He was an international hero who made his country proud. Forever Young was a world beater who inspired thousands of Japanese to follow him to the Middle East and America and cheer him on. For three thrilling years they waved the banner of the Rising Sun in packed grandstands and saluted their four-legged icon.
They made the long trip to King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh and saw Forever Young take consecutive editions of the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), the world’s richest race. They celebrated wildly after he ran down all-time leading money winner Romantic Warrior ($36,966,353) to take the 2025 Cup by a neck.
That night, trainer Yoshito Yahagi called Forever Young “absolutely the best dirt-track runner Japan has ever known.”
His fans endured disappointments at Meydan, where he finished third and second in the Dubai World Cup (G1). They exulted at Del Mar after Forever Young’s triumph in the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
They’d seen him miss a historic score in the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1) when he ran third, missing by two noses, after taking repeated bumps down the stretch from runner-up Sierra Leone. They had come more than 6,500 miles only to endure one of the worst bad beats of all time.
The fan club was back last month in Kentucky, where the cheers died at Keeneland. As dusk fell on Halloween, Forever Young’s glorious run ended with a fifth-place dud behind Sovereignty in the Classic.
It was the only time in 17 starts that Forever Young finished out of the top three. After chasing the pace in third, then second, he faded in mid-stretch, where you expected to see his patented surge. The unprecedented surrender signaled he no longer was himself, and that the end was near.
The leading active earner ($32,523,590) is scheduled to run for the last time on Dec. 29 in the Tokyo Daishoten (G1). Owner Susumu Fujita announced that the great-grandson of Hall of Famer Sunday Silence will then go to stud at Shadai Stallion Station.
“The owner has a strong desire to let Japanese racing fans see Forever Young run one more time,” Yahagi said. “He has already earned so much money, so this isn’t about prize money.
“His defeat does nothing to diminish everything he has achieved throughout his career. Forever Young is much the best horse I have ever trained.”
Yahagi blamed himself for the Classic defeat six weeks after his superstar easily won the 1¼-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Belmont Park. He said the uncharacteristic performance at Keeneland was due to mental stress.
“Physically there were no issues at all,” Yahagi told Tospo-Keiba, a Japanese website, on Nov. 8. “The primary factor was his mental state. It was more a matter of my own shortcomings in managing his mental side.
“Perhaps it was too much to ask of him to run two consecutive races overseas. It might have been easier if he’d had a prep race in Japan, as he did last year, before heading to his target event. I realize now that I put a heavy burden on the horse.”
Yahagi said Forever Young was still in quarantine, and that so long as he showed no negative signs, he would run Dec. 29.
The 5-year-old son of Real Steel heads into his career finale with a record of 12-1-3, with five Grade 1 trophies and a highlight film for the ages.
Bob Dylan’s song “Forever Young” has a line “May you build a ladder to the stars,” and this immortal thoroughbred did that. We won’t see another one like him for a long time, if ever.
Ed McNamara is an award-winning racing writer who has covered the sport since 1981 for The Bergen (N.J.) Record, Newsday, ESPN, Thorocap, and USRacing. He is the author of Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown and Racing Around the World, and a contributor to The Most Glorious Crown and The Racetracks of America. He has also written for racing publications in France and Italy.
