 28
  • Saudi Cup(draft)G1

    King Abdulaziz Racetrack(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Feb 14

2025

4 races
  • Breeders' Cup ClassicG1

    Santa Anita Park(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Nov 1
  • Nippon TV Hai(draft)Listed

    Funabashi Racecourse(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Oct 1
  • Dubai World Cup(draft)G1

    Hipódromo de Meydan · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Apr 5
  • Saudi Cup(draft)G1

    King Abdulaziz Racetrack(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Feb 22

2024

6 races
  • Tokyo Daishōten(draft)G1

    Ohi Racecourse(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Dec 29
  • Breeders' Cup ClassicG1

    Santa Anita Park(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Nov 2
  • Japan Dirt Classic(draft)Listed

    Ohi Racecourse(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Oct 2
  • Kentucky Derby(draft)G1

    Churchill Downs(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    May 4
  • UAE Derby(draft)G2

    Hipódromo de Meydan · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Mar 30
  • Saudi Derby(draft)G3

    King Abdulaziz Racetrack(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Feb 24

2023

3 races
  • Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun(draft)Listed

    Kawasaki Racecourse(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Dec 13
  • JBC Nisai Yushun(draft)Listed

    Monbetsu Racecourse(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Nov 3
  • Kyoto Newcomer 2YO Dirt 1800m(draft)

    Kyoto Racecourse(draft) · Jockey: Ryusei Sakai(draft)

    Oct 14

History

Forever Young was born on February 24, 2021 at Northern Farm, Japan's most prolific breeding operation, in Hokkaido. His sire, Real Steel, was the 2016 Dubai Turf winner and a son of the legendary Deep Impact; his dam, Forever Darling, had raced in the United States without major results but carried a deep pedigree with A.P. Indy and Deputy Minister behind her. The cross brought together two distinct traditions: the Sunday Silence male line that dominates modern Japanese dirt racing and the classic North American dirt blood from the dam side.

At the 2022 JRHA Select Sale he was purchased by Susumu Fujita, founder of the CyberAgent group, for 107,800,000 yen — a high figure but not exceptional for that year's catalog. Fujita placed him with Yoshito Yahagi, a Ritto-based trainer with international experience including the Breeders' Cup 2021 wins of Loves Only You and Marche Lorraine.

+ Read more

His two-year-old season was flawless. He debuted on October 14, 2023 at Kyoto, winning by four lengths. Three weeks later he took the JBC Nisai Yushun at Monbetsu and closed the year with the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki by seven lengths, all on dirt. With three wins in three starts and a Timeform rating of 113, he was rated the best dirt 2yo in the history of the Japanese Thoroughbred Ranking.

His international run began in February 2024 with a track record in the Saudi Derby (G3) at King Abdulaziz Racetrack and continued with the UAE Derby (G2) at Meydan, won by two lengths. He reached the Kentucky Derby unbeaten and as one of the favorites; in a finish decided by a nose, he was third behind Mystik Dan and Sierra Leone, in one of the closest photo finishes in the history of the Churchill Downs classic. He returned to Japan in October and won the Japan Dirt Classic (JpnI) at Ohi. In November he attempted the Breeders' Cup Classic 2024 at Del Mar, finishing third behind Sierra Leone. He closed the year in December with the Tokyo Daishōten (G1), his first win in an internationally recognized G1.

The 2025 season was his coronation. In February he won the Saudi Cup (G1) by a neck over Romantic Warrior, adding 10 million dollars to his earnings. In April he was third in the Dubai World Cup. After a planned break, he returned in October to win the Nippon TV Hai (JpnII) at Funabashi and weeks later traveled to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup Classic 2025, winning by half a length over Sierra Leone — the first horse bred and trained in Japan to take the race regarded as the highest-ranked dirt prize on the North American calendar. That campaign earned him three JRA Awards distinctions (Horse of the Year, Best Older Male, Best Dirt Horse), with Horse of the Year going to a dirt horse for the first time in the award's history, and the Eclipse Award for American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse, also a first for a Japanese-trained horse in a dirt category.

The 2026 season added a historic record. On February 14 he returned to King Abdulaziz Racetrack and won the Saudi Cup for a second consecutive year, becoming the first horse to do so in the short history of the race. On March 28 in the Dubai World Cup he was second, beaten one length by Magnitude. As of late May 2026, his next announced target was the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Ascot, his first attempt on turf and in Europe.

Through the first half of 2026, Forever Young's record showed 15 starts and 11 wins, with cross-jurisdiction earnings just over 4.9 billion yen — the highest figure for a Japanese-trained dirt horse. His Breeders' Cup Classic 2025 victory was named the NTRA Moment of the Year and helped cement Japan's presence on the international dirt scene, a surface on which the country had traditionally been competitive only domestically. In February 2026 his addition to the Umamusume: Pretty Derby franchise — a Japanese multimedia property that adapts real racehorses as characters — was announced, extending his cultural impact beyond the core racing audience.


Pedigree

3 generations — sire/dam and grandparents

Forever Young

2021

Sire

Real Steel

2012

Dam

Forever Darling

2013

Deep Impact

2002

Profile not published

Loves Only Me

2006

Profile not published

Congrats

2000

Profile not published

Darling My Darling

1997

Profile not published


Sources

Citations backing the data on this profile. Each row links to the original source.


Data loaded manually with visible citation when a source is available. The full cited-sources block comes in a future iteration.

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