IRL:Dream Journey

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Dream Journey
ドリームジャーニー
Main
Dream Journey (front) and Buena Vista (back) in the 2009 Arima Kinen.
Silks
Romaji	Doriimu Jaanii
Foaled	February 24, 2004
Sire	Stay Gold
Dam	Oriental Art
Sex	Stallion
Color	Bay
Trainer	Yasutoshi Ikee
Race Record	31: 9-3-19
Earnings	847,973,000 JPY
Major wins
Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (2006) Kobe Shimbun Hai (2007) Osaka Hai (2009) Takarazuka Kinen (2009) Arima Kinen (2009)

The Golden Trailblazer

The Golden Trailblazer

"His achievements paved the road for his father, Stay Gold,
who gained fame as a renowned sire,
as well as his mother and his still unknown younger brother."
― Monthly Yushun

Dream Journey is a Japanese racehorse that was active from 2006 to 2011. He was the first G1 winner for decorated Japanese sire Stay Gold. Known for his small and light stature, having debuted at a weight of 414 kg, Dream Journey is the lightest horse ever to have won a G1 JRA turf race. His major wins include the 2006 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, the 2009 Takarazuka Kinen, and the Arima Kinen. He is a full brother to JRA Triple Crown winner Orfevre.

Name Origin

Means "dreamlike journey". His name is an allusion to his sire, Stay Gold, Hong Kong name of 黃金旅程 (Golden Journey).

Racing career

2 Year-Old (2006)

Dream Journey’s two-year-old season was impressive for a debuting Japanese thoroughbred, culminating in a major Grade 1 victory and recognition as a precocious talent. Dream Journey kicked off his career with a debut and maiden victory at Niigata Racecourse under jockey Masayoshi Ebina, followed by another win in the Fuyou Stakes. In his first graded stakes race, the Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes, a slow break and a tendency to rush affected his performance, resulting in a third-place finish. Dream Journey would return to run in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. Despite breaking poorly, Dream Journey surged past his rivals on the final stretch to secure his first group race win. At just 416 kg, he set a record as the lightest horse to ever win the race, utilizing his compact build and quick legs to clock the fastest final three furlongs in each of his four juvenile season starts. His victory in the Stakes also earned him the 2006 JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt.

3 Years-Old (2007)

Dream Journey opened the season in the Yayoi Sho, coming in as the second favorite behind Shinzan Kinen champion Admire Aura. Here, he remained among the midfield throughout much of the race and made a late charge in the final stretch, but was hampered by other horses and ultimately finished third. Dream Journey would appear at the Satsuki Sho as the third favorite, but unfortunately landed in eighth place. Later on, at the 74th Japanese Derby, he showcased impressive finishing speed yet placed fifth behind Vodka.

After a summer break, his first autumn start was the Kobe Shimbun Hai with a new jockey, Yutaka Take, who had previously ridden key horses in Dream Journey’s lineage. In this race, Dream Journey came from the rear, passing competitors on the final stretch to claim his second graded race victory.

He then contested the 68th Kikka Sho as the second pick, making a move from the back at the third corner but was unable to catch the front runners, finishing fifth behind Asakusa Kings.

Plans for an international run in the Hong Kong Vase or Cup were canceled due to quarantine requirements enforced by an equine influenza outbreak. Dream Journey was temporarily sent to Greenwood Training before returning for the Naruo Kinen, where he was the race favorite for the first time in his career but ended up eighth. He was then sent back to Greenwood from Shimagami Farm for the rest of the year.

4 Years-Old (2008)

Dream Journey returned to training at Ritto Training Center on April 4th and made his comeback in the Milers Cup. However, he broke poorly from the gate and finished 14th. For his next start in the Yasuda Kinen, jockey Yutaka Take had a prior commitment riding Suzuka Phoenix. Trainer Ikee therefore requested jockey Kenichi Ikezoe, known for his "finishing kick". However, the race was run on a left-handed course, which Dream Journey disliked, and the distance was too short for him, resulting in a 10th-place finish.

For the Kokura Kinen on August 3, Yutaka Take was originally scheduled to ride, but he was suspended the week before the race, so Ikezoe directly appealed to trainer Ikee and regained the mount. In the race, he caught Daishin Grow, who had broken away first, after entering the final stretch and secured his first victory since the Kobe Shimbun Hai. Since this victory, Ikezoe became his primary jockey.

