Equinox (horse)

Equinox made his debut at a 1800 meter long maiden race on August 28 at Niigata Racecourse with Christophe Lemaire as his jockey. During the race, he came in to the lead on the final stretch, passing Circle of Life and the other horses, finishing the race with a six length lead.[6] The acceleration Equinox showed surprised Kuwata, who had thought the horse was going to be more of a stayer.[5][7]

Equinox at the Tokyo Sports Nisai Stakes

Equinox's next race was the Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes (GII) held on November 20, where he was the most favored. During the race, the horse stayed with the pack, only to pass the others on the final stretch with the record of 32.9 seconds for the final 3 furlongs[8] and winning his first group race. This also marked the first group race that a horse sired by Kitasan Black won.[7][9]

As previously planned, Equinox did not use any trial races,[10] and headed straight to Satsuki Sho as his first race of the season; which saw him take a 147 day long break.[12] At the Satsuki Sho, Equinox was the third favored behind JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt winner Do Deuce and Tokinominoru Kinen winner Danon Beluga. Equinox started the race from the furthest gate, and came in to the final stretch in third place. He passed all the other horses but was passed by Geoglyph, who was also trained by Kimura, at the last second and came in second place[13]。Equinox's jockey Lemaire commented that "it was after a long break, but he performed well. Since he started from the outside we couldn't create a wall, but we were able to make a winner. I think we have a big chance at the Derby".[14]

Equinox then headed to the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) on May 29, where he was the 2nd most favored behind Danon Beluga, who had come in 4th place at Satsuki Sho. He started the race third from last, and at the final stretch covered the last 3 furlongs at 33.6 seconds to close the gaps, but was beaten by Do Deuce by a neck. Lemaire remarked "I marked the winner on the stretch and tried to go after him as I went on the outside, but my opponent passed me back".[15]

It was then announced that Equinox's next race would be the Autumn leg of the Tenno Sho. It was also announced that he had damaged his left foreleg at the Derby but was recovering well.[16]

As announced, Equinox entered the Tenno Sho on October 30, where he started favourite. After making a good start, he was in the middle of the pack chasing Panthalassa, who was running at a high pace of 57.4 seconds/1000 meters. As the horse entered the final stretch, Lemaire urged the horse forward, catching Panthalassa at the last second, covering what Lemaire said was at least 15 lengths with the speed of 32.7 seconds over the last 3 furlongs,[17] marking his first GI victory. This was the second year in a row, and the fifth ever, where a three-year old won the Autumn Tenno Sho, with Efforia being the previous year's winner. Equinox's win also marked the fastest win in any horse's career as he was the first horse to have won the race after running just five races, and also became the first flat G1 race of the season where the most favored horse won the race, breaking the spell after 16 consecutive losses for the most favored.[18][19] Equinox's victory also marked the first GI victory of any Kitasan Black sire, and the fourth parent-child pair ever to win the same Autumn Tenno Sho Race.[18] During the post-race interview Lemaire commented "Spring was unlucky for him, but I was able to show the true Equinox" and "this may be his first GI, but this won't be the last. I believe he can still win more GI titles".[20]

It was then announced that his next race would be that year's Arima Kinen, to be held on December 25.[21] Equinox gained many fan votes and gained a total of 294,688 votes, which was the third highest.[22]

External video
The 2022 Arima Kinen race video from JRA's official YouTube channel

External video
The 2022 Arima Kinen race video from KanTere's official YouTube channel

At the Arima Kinen, Equinox was the most favored.[23] After the race began, he was in the rear of the pack that was chasing Titleholder. Just before the third corner Equinox started to move on to the outside, and started to pick up the pace as he made the fourth corner. At the final stretch, after Lemaire urged the horse to go faster, he picked up even more pace and crossed the finishing pole, not letting any other horses come near him. This victory marked the 21st horse ever to win the Arima as a three year old, and a second year in a row after Efforia last year. Equinox also became the third horse ever to win both the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and Arima as a three-year old, and the fastest ever for any horse to win the Arima with just six races to his career.[24][25] This race also became the first Arima since 1994 for the top two to be won by a three-year old, as Boldog Hos was also a three-year old.[26]

• 
  2022 Tenno Sho (Autumn)
• 
  2022 Arima Kinen

On January 17, the World's Best Racehorse Rankings of 2022 was announced, where Equinox was rated at 3rd place at 126 pounds alongside Nature Strip citing his two major victories he made the previous year, as well as being named the Horse of the Year. As the 1st place (Flightline) and 2nd place (Baaeed) had both retired by this point, he became the de facto highest rated horse that was active.[27][28]

For his first race of the season, it was announced that they would go forward with finalizing their entry to the Dubai Sheema Classic, which would make it his first foreign race.[29][30] Later, he was formally invited to enter the race, in which the invitation was accepted.[31]

At the race, Equinox for the first time in his career took the lead from the start. He kept on leading the race, and at the final race the horse continued at its pace and handily won the race, winning it with a record of 2:25:65. The win also marked the first foreign victory of any Kitasan Black sire.[32]

After the race, Lemaire commented "I knew he was the greatest horse, and I'm very happy I was able to create this pace" and "This is the first time I won this race since Heart's Cry, who passed away two weeks ago. I would like to thank Equinox for making this opportunity to pay my tribute to him".[33]

On April 14, the Longine World Best Racehorse Ranking (which tabulates all major races from that year up until April 9) was announced, and citing Equinox's 3 and a half length victory at Dubai, he was rated the highest rated horse at 129 pounds. This was the third time a Japanese-trained horse became the highest rated in the ranking since 2014's Just A Way and 2016's A Shin Hikari.[34]