Might of Japanese thoroughbred on full show despite wretched luck for Shadai

It's been a wretched year for the Yoshidas' Shadai Stallion Station after the loss of Deep Impact and King Kamehameha.

No Japanese stallion has ever had quite the international pull of Deep Impact, best known in these parts as the sire of Saxon Warrior and Study Of Man, while King Kamehameha was successful enough to be crowned Japan’s champion sire in 2010 and 2011 before finishing runner-up to Deep Impact on seven occasions. Without that Deep Impact shadow, he would have been a nine-time champion Japanese sire.

Naturally both have left behind a swathe of sons. King Kamehameha’s legacy would appear safe for now through his brilliantly quick son Lord Kanaloa, the sