Jockey Yuichi Fukunaga wants to be Japan’s next great export to Europe

Just A Way’s win in the Dubai Duty Free on World Cup night helped propel jockey Yuichi Fukunaga to the world stage. He is hoping to parlay that success into a career in Europe. Pawan Singh / The NatioShow more

LONDON // Yuichi Fukunaga announced himself on the world stage with victory aboard Just A Way on Dubai World Cup night, but the Japanese superstar is aiming for a long-term career in Europe when he rides in the Shergar Cup at Ascot on Saturday.

Fukunaga has topped the jockeys’ standings twice in Japan, and Just A Way’s spectacular win in the US$5 million (Dh18.4m) Dubai Duty Free at Meydan Racecourse earned the 37-year-old rider a ticket to Ascot today courtesy of the sponsors.

He will ride alongside Australian jockey Craig Williams and S’Manga Khumalo from South Africa for the Rest Of The World team.

Fukunaga will return to Europe for the first Sunday in October to ride Just A Way in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as the two try to sooth Japan’s painful but thrilling relationship with the Parisian race.

Fukunaga is hoping it may be the start of several seasons based in Europe.

“I have been champion jockey in Japan before, so now I am looking elsewhere,” Fukunaga said yesterday.

“I want a long career, and I want that to involve a decent spell preferably in England or France.

“I have a wife and a daughter, so to come over here for a long period would be very interesting.”

Fukunaga’s father, Yoichi, was a champion jockey in Japan nine times during the 1970s but suffered a terrible fall at the age of 29 when his son was two.

It left him a quadriplegic and put thoughts of becoming a jockey a long way from the plans of Fukunaga as he grew up.

But hopes of being a footballer were discarded, followed by thoughts of being a teacher, before the unique exhilaration of race riding lured him back to the fold.

Fukunaga will always be compared to his father, who never had the opportunity to test himself in Europe. Riding in the UK and France would allow him to better step out from under his father’s considerable shadow.

“Of course, his history will always be linked to me – they are my roots,” Fukunaga said. “My father always wanted to come to Europe, but he never had the chance as times were very different then. I can go back to Japan any time.”

By showcasing his talents outside of Japan, Fukunaga follows in the footsteps of Yusunari Iwata, who won the Melbourne Cup on Delta Blues in 2006, Masayoshi Ebina, who lost the Arc on El Condor Pasa in 1999, and the pathfinder for Japanese jockeys, Yutake Take.

Take has lived near Fukunaga for as long as he can remember. Their fathers were elite jockeys.

Take was the pin-up boy of Japanese racing in the late 1990s, and his success brought him unprecedented fame and the trappings that go with that, which proved a strong hook for Fukunaga.

“He had a Porsche and he always seemed to be with beautiful women,” Fukunaga said. “He was famous in Japan in a way nobody had been before. He was a superstar and I wanted to be like him.”

Take has been a regular at the Shergar Cup, but Fukunaga made an inauspicious debut in 2006 when the best finishing position he achieved was fifth.

“It was very hard for me, as each horse was completely different and I had to adjust my riding style, which was difficult for me at that stage,” Fukunaga said.

“As far as riding goes, it was not that simple for me. I have to alter my style compared to the way I would ride in Japan to be effective in Europe.”

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