Gaia Force

Gaia Force is an active Japanese racehorse.

Background

Gaia Force was born on February 21, 2019, at the. He was sired by Kitasan Black, who won 7 Grade I races in his career and also produced Equinox that season. His dam, Natale, was a Kurofune progeny who won several NAR graded races in her career including the Crown Cup and the Totsuka Kinen in 2011, as well as the ORO Cup in 2012 and 2013.
Gaia Force was sold at the JRHA Select Sale's Foal Session for 30,000,000 JPY to KR Japan. He was then sent to the stable at Ritto Training Center for training.
The name Gaia Force is derived from "the force of the Greek god Gaia."

Racing career

2021: two-year-old season

Gaia Force debuted at a maiden race of 1800 meters for 2 year olds at Kokura Racecourse with Kohei Matsuyama as his jockey, where he was beaten by a neck by future Derby winner Do Deuce.

2022: three-year-old season

After taking a six months long break, Gaia Force was entered in to a maiden race of 2000 meters at Hanshin Racecourse, where he handily won the race by four lengths. He was then sent to the Azusa Sho, where he was the most favored to win, but could not catch up to Saint Camellia and finished second. His next race, the Kunisaki Tokubetsu, saw him taking the lead at the fourth corner and finishing the race with a seven length lead, setting a course record of 1:56.8. He was then entered in to his first graded race, the St Lite Kinen, where the horse would contest the lead from the middle of the pack and go neck-and-neck with Ask Victor More before beating him by a head, earning him his first graded race victory. The horse was then sent to contest his first Grade I race, the Kikuka-shō, where he was once again the most favored to win, but lost after losing momentum on the final stretch. Sugiyama later commented "The starting gate was everything. The horse was surrounded when it mattered the most. The horse never raced this kind of race and lost concentration halfway through. Maybe it also had to do with the distance."

2023: four-year-old season

Gaia Force started his four year old season with the American Jockey Club Cup. He was once again the most favored to win, but could not take the lead and finished fifth. After a three months break, Gaia Force ran his first mile race, the Yomiuri Milers Cup, on April 23, with as his new jockey. Gaia Force was placed in the back of the pack before catching up with the lead on the home stretch, ultimately finishing second behind Schnell Meister by a neck. Nishimura later commented "He was doing pretty well despite being his first mile race, and showed good legs. He's also maneuverable, so I think it would be all right even if the distance becomes longer". On June 4, he ran the Yasuda Kinen, where he finished fourth behind Songline after trying to catch up to the leader. After this he ran several races with Nishimura, placing 4th to 6th in all of his races that season.

2024: five-year-old season

Gaia Force started the season with his first dirt race, the February Stakes; with as his new jockey. Gaia Force ran 8th in the pack, before picking up the pace and finishing second place after and contested the position. After the race, Nagaoka commented "The horse seemed worried about the kick-backs along the way, but the horse managed to persevere. The pace was smooth and worked in favor for the horse, and the horse ran well, and didn't do too bad on the dirt track"
After the February Stakes, the horse was briefly planned to race the Queen Elizabeth Stakes held at Randwick Racecourse in Australia, but a fracture in the left metacarpal scrapped such plans. When interviewed, Sugiyama stated that if the horse healed well, the horse would race the Yasuda Kinen on June 2.
The horse made a successful recovery, and was entered to contest the Yasuda Kinen, where his jockey trailed the Hong Kong challenger Romantic Warrior but was blocked on the final stretch and finished fourth behind Romantic Warrior.
Gaia Force would finish the season with the Champions Cup but finished 15th after a bad start from the outside.

2025: six-year-old season

Gaia Force was once again entered to the February Stakes but finished 7th. Following this, Gaia Force was sent to his first race abroad, the Champions Mile held at Hong Kong's Sha Tin Racecourse, but finished 9th there.
On June 8th, Gaia Force once again raced the Yasuda Kinen. He was only the 9th most favored to win, but made headway on the final stretch, finishing second behind Jantar Mantar. Gaia Force's jockey,, commented "putting on blinkers worked out" after the race.
On September 5, the Chuo Keiba PR Center announced that a plush toy of him would be created after he received the second most votes in the active racehorse category for the "Idol Horse Audition 2025."
On October 18, Gaia Force was entered in to the Fuji Stakes, where he ran second for most of the race, before taking the lead on the final stretch, earning his first victory in over 3 years. On November 23, Gaia Force entered the Mile Championship, where the horse trailed Jantar Mantar, and raced out of the pack on the final stretch. While he could not beat Jantar Mantar, Gaia Force managed to finish second.

Racing statistics

The following data is based on information available on JBIS-Search, netkeiba.com, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Legend:

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