By Daithi Harvey
Japanese jockey Yutaka Take has been chosen as the recipient of the 2017 Longines and IFHA International Award of Merit. The award recognizes distinguished racing participants for lifelong contributions to Thoroughbred racing and will be presented to Take in Japan Dec. 21 ahead of the G1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama. Born in 1969 Yutaka Take has become a legend in his native Japan since embarking on his riding career in 1987. To date Take has ridden 3,940 winners, with 74 of those at the highest level. He has set records in Japan for the most winners ridden in a year (212) as well as for the most prize-money earned in a single year with that figure standing at ¥4,414,042,000, which equates to almost $39 million.
“It is a great honor to receive such a prestigious award,” said Take. “As a jockey, I am happy to fly with a saddle back and forth locally as well as internationally as requested. It doesn't matter if there is a difference in the rules and language, I have been riding the same way everywhere, and therefore did not recognize that I was making a contribution to the achievement and improvement of global horse racing. If my attitude to horse racing has delivered me international recognition with this award, I will make a continuous effort to the development of global horse racing.”
Take made an immediate impact as a jockey, being crowned champion apprentice in 1987 and winning his first title as a fully fledged jockey in 1989. With the exception of 1991 Take was champion jockey in Japan each year until 1999. Although Take has ridden a number of top class horses, he is most associated with the former champion racehorse and multiple champion sire Deep Impact (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) whom he partnered to win seven Group1 races including the Japanese Triple Crown in 2005. Currently Take is the regular rider of reigning Japanese Horse of the Year Kitasan Black (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}), whose final race will come in the Arima Kinen. Take has also ridden with success internationally and landed the G1 Darley July Cup at Newmarket in 2000 aboard Agnes World (Danzig) and more recently he landed the G1 Prix d'Ispahan at Chantilly in 2016 on A Shin Hikari (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).
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