Royal Ascot Owner Profile: Hidetoshi Yamamoto
At 62, Mr. Hidetoshi Yamamoto is the chief executive of a company engaged in the planning, development and sale of amusement machines. His company is responsible for the famous Pachinco game. He is connected to 20 board members in 2 different organizations across 2 different industries. He is relatively new to owning horses. He purchased his first horse in 2004.
Yamamoto got into the horse racing business from the sales ring. He played a major role at the top end of the market at Keeneland, Newmarket, Daeauville and Japan. He was the under-bidder for George Washington, who won four Gr.1 stakes, including the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket at the time.
Yamamoto’s successful bids at the market were for some valuable well-bred horses, including a filly out of To The Victory who was runner up to Captain Steve in the Dubai World Cup in 2001 by King Kamehameha, the Japanese Derby winner. The filly was bought at the 2006 Japan Racing Horse Association Select Foal Sale for US$5.22 million, the world record price paid for a foal or weanling.
Most of the horses owned by Yamamoto are trained by Kazuo Fujisawa. Fujisawa has been a top trainer in Japan for more than a decade, being named leading trainer 13 times in the last 15 years. While he has been highly regarded in Europe since Taiki Shuttle captured the Group 1 Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville in 1998, Fujisawa had a tough time in the United States, including at the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1996 and 1997, when Taiki Blizzard was well beaten both years.
Fujisawa learned how to train horses by working for the highly respected English trainer Gavin Pritchard-Gordon in Newmarket. Fujisawa was an assistant trainer in Japan for 10 years before going out on his own in 1988.
Since then, Fujisawa has trained several champions, including three who became Japan's Horse of the Year: Taiki Shuttle (1998), Symboli Kris K (2002 and 2003), and Zenno Rob Roy (2004). In 2006, Fujisawa won the Grade 3 CashCall Mile at Hollywood Park with Dance in the Mood.
The Japan Racing Association describes Fujisawa as one of the pioneers in the internationalization of Japanese horse racing.Nobutaka Tada, who serves as the racing manager for Hidetoshi Yamamoto, has said in an interview with DRF the race Yamamoto covets most is the Arc de Triomphe in France.
Yamamoto has just one entry in Royal Ascot with Fast Approach, a son of New Approach. A final decision on Royal Ascot is to follow.
Credit: Pallavi Shevade pallavi.shevade@secretaristworld.com