Cover image courtesy of the Rising Sun Syndicate
Kosuke ‘Kosi’ Kawakami – director of Rising Sun Syndicate – admits establishing the business hasn’t been without its challenges and is still very much a work in progress. They are well aware the short-term will require plenty of blood, sweat and possibly the odd tear, but, fuelled by a love for their native country and the industry, he and colleagues Yusuke Ichikawa and Shinya Mori are in it for the long haul and hellbent on making it work.
“Things are good, we are busy,” Kawakami told TDN AusNZ.
“It’s only been two years since we started the company and it takes a while to establish relationships, attract clients and get results on the board.
“At the moment, we’re not making profits, we’re just trying to build the foundations of the business.
“We’re not in a rush, we’re going to take it step by step.”
“We’re not in a rush, we’re going to take it step by step.” - Kosuke Kawakami
The Japanese trio have been buoyed by recent results, with Rising Sun Syndicate registering three wins and five placings from its past 10 runners.
The team’s flagbearer has been Japanese import Meiner Legacy (Jpn), who logged consecutive victories at Geelong and Casterton before running third at Ararat.
A 5-year-old son of top Japanese stallion Rulership (Jpn), Meiner Legacy was purchased by Rising Sun Syndicate after going winless but running a string of placings in his country of birth.
“We’ve had some really good results of late which is very encouraging,” Kawakami said.
“Meiner Legacy, who we imported last year, had two wins in a row and then a placing, and our first-ever yearling purchase, Brinicle, won at Ararat on Sunday.”
Brinicle (Foxwedge) is trained by Aaron Purcell, who also trains Meiner Legacy. A 3-year-old, Brinicle was offered by Glenn Lee Thoroughbreds at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale Highway Session, where Rising Sun Syndicate paid $45,000 for him.
A relation to the 2014 Listed Bel Esprit S. winner Office Bearer, Brinicle has already won close to $30,000 from just three starts and ran a close second at Morphettville last month.
Kosuke Kawakami | Image courtesy of the Rising Sun Syndicate
At the same sale, Rising Sun Syndicate paid $14,000 for a Tosen Stardom (Jpn) colt from the Fairview Park Stud draft.
Trained by Matt Cumani, the grey-bay colt has been named Rise To Stardom and he made his debut in August.
Rise To Stardom’s grandam, Wabble (Canadian Silver {Can}), is the dam of Woorim (Show A Heart), who won the G1 Oakleigh Plate in 2013.
Rise To Stardom as a yearling, purchased at the 2021 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale (Highway Session) by the Rising Sun Syndicate for $14,000 | Image courtesy of Inglis
At this year’s Inglis Gold Yearling Sale, Rising Sun Syndicate teamed with Suda Takao Shoten and Purcell to buy Lot 44 – a bay colt by Impending from Boracay (Red Ransom {USA}), making him a half-brother to the Listed winner Charlevoix (New Approach {Ire}).
Boracay herself is a half-sister to Group 1 victress Cannsea (Canny Lad) and their dam, Beachside (NZ) (Crested Wave {USA}), also won in top company.
The Impending colt is fully subscribed but the Rising Sun Syndicate still has some shares available in a Rich Enuff 2-year-old colt and an All Too Hard juvenile colt, which they also purchased at this year’s Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
The colt is the fourth foal of the winning mare Hautvillers (Flying Spur) and was a $60,000 buy from the Burke Bloodstock draft. Hautvillers is a half-sister to Group 3 winner Red Lord (Redoute’s Choice) and their dam is the stakes-winning, stakes-producing mare Dame Cath (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}).
Gallery: Some of the Rising Sun Syndicate's yearling purchases and there limited shares remaining
The colt is the fifth foal of Jessolaura (Lonhro) - a three-quarter sister to the dual Listed winner Pinch River (Denman) – and was knocked down for $70,000.
Rising Sun Syndicate’s first yearling purchase of 2022 took place at the Magic Millions Sale on the Gold Coast, where they went to $57,500 for a Grunt (NZ) filly from a sister to stakes winner Divine Centuri named Holy Seal (I Am Invincible).
“They’re all nice horses with good pedigrees and we’re looking forward to seeing them get to the races,” said Kawakami.