For the first race of the autumn season, Dream Journey would enter the Asahi Challenge Cup on September 15th, where he held off Toho Alan by three-quarters of a length to score back-to-back graded wins, getting off to a strong start heading into the Tenno Sho (Autumn). However, he finished 10th in the Tenno Sho (Autumn). In the 53rd Arima Kinen on December 28 however, he put in a solid performance and finished 4th.

5 Years-Old (2009)

Dream Journey's first race of the year was the American Jockey Club Cup (G2) on Jan 25th, where he lost and placed 8th. Later, on March 8th, he entered the Nakayama Kinen, where he couldn't catch up the winning horse Company. However, in the Osaka Hai (G2), he broke out of the pack and held off the chasing horse Deep Sky, the Japanese Derby and NHK Mile Cup winner of the previous year. After a close first place, it was planned for him to enter the Takarazuka Kinen, but he entered the Tenno Sho (Spring) beforehand.

On May 3rd, he entered the race, where despite surging through in the final straight, he could not catch up to Meiner Kitz and he placed 3rd. After that, he entered the Takarazuka Kinen on June 28th, where he raced from the back of the pack. In the final straight, he overtook the horses in front and won the race, making this his second G1 victory after two and half years.

On September 27th, he entered the Sankei Sho All Comers (G2) as the most popular, but he lost to the horse Matsurida Gogh and placed 2nd. After that, he entered the Tenno Sho (Autumn) on November 1st, where he lost and placed 6th.

His final race was the Arima Kinen, where he was second favorite to the Double Tiara winner of the year, Buena Vista. During the race, he raced from the back of the pack as usual, and began to gradually advance at the final corner. Despite Buena Vista breaking out of the pack first, Dream Journey eventually caught up to her and won the race, making this his third and final G1 victory. He also became the sixth Japanese horse to win both Grand Prix races in a year, and the lightest horse to win it at a weight of 426 kg.

At the end of the year, he was awarded the JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse for his victories.

6 Years-Old (2010)

After the Arima Kinen, Dream Journey would never win again. He placed 3rd in the Kyoto Kinen on February 20th and in the Osaka Hai on April 4th. Originally aiming for the Tenno Sho (Spring), he had to drop out due to swelling in his right front leg. Later on June 27th, he entered the Takarazuka Kinen again, where although he began to accelerate at the final straight, he couldn't chase up to the horses in front of him and placed 4th, losing to Nakayama Festa.

After this, he ran in the All Comers again, and placed 2nd. Though he was set to compete in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), he had to drop out due to issues with his legs. On December 26th, he competed in the Arima Kinen for the second time, but placed 13th and lost to Victoire Pisa.

7 Years-Old (2011)

Dream Journey only competed in two races. He placed 9th in the Osaka Hai on April 3rd, and lost in 10th place at the Takarazuka Kinen on June 26th. Yasutoshi Ikee later said in an interview that he had lost his fighting spirit, so he planned to retire him. He was deregistered as a racehorse on June 30th, and a retirement ceremony was held for him at Sapporo Racecourse on September 19th.

Retirement

Dream Journey retired to perform breeding duties, and he was transferred to Shadai Stallion Station on July 7th, 2011. While he mated with 95 mares in 2012, he wasn't good at mating, and only 36 of his foals became racehorses. In 2016, he suffered a fracture during the breeding season, so his production was reduced drastically.

He currently lives his life at a meritorious horse, since his breeding duties ended in 2020 with no more foals produced.

Honors

• JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt (2006)
• JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse (2009)

Relationships

Relatives

• Mejiro McQueen - Maternal Grandfather

• Stay Gold - Father
  • Orfevre - Full Brother

• Northern Taste - Great Grandfather

Race Records

Race data sourced from netkeiba.

