Danon Decile

Danon Decile (Japanese: ダノンデサイル; foaled April 6, 2021) is a Japanese thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2024 Japanese Derby and the 2025 Dubai Sheema Classic. He won the JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt in 2024.

Background

Danon Decile was foaled at Shadai Farm in Chitose, Hokkaido on April 6, 2021. He was bought by Danox[ja], the asset management company of Mitsuhiro Noda, at the 2022 JRHA Select Sale[ja] Yearling Session for 135 million yen.

Danon Decile was later put in the stable of Shogo Yasuda[ja] at Ritto Training Center.

Racing career

2023: Two year old season

Danon Decile debuted at a newcomer race for 2-year olds held at Tokyo Racecourse over a course of 1600m on October 9, where he came in fourth behind Fabulous Star. The horse won his first race at a maiden race on October 28 held at Kyoto Racecourse over a course of 1800m. Danon Decile finished the season off in November 25's Kyoto Nisai Stakes, his first graded race, where he placed in the rear of the pack throughout the race before catching up to take the lead, only to finish fourth behind Shin Emperor.

2024: Three year old season

Danon Decile started the season off with the Keisei Hai, held on January 14 at Nakayama Racecourse, where he ran 5th for most of the way before taking the lead on the final stretch. Urban Chic attempted to catch up to the horse, but Danon Decile managed to stave him off with a 3/4 length lead; securing his first graded victory and for his jockey, Norihiro Yokoyama, the title of the oldest JRA jockey to win a graded race, aged 55 years, 10 months and 23 days at the time. The horse also received some additional attention as reviews of the race footage revealed the horse had defecated during the race.

The horse was later entered in to the Satsuki Sho on April 14, but was scratched at the last minute after showing signs of lameness on his right foreleg.

On May 26, at the 91st Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), the horse was placed in the front of the pack, where he was able to take the lead from Justin Milano on the stretch. This marked Yokoyama's 3rd Derby win, and the oldest JRA jockey to win any graded JRA race at the age of 56 years 3 months and 4 days, surpassing Yutaka Take's previous record of 54 years 9 months and 10 days. Meanwhile, his trainer, Shogo Yasuda, won his first GI race with this race, and also became the youngest trainer to win the Japanese Derby at 41 years 10 months and 19 days old.

• After winning the Tokyo Yushun
• Tokyo Yushun Award Ceremony

On October 20, Danon Decile started as the top favorite in the Kikuka-shō (Japanese St. Leger). Despite initially racing near the front early in the race, his position gradually deteriorated due to a challenging inner gate draw, forcing him to navigate traffic in the final stretch. He finished sixth after a late surge from the outside. In the Arima Kinen, he set a slow pace, covering the first 1,000 meters in 62.9 seconds. He briefly led in the homestretch but was overtaken by Regaleira and Shahryar, settling for third place.

2025: Four year old season

Newly partnered with jockey Keita Tosaki, Danon Decile secured his first victory of the year in the American Jockey Club Cup at Nakayama Racecourse on January 26, justifying his status as the race favorite. This win marked the first time in 26 years, since Special Week (Danon Decile's paternal grandsire) in 1999, that a Japanese Derby horse had won the American Jockey Club Cup, making him the fourth horse to achieve this feat.

On April 5, Danon Decile and Tosaki contested the Dubai Sheema Classic. Racing mid-pack early, he unleashed a bold late charge to overtake the leaders and held off a fierce challenge from Calandagan to secure his first overseas Group 1 victory. This triumph also made him the first overseas Group 1 winner sired by Epiphaneia.

On August 20, Danon Decile finished 5th out of 6 horses in the International Stakes. When he returned to Japan, he was set up for his next target, the Japan Cup on November 30. In the race, he stayed mainly at eleventh position. After the furlong pole, he started to accelerate at a good rate but just a bit late compare to both Calandagan and Masquerade Ball, ended up finished in third. With the Arima Kinen coming up, Tosaki had to make a decision to ride him or Regaleira, the reigning champion and he chose the former. When the race started, Danon Decile broke smoothly from gate nine and traveled wide in ninth. He improved his position while sweeping wide around the final corners and produced an impressive burst of speed down the lane but was overtaken by the fast-closing Museum Mile in the last 50 meters and finished a neck behind Cosmo Kuranda in third.

Racing statistics

Below data is based on data available on JBIS Search, NetKeiba, and Emirates Racing Authority.

Legend: Turf

Pedigree

Footnotes

Notes