Yuto Kumagai pays tribute to his mate, ‘Tiger’

Written by Trent Masenhelder

Cover image courtesy of Yuto Kumagai

Japanese apprentice jockey Yuto Kumagai is trying to come to terms with the death of his housemate, good friend and countryman Taiki Yanagida.

The 28-year-old Yanagida died in Waikato Hospital on Tuesday, following a race fall at Cambridge. Yanagida was aboard the Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained Te Atatu Pash (NZ) (He’s Remarkable {NZ}), which fell with 250 metres remaining in the last race.

Yanagida was knocked unconscious and placed in an induced coma at the track, before being transported to Waikato Hospital. He suffered serious head and spinal injuries and after a brave six-day fight, Yanagida died on Tuesday evening, surrounded by loved ones, including his mother, Kayano, and younger sister, Chiaki, who flew out from Japan to be with him, as well as Kumagai.

“I am so very sad, he was an amazing person and one of my very best friends,” Kumagai told TDN AusNZ on Wednesday.

“I’m having quite a hard time these past few days, they are the saddest days of my life.

“I find it hard to talk about. Yesterday (Tuesday), I went and saw Kozzi Azzano (another New Zealand-based Japanese jockey) and I couldn’t stop crying.”

Kumagai relived his last moments with Yanagida and has vowed to ride in his honour.

“When I was with him at the hospital, when I was saying goodbye to him, I spoke to him. I said to Taiki, ‘Thank you for our special friendship and for looking after me’. I also said, ‘I’m going to thank you again by winning a Group 1 for you, we will do it together’. When I said that to him, he was sleeping and his brain wasn’t working, but he still cried.”

Yanagida moved to Australia from Kyoto, the former capital of Japan some 454 kilometres southwest of Tokyo, before venturing to New Zealand, where he rode for five seasons. He was indentured to O’Sullivan and Scott at Wexford Stables for the majority of that time.

Kumagai moved to Australia from Iwate, situated on the northeastern coast of Japan's main island, to pursue a career as a jockey when he was 17. Whilst in Australia, he learnt to ride show jumping and dressage horses.

Kumagai met Yanagida on Facebook and decided to join up with him in New Zealand. He booked a one-way ticket to Auckland and hoped for the best.

“I was in Australia for two years. I was watching his races in New Zealand and thought, ‘I want to go’. I found his Facebook account and sent him a friend request and then I moved there,” said Kumagai, who, like Yanagida, landed a job at Wexford Stables.

Kumagai, 26, said he will forever cherish the four-and-a-half years he spent with Yanagida, who taught him so much, both professionally and socially.

“We did everything together, everything,” Kumagai commented.

“He loved eating food and he knows which cafes and restaurants to go to. He would take me to the best restaurant or the best cafés. Taiki would often cook for me, and he would clean and do all that. He was a good person to live with.

“He was always talking about horses, whether that was how to get fit or how to ride, become a better jockey. He loved horses so much.

“I used to ride show jumping horses and dressage horses, but when I got here (New Zealand) I had never ridden racehorses. He showed me how to ride racehorses. He had a big influence on my career; I couldn’t get a jockey licence without him.”

Yanagida liked watching many of the top jockeys around the world, but there was one he particularly admired.

“Taiki’s favourite jockey is Joao Moreira, he was watching him all the time in Hong Kong. His riding style was quite similar to Joao Moreira’s, so he did copy him,” Kumagai said.

“He was very determined and really wanted to get better so he could become a top jockey. He had a three-month contract to ride in Hokkaido from April next year. He went home for a month recently and said he really wanted to ride in Japan so his family and friends could see him; he was quite excited about that.”

Yanagida was incredibly polite and extremely popular within the New Zealand racing community. He developed the nickname ‘Tiger’.

“He got the nickname Tiger because he tried so hard all of the time and was courageous. He was a very tough person,” explained Kumagai, who earned a nickname of his own, ‘The Weapon’.

“Everyone that knew him, loved him.”

Asked why Yanagida moved away from his homeland, Kumagai said it was to support his family.

“His father was gone when Taiki was a child. His father wasn’t a good person,” Kumagai explained.

“He wanted to make money for his family – he has a mother and two sisters, one older (Ayano), one younger – in Japan. The prizemoney he earned from riding, some of that he would send home. He was always saying, ‘I need to get money for my family’.

“Taiki wanted to win some big races, as that would have helped them all.”

Yanagida notched 162 wins (42 last season), including three in stakes class. He won the G2 Westbury Classic aboard Dragon Queen (NZ) (Sweynesse), the G3 Sunline Vase on Bellatrix Black (NZ) (Redwood {GB}) and the Listed Flying S. with Germanicus (NZ) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}).

“His favourite horse was Dragon Queen, it was his first stakes winner,” Kumagai said.

Yanagida made the transition to the senior riding ranks earlier this year. He made a good start to the new season when victorious earlier on the card at Cambridge aboard the Chris Wood-trained Rusavy (NZ) (Savabeel).