Date	Racecourse	Race	Grade	Distance	Gate	Odds	Fav.	Fin.	Time	Margin	Jockey	Winner (Runner-Up)	Other Umamusume
2006/09/03	Niigata	Two-Year-Old Newcomer	Maiden	T 1400m	15	7.1	2	1	1:23.8	0.0	M.Ebina	(Descoberta)
2006/09/30	Nakayama	Fuyo Stakes	OP	T 1600m	6	6.7	3	1	1:35.2	-0.2	M.Ebina	(Rose Otto)
2006/11/18	Tokyo	Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes	G3	T 1800m	8	3.7	2	3	1:48.8	0.1	M.Ebina	Fusaichi Ho O
2006/12/10	Nakayama	Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes	G1	T 1600m	3	6.7	2	1	1:34.4	-0.1	M.Ebina	(Laurel Guerreiro)
2007/03/04	Nakayama	Yayoi Sho	G2	T 2000m	7	4.4	2	3	2:00.8	0.3	M.Ebina	Admire Aura
2007/04/15	Nakayama	Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas)	G1	T 2000m	6	8.5	3	8	2:00.5	0.6	M.Ebina	Victory
2007/05/27	Tokyo	Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby)	G1	T 2400m	8	32.8	8	5	2:25.4	0.9	M.Ebina	Vodka	Vodka
2007/09/23	Hanshin	Kobe Shimbun Hai	G2	T 2400m	14	4.2	3	1	2:24.7	-0.1	Y.Take	(Asakusa Kings)
2007/10/21	Kyoto	Kikuka Sho (Japanese St.Leger)	G1	T 3000m	16	5.5	2	5	3:05.6	0.5	Y.Take	Asakusa Kings
2007/12/08	Hanshin	Naruo Kinen	G3	T 1800m	12	2.8	1	8	1:47.8	0.3	Y.Take	Higher Game
2008/04/19	Hanshin	Yomiuri Milers Cup	G2	T 1600m	15	6.0	2	14	1:35.0	1.4	Y.Take	Company
2008/06/08	Tokyo	Yasuda Kinen	G1	T 1600m	18	42.3	11	10	1:33.9	1.2	K.Ikezoe	Vodka	Vodka
2008/08/03	Kokura	Kokura Kinen	G3	T 2000m	3	4.2	2	1	1:57.9	-0.5	K.Ikezoe	(Daishin Grow)
2008/09/15	Hanshin	Asahi Challenge Cup	G3	T 2000m	7	1.7	1	1	1:58.5	-0.1	K.Ikezoe	(Toho Alan)
2008/11/02	Tokyo	Tenno Sho (Autumn)	G1	T 2000m	17	14.6	4	10	1:58.0	0.8	K.Ikezoe	Vodka	Vodka, Daiwa Scarlet
2008/12/28	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	11	24.1	7	4	2:31.9	0.4	K.Ikezoe	Daiwa Scarlet	Daiwa Scarlet, Kawakami Princess
2009/01/25	Nakayama	American Jockey Club Cup	G2	T 2200m	11	3.2	1	8	2:15.2	1.3	K.Ikezoe	Never Bouchon
2009/03/01	Nakayama	Nakayama Kinen	G2	T 1800m	5	6.2	4	2	1:49.2	0.0	K.Ikezoe	Company
2009/04/05	Hanshin	Sankei Osaka Hai	G2	T 2000m	8	6.9	3	1	1:59.7	0.0	K.Ikezoe	(Deep Sky)	Kawakami Princess
2009/05/03	Kyoto	Tenno Sho (Spring)	G1	T 3200m	12	8.6	5	3	3:14.7	0.3	K.Ikezoe	Meiner Kitz
2009/06/28	Hanshin	Takarazuka Kinen	G1	T 2200m	9	7.1	2	1	2:11.3	-0.3	K.Ikezoe	(Sakura Mega Wonder)
2009/09/27	Nakayama	Sankei Sho All Comers	G2	T 2200m	9	2.6	1	2	2:11.7	0.3	K.Ikezoe	Matsurida Gogh
2009/11/01	Tokyo	Tenno Sho (Autumn)	G1	T 2000m	12	10.7	4	6	1:58.0	0.8	K.Ikezoe	Company	Vodka
2009/12/27	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	9	4.0	2	1	2:30.0	-0.1	K.Ikezoe	(Buena Vista)	Buena Vista
2010/02/20	Kyoto	Kyoto Kinen	G2	T 2200m	7	3.5	2	3	2:14.7	0.3	K.Ikezoe	Buena Vista	Buena Vista
2010/04/04	Hanshin	Sankei Osaka Hai	G2	T 2000m	8	1.2	1	3	1:59.6	0.1	K.Ikezoe	T M Encore
2010/06/27	Hanshin	Takarazuka Kinen	G1	T 2200m	18	7.8	4	4	2:13.3	0.3	K.Ikezoe	Nakayama Festa	Nakayama Festa, Buena Vista
2010/09/26	Nakayama	Sankei Sho All Comers	G2	T 2200m	3	2.4	1	2	2:11.4	0.0	K.Ikezoe	Shingen
2010/12/26	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	12	12.1	4	13	2:33.8	1.2	K.Ikezoe	Victoire Pisa	Victoire Pisa, Buena Vista, Tosen Jordan, Rulership, Eishin Flash, Red Desire
2011/04/03	Hanshin	Sankei Osaka Hai	G2	T 2000m	7	5.5	4	9	1:58.9	1.1	K.Ikezoe	Hiruno d'Amour	Eishin Flash
2011/06/26	Hanshin	Takarazuka Kinen	G1	T 2200m	10	15.6	7	10	2:11.5	1.4	K.Ikezoe	Earnestly	Buena Vista, Eishin Flash, Rose Kingdom, Rulership, Tosen Jordan

