Details
| Name / Japanese | Sanei Thank You / サンエイサンキュー |
| Birth Year | 1989 |
| Sex | female |
| Earnings | 258,955,000 yen |
| Races-Wins / G1-Wins | 17-5 / 5-0 |
| Sire | Dyna Thank You |
| Dam (Sire) | Glory Sakura (Sea Hawk) |
| Other site link | JBIS / Umanity / en.netkeiba |
All races
| Y D/M |
Track | Race | No. | Pl. |  |
| 1991 13/07 |
Sapporo D1000 |
3yo (2yo) New Comers | 6 | 2 | |
| 1991 20/07 |
Sapporo T1000 |
3yo (2yo) New Comers | 3 | 1 | |
| 1991 28/07 |
Sapporo T1200 |
Sapporo Sansai Stakes (G3) | 9 | 13 | |
| 1991 25/08 |
Hakodate T1200 |
Clover Sho | 8 | 7 | |
| 1991 22/09 |
Hakodate T1200 |
Hakodate Sansai Stakes (G3) | 11 | 2 | |
| 1991 27/10 |
Tokyo T1600 |
Icho Stakes | 7 | 1 | |
| 1991 01/12 |
Hanshin T1600 |
Hanshin Sansai Himba Stakes (G1) | 10 | 2 | ◆ |
| 1992 02/02 |
Tokyo T1600 |
Daily Hai Queen Cup (G3) | 9 | 1 | G |
| 1992 08/03 |
Nakayama T2000 |
Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho (G2) | 5 | 6 | G |
| 1992 12/04 |
Hanshin T1600 |
Oka Sho (G1) | 4 | 7 | ◆ |
| 1992 24/05 |
Tokyo T2400 |
Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (G1) | 5 | 2 | ◆ |
| 1992 05/07 |
Sapporo T2000 |
Sapporo Kinen (G3) | 9 | 1 | G |
| 1992 23/08 |
Hakodate T2000 |
Hakodate Kinen (G3) | 4 | 8 | |
| 1992 04/10 |
Hanshin T2000 |
Sapphire Stakes (G3) | 13 | 1 | G |
| 1992 25/10 |
Kyoto T2000 |
Kansai TV Sho Rose Stakes (G2) | 12 | 2 | G |
| 1992 15/11 |
Kyoto T2400 |
Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ Cup (G1) | 17 | 5 | ◆ |
| 1992 27/12 |
Nakayama T2500 |
Arima Kinen (G1) | 13 | / | ◆ |
- In the Hanshin Sansai Himba Stakes, she was 3rd favorite.
She lost to Nishino Flower and finished 2nd. - In the Yushun Himba, she was 6th favorite.
This race was the first time for Seiki Tabara to ride her.
She lost to Adorable finished 2nd.
After this race, Seiki Tabara would continue to ride her as her main jockey. - She then finished 1st in the Sapporo Kinen and Sapphire Stakes, and fnished 2nd in the Kansai TV Sho Rose Stakes.
- In the Arima Kinen, as mentioned later, her jockey was changed from Seiki Tabara to Kazuhiro Kato.
She fractured her radial bone during the race and had to stop the race.
Her name is spoken of as a tragic horse and as the dark side of the Japan Racing Association that represented the 1990s.
Her Grueling Racing Schedule
- She hadn’t had a period of rest since her debut.
This was the intention of her owner, Kiyoshi Iwasaki. - Toshimi Kanno, an assistant trainer at her stable, speculated that her owner continued to race her without resting her, possibly out of financial difficulties and out of rivalry with Nishono Flower and the owner of Nishino Flower, her rivals.
- Her owner Iwasaki has decided to let Sanei Thank You run in the Rose Stakes instead of resting her.
The jockey Seiki Tabara was against letting her run in the Rose Stakes.
The assistant trainer Toshimi Kanno was also against it.
