【The 1995 Golden Generation: How Grass Wonder Earned His Place Among Giants】
Grass Wonder was born in 1995—a vintage that produced the largest number of foreign-bred horses ever to compete in JRA races (excluding overseas-trained runners). In total, there were 389 of them.
It was truly the golden age of foreign-breds in Japan. But at the same time, it was also the golden age of Sunday Silence. The undisputed star among Sunday Silence’s 1995 crop was Special Week.
As for the foreign-bred side, the two giants were El Condor Pasa and Grass Wonder. But to say they were similar in character would be completely wrong. El Condor Pasa had charisma—the kind you’d associate with a pioneer—never finishing out of the top two, boldly venturing overseas, taking on new challenges. Grass Wonder, on the other hand, was cut from rougher cloth, his career marked by multiple crushing defeats. While El Condor Pasa sought glory abroad, Grass Wonder turned toward Japan’s traditional “festivals” for racing fans—the Arima Kinen and the Takarazuka Kinen.
Perhaps because of this contrast, Grass Wonder seemed to inspire a deeper, almost fanatical following. His career had everything: glory and heartbreak, fierce rivalries, jockey dramas. He was a horse whose story was easy to tell.
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ALT https://www.jra.go.jp/gallery/column/syouzou/2017.html
It is with heavy hearts that we share that Grass Wonder passed away on August 8.
The legendary racehorse's legacy serves as the inspiration for the character of the same name in Umamusume: Pretty Derby.
We share our condolences to all the staff involved in Grass Wonder's care.