Pedigree

Horse pedigree of Dream Journey (JPN)

Sire Stay Gold (JPN)	Sunday Silence (USA)	Halo (USA)	Hail to Reason (USA)
			Cosmah (USA)
		Wishing Well (USA)	Understanding (USA)
			Mountain Flower (USA)
	Golden Sash (JPN)	Dictus (FR)	Sanctus (FR)
			Doronic (FR)
		Dyna Sash (JPN)	Northern Taste (CAN)
			Royal Sash (GB)
Dam Oriental Art (JPN)	Mejiro McQueen (JPN)	Mejiro Titan (JPN)	Mejiro Asama (JPN)
			Cheryl (FR)
		Mejiro Aurola (JPN)	Remand (GB)
			Mejiro Iris (JPN)
	Electro Art (JPN)	Northern Taste (CAN)	Northern Dancer (CAN)
			Lady Victoria (CAN)
		Grandma Stevens (USA)	Lt. Stevens (USA)
			Dhow (USA), (Family: 8-c)

Trivia

• Dream Journey's jockey, Kenichi Ikezoe reportedly said that he had a temperament even worse than his full-brother Orfevre, stating that he “attacks with the intent to kill”. In addition to stating that other temperamental horses he had ridden were just "messing with him for fun", from their perspective. Outsiders are not permitted to visit Dream Journey as he may put their lives at risk.
  • This characteristic is common of Stay Gold's “Golden Family” of offspring, many of whom had quirky or difficult temperaments.
    • Dream Journey was stated to be far worse than Stay Gold in terms of aggressive temperament, only being outmatched by his great-grandsire Halo.
  • During transportation, sedation is not a choice, but a requirement when it comes to Dream Journey, due to his horrible temper.
  • Dream Journey's temperament was so bad to the point where Yutaka Take, one of the best jockeys in Japanese racing history and the jockey of his sire Stay Gold, was unable to handle him.
    • The difference between Take's handling with the two horses is that while he could foster a bond with Stay Gold who he considered as selfish, as the horse only acted upon whims and was only playfully malicious, which paid off in them winning the Hong Kong Vase, he was unable to do the same with Dream Journey as the horse was not just difficult, but straight up malevolent, truly intending to kill, which was at odds with Take's philosophy of building mutual bonds.
    • Take was even said to be appalled by Ikezoe's experiences in handling the horse, such as letting the horse bite him to survive, and the measures the team used to manage him.
• Dream Journey was stated to dislike grey horses, there's an anecdote that he fiercely threatened Kurofune in particular.
  • This quirk was something that was coincidentally shared with his father, Stay Gold, as he feared grey horses due to being kicked by Point Flag (the dam of Gold Ship) on multiple occasions while mating.
• Dream Journey used to enjoy breaking people's spirits by slowly cornering staff members before biting them in the neck area near the arteries. However, his caretakers reported that he will be in a good mood and become easier to handle after being visited by Ikezoe, which is ironic given that Dream Journey also bit Ikezoe near the artery and caused him to bleed profusely.
• Ikezoe still fears Dream Journey to this day, as when he visited the brothers in their retirement, he still stayed close to and petted Orfevre even after a kick with his front leg. However, he kept his distance with Dream Journey, even mumbling "he might kill me".
  • In his latest visit, Ikezoe went as far to play with Orfevre's tongue, but only mustered enough courage to pet Dream Journey.