was a Japanese racehorse and stallion.
His major victories included the 1999 Japan Dirt Derby (JpnI). That same year, he was selected as the NAR Best 3-Year-Old Thoroughbred.
Racing career
1998: three-year-old season Orion the Thanks was trained by Kazunori Tabe at the Hokkaido Keiba circuit. He made his debut at on April 15, 1998.
Following his debut victory, he contested several 1,000-meter open races at , finishing seventh, second, and then going on to win the next two. In September, he contested contested in the Eikan Sho, taking first place and setting a 1,000-metre track record for the course, earning recognition as one of the most promising three-year-old horses in regional racing.
He concluded his Hokkaido campaign with four wins from six starts before transferring to the Akama Kiyomatsu stable at Ohi Racecourse. Following the transfer, he contested in the Zen-Nippon Sansai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse. He broke well and raced calmly, but tired out, and struggled to navigate after the final corner; despite having been voted 4th favourite to win, he finished in 10th place.
1999: four-year-old season Entering his four-year-old season in 1999, Orion Thanks began the year by winning the Wakajishi Tokubetsu, an open race. He lead throughout, relying on his early speed, defeating the runner-up, Reward Conga, by 1.5 seconds.
He followed this with a victory in the Keihin Hai in heavy snowfall, where he again took the lead early and held on to win. Following these performances, he was regarded as the leading contender for the 1999 Minami-Kanto Triple Crown (today's "Dirt Triple Crown"). He won the opening leg at the Haneda Hai, but was then beaten into third by his contemporaries, Opera Hat and Taikō Legend, in the second leg, the Tokyo Okan Sho. However, he would become a double crowner after winning the Tokyo Derby.
He participated in the inaugural Japan Dirt Derby, where he went off as the second favourite. It was expected that Opera Hat, the favourite, would win the race once again, giving his demonstrated high stamina on the final spurt. However, Orion the Thanks took the lead from the start and raced well, finishing first by a neck, becoming the first winner of the race.
Although the victory appeared to establish him as the leading four-year-old dirt horse of the season, his health subsequently declined. Unable to reproduce the speed that had characterized his earlier performances, he recorded a series of disappointing results. After returning in the autumn and having been voted favourite once more, he finished eleventh in the Super Championship.
2000: five-year-old season In 2000, Orion Thanks competed over a variety of distances as he attempted to establish himself in new areas, including participation in dirt Grade 1 races under the Japan Racing Association. In the in Ohi Racecourse, he returned to sprint racing for the first time in a while, and won by coming from behind, rather than using his usual front-running tactics.
On 25 November, he was selected as the representative of regional racing for the inaugural Japan Cup Dirt (GI), held at Tokyo Racecourse and Japan's first international dirt race. He took the lead at a high pace from the start and attracted attention from the crowd, but faded in the latter stages and finished fifteenth. Although he was entered for the Tokyo Daishōten at the end of the year, he was excluded as a reserve entry and instead contested the Katsushima Open, which he won.
2001 and retirement In 2001, following the change in Japanese horse age notation, Orion Thanks began his season in the Tokyo City Hai, where he was sent off as the favourite but finished fifth. He then travelled to Saga Racecourse for the Saga Kinen, where he finished eleventh. Following the race, he was diagnosed with Tendonitis, and retired from racing.
Racing Record Orion the Thanks won 11 races out of 24 starts. This data is available on JBIS. DateRaceClassDistanceRacecourseFinishEntryTimeJockeyWinner (2nd Place)1998: Three-year-old seasonApril 15Three-year-old debutDirt 1000mMonbetsu 81:02.2Hiroki Shibuya(Squall Chase)June 17Three-year-old OPOPDirt 1000mSapporo7th11:02.5Hiroki ShibuyaDai CoasterJuly 2Three-year-old OPOPDirt 1000mAsahikawa51:01.9Hiroki ShibuyaKamiwazaJuly 29Three-year-old OPOPDirt 1000mAsahikawa31:00.5Hiroki Shibuya(Morpheroy)August 26Three-year-old OPOPDirt 1000mAsahikawa51:01.6Hiroki Shibuya(Wonder Power)September 23Eikan ShoH2Dirt 1000mAsahikawa60:59.9Hiroki Shibuya(Shinsei Raiden)December 29Zen-Nippon Sansai YushunG2Dirt 1600mKawasaki10th131:45.2Hideji HayataAdmire Mambo1999: Four-year-old seasonJanuary 19Wakajishi SpecialOPDirt 1700mOhi 141:48.6Hideji Hayata(Reward Conga)February 11Keihin CupJpn2Dirt 1700mOhi101:48.0Hideji Hayata(Keishu Excel)April 13Haneda HaiJpn1Dirt 1600mOhi101:41.3Hideji Hayata(Rabbit Symphony)May 10Tokyo Okan ShoJpn1Dirt 1800mOhi101:54.8Hideji HayataOpera HatJune 9Tokyo DerbyJpn1Dirt 2000mOhi152:07.7Hideji Hayata(Taiko Legend)July 8Japan Dirt ClassicG1Dirt 2000mOhi62:06.9Hideji Hayata(Opera Hat)October 13Super ChampionshipJpn2Dirt 2000mOhi11th32:16.3Hideji HayataIchiko Tamayuki2000: Five-year-old seasonFebruary 20February StakesG1Dirt 1600mTokyo15th41:37.5Hideji HayataWing ArrowMarch 22Frontier Sprint CupJpn3Dirt 1200mOhi91:12.4Hideji Hayata(Dear Victory)April 13Mile Grand PrixJpn1Dirt 1600mOhi5th111:41.2Hideji HayataIntelli PowerJune 22Teio ShoJpn1Dirt 2000mOhi15th62:10.5Hideji HayataFast FriendSeptember 27Tokyo CupJpn2Dirt 1200mOhi8th101:12.5Hideji HayataBelle-Ami LordOctober 31Grand Champion 2000Jpn1Dirt 2000mOhi102:06.2Hideji HayataMakiba SniperNovember 25Japan Cup DirtG1Dirt 2100mTokyo15th32:13.9Hideji HayataWing ArrowDecember 30Katsushima OpenOPDirt 1600mOhi141:40.0Hideji Hayata(Zenno Motore)2001: Six-year-old seasonJanuary 17Tokyo City CupJpn3Dirt 1400mOhi5th121:25.5Hideji HayataSurprise PowerFebruary 12Saga KinenJpn3Dirt 2000mSaga11th82:13.7Hideji HayataMitsuaki Silence
Pedigree
Orion the Thanks was inbred 3 × 3 to Riverman, and 5 × 4 × 4 to Never Bend. He was also inbred 5 × 5 to Khaled, a St James's Palace Stakes winner, through Swaps and Dress up on his Dam's side. This information is available on netkeiba and JBIS.
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