However, according to Kanno, her owner became more confident in his decision after she ran well to finish second in the Rose Stakes. - Just before the Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ Cup, Tabara said in an interview that Sanei Thank You was not feeling well.
This was the beginning of what would later be called the Sanei Thank You Incident. - After the Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ Cup, her stable tried to rest her, but her owner decided to let her run in the Arima Kinen.
When Kanno and the stable keeper in charge of her at the time rode her, they could hear her radial bones creaking, and they were in tears.
Sanei Thank You Incident
This is the trouble that occurred between Seiki Tabara and the sports newspaper Sankei Sports.
- Just before the Queen Elizabeth Cup, Tabara said in an official press conference that she was not feeling well.
He had often said that she was not rested and was not feeling well even before that, so after the recording of the interview was finished, he said to the TV director, “I’ve said so much bad about her, if she wins, I’m going to have to shave my head.
(In Japan, people sometimes shave their heads to show remorse and apology.) - The Sankei Sports reporter, Masaharu Mito, overslept and was not at the time of Tabara’s press conference.
Mito asked Tabara individually about Sanei Thank You’s condition, but Tabara refused to say. - Mito found out what Tabara had said from the TV director and scooped the story with the headline, “Tabara Will Shave His Head if He Finishes Second or Higher.
Tabara explained to Sankei Sports, “Please don’t report this in a way that could be misinterpreted as fixed races, which are prohibited by law.
In response, Mito reported a incendiary story with the headline, “Tabara Apologizes. - Tabara revealed in his memoir in Nikkan Sports that he distrusts Sankei Sports.
In response, Sankei Sports protested to Nikkan Sports. - Ryozo Katayama, a Sankei Sports reporter, criticized the nature of Sankei Sports in another magazine.
Katayama was fired from Sankei Sports, and several reporters left Sankei Sports in conjunction with Katayama.
The reporting structure of the entire FUJISANKEI COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, including Sankei Sports, has been called into question and has even been featured.
After the Commotion
Sanei Thank You
- Sanei Thank You was mortally wounded and should have been euthanized from a humanitarian standpoint.
However, her owner decided that if she could survive as a broodmare, he could get his money.
She underwent six surgeries, but her condition did not improve, and she died almost two years later on October 21, 1994, emaciated and suffering from rotting hooves.
Masaharu Mito (Reporter)
- He was never punished by Sankei Sports, and remained a signature reporter for Sankei Sports.
As of 2021, Sankei Sports still has his horse racing forecast section.
Seiki Tabara (Jockey)
- He had been very successful before the incident, winning the most games in 1983 and 1984.
After the incident, he continued to perform flamboyantly, making Tokai Teio Miracle Come Back, making Mayano Top Gun win with four different tactics, and tactics at the finish line when riding Flower Park, which called him genius.
He also had a nice face and was tall for a jockey.
He was a really flashy jockey. - He had also been writing and performing music since his active career as a jockey.
He wrote comic books, essays, and performed in music.
He also authored a comic book that was reminiscent of the Sanei Thank You Incident. - However, his personality was problematic.
He often fought with people around him and made misleading comments.
After retiring he became a trainer, but had an incident in which he beat a reporter with a stick. - He was arrested in 2001 for trying to bring a knife on board a plane.
During questioning, he was arrested a second time for possession of methamphetamine.
He refused to be summoned by JRA, so JRA revoked his trainer’s license and banned him from being involved in the horse racing industry for 15 years.
Even after a few years, he was subsequently arrested and charged with marijuana possession and assault.
JRA has banned him from involvement in the horse racing industry indefinitely. - He was decent about Sanei Thank You, I think.
I think many people also feel that he was decent about Sanei Thank You.
Maybe that’s why there are still fanatical Tabara followers today.
(Of course, his behavior after he retired makes me think that he was not a decent person.)
Iwasaki Kiyoshi (Owner)
- There is a story that he was later arrested for fraud, but I do not know the facts.
He was a horse owner until April 1997, but his horses have not been raced since then.