'It was so sudden, everyone is shocked' - Japanese great Daiwa Major dies aged at 25

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Top-class racehorse and sire Daiwa Major died of old age at Shadai Stallion Station on Tuesday morning. He was 25.

The son of Sunday Silence was a five-time Grade 1 winner on the track, landing the likes of the Japanese 2,000 Guineas, the Yasuda Kinen and the Tenno Sho as well as being the country's champion miler on two occasions. He finished an honourable third over a longer trip in the 2007 Arima Kinen before heading to stud.

Daiwa Major has sired a number of accomplished horses including Serifos and Admire Mars, while Ascoli Piceno landed last year's Grade 1 Victoria Mile and was sixth in the Prix Jacques le Marois. A powerful chestnut, he was bred by Shadai Farm and was the half-brother of multiple Grade 1 scorer Daiwa Scarlet. 

Double Major, a dual winner of the Prix Royal-Oak for Christophe Ferland and the Wertheimer family, has advertised his talents as a stallion in Europe.

It is reported that staff inspected Daiwa Major's stables at 2am and found nothing unusual but discovered him in an unwell state two hours later before he died very quickly.

Quoted by Japanese racing publication Netkeiba, Keisuke Miwa of the Shadai stallion office said: "Until the day before, there had been nothing unusual about him. He was strong and energetic, and had finished all his feed just before. It was so sudden, everyone is shocked.

"During his career, he was a powerful miler with an intimidating presence, and even after becoming a stallion, he remained muscular and positive towards mares. He was very energetic. He took two seasons off breeding and spent his time at a leisurely pace."

In a sad coincidence Japanese racing had been absorbing the death of Dance In The Mood only a day earlier. The pair were from the same era and had been closely matched in a number of the mile events. 

Dance In The Mood, also by Sunday Silence and a winner of the Japanese 1,000 Guineas, became a successful broodmare for Shadai Farm.

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