Sunny Brian


Sunny Brian was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first two leg of Japanese Classic Races, the Satsuki Shō and the Tōkyō Yūshun in 1997. He had a total earnings of ¥340,306,000 before his retirement.

Background

Born on April 23, 1994, Sunny Brian was a bay horse foaled by Sunny Swift, a Japanese racemare with the same owner as his, Moriyasu Miyazaki. He was sired by Brian's Time, an American-bred racehorse who also sired notable Japanese racehorses such as Narita Brian, Mayano Top Gun, and Tanino Gimlet.

Racing Career

1996: Three-year-old season

Sunny Brian debuted on October 5 at the Tokyo Racecourse. Ridden by Naohiro Onishi, he finished first by two and a half lengths. On his next three races, his performance dropped suddenly and failed to place, finishing fifth, seventh, and fifth once again.

1997: Four-year-old season

His next season started when he competed in Wakatake Sho, an allowance race, placing second. At the Junior Cup, he finally secured a win once again, finishing with a time of 2:03.07 by half a length. In the Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho, he placed second with three and a half lengths behind the second place, Osumi Sunday. On the Wakaba Stakes, he placed fourth despite being the most popular horse.
At the Classics, he placed first in the Satsuki Shō, winning against Silk Lightning by a neck. However, in the Tōkyō Yūshun, he was unusually unpopular for a horse who won the Satsuki Shō, where he was only the sixth favorite. Despite this, he broke the fans' low expectations and managed to win by a length, becoming the youngest Derby winner.

Race Records

The table below from netkeiba and JBIS shows his overall racing career. In his 10 starts, he won four races.

Stud Career

During his 10 years as a stallion, he sired a total of 364 horses. Although not as remarkable as his father, two of his leading progeny—Gran Rio and Kazeni Fukarete, were both G3 winners. He was later castrated before retiring.

Retirement and Death

After his stud duties, he retired at the end of 2007 at the Yushun Village AERU located in Urakawa, Hokkaido. As the youngest Derby winner, he was reported to have many visitors, which were horse racing fans.
Moreover, he was often found alone in his pasture, distancing himself from other horses—Nippo Teio, Dai Yusaku, and Winning Ticket. He was described as gentle and usually very docile, though sometimes bites when groomed.
He later died on March 3, 2011.