Finding a niche
Rising Sun Syndicate will continue to be active at the sales and will look to shop on the various online platforms. And while they made a purchase at this year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Kawakami said they will bypass next year’s sale, instead opting to target the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale.
“We try to look for horses under $100,000, so we will probably get a better chance at Classic; we will have a really good crack there,” Kawakami explained.
In addition, they are always on the hunt for more suitable horses in their homeland.
“For Australian owners, they probably won’t buy into yearlings with us because there’s so many other syndicators out there that are already established,” Kawakami said.
“Our strong point is having really strong connections with Japan and we can get really nice Japanese tried horses for an affordable price. We’re mainly looking at maiden horses. That way, we can still attract Australian owners as a unique Japanese syndicator; that’s the plan.”
“Our strong point is having really strong connections with Japan and we can get really nice Japanese tried horses for an affordable price.” - Kosuke Kawakami
Rising Sun Syndicate recently made its second purchase out of Japan, 3-year-old Nishino Crescent (Jpn) (Satono Aladdin {Jpn}), and he is due to touch down in Australia in January.
He has been placed five times against horses in the stakes grade, including Pradaria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who won the G2 Aoba Sho and ran fifth in the G1 Japanese Derby in May.
“Satono Aladdin is doing a great job as a stallion and we are excited to have one of his sons coming to join our team,” Kawakami said.
“We are being really selective with what we import from Japan, because transport costs are very expensive.
“We really do our homework on each horse; we speak to the owners, trainer, grooms, track riders, jockey, even the vets… we’ve got to be really confident with who we are bringing over.
“We really do our homework on each horse; we speak to the owners, trainer, grooms, track riders, jockey, even the vets… we’ve got to be really confident with who we are bringing over.” - Kosuke Kawakami
“When you’re buying tried horses, getting information from the stables is so important. With tried horses, you’ve got to know what the horse is like, what they’ve been through since being a yearling. Do they have upside, is there any reason they haven’t performed as well as they should have, those sorts of things.
“This horse, Nishino Crescent, ticked all the boxes and we are really confident he will do well in Australia.”
Success breeds success
Japanese-bred horses have enjoyed great success in Australia in modern times.
In 2005, Eye Popper (Soccer Boy {Jpn}) placed second in the Caulfield Cup.
Twelve months later, Delta Blues (Jpn) (Dance In The Dark {Jpn}) touched off fellow-Japanese Pop Rock (Jpn) (Helissio {Fr}) to win the Melbourne Cup.
In 2014, the Hana's Goal (Jpn) (Owera Mattteruze {Jpn}) scored in the 2014 All Aged S. and Admire Rakti (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) claimed the Caulfield Cup.
Gallery: Some of the Japanese-bred horses who had success in Australia, images couryesy of Sportpix
A year later, Real Impact (Jpn) took out the G1 George Ryder S. and was runner-up in the Doncaster H.
Four years on, Mer De Glace (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) won the Caulfield Cup, before Lys Gracieux (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) triumphed in the Cox Plate.
There has also been Brave Smash (Jpn) and Tosen Stardom, who both won Group 1s in Australia for Australian Bloodstock, while the Matthew-Smith trained Fierce Impact (Jpn) notched three elite-level successes Down Under before heading to stud.
And, earlier this year, Glint Of Hope (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who was bred in Japan to Southern Hemisphere time, was a brilliant winner of the G1 Australasian Oaks for Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young.
Natalie Young with Glint Of Hope (Jpn) after her G1 Australasian Oaks win | Image courtesy of Darren Tindale
Kawakami claims these gallopers’ deeds have done wonders for the profile of racing and breeding in Japan, and while he would love to be in a position to purchase horses of that ilk, he knows it is likely unattainable. That doesn’t mean Rising Sun Syndicate can’t enjoy their own success, however.
“Those horses have had great achievements out here in Australia and the guys at Australian Bloodstock have done amazing things with Japanese imports,” he said.
“We can’t afford to buy those high-grade Japanese horses, but there’s still room to buy those lower-grade Japanese horses, ones that can come over here and win metro races and maybe aim for Listed grade; that’s what we’re trying to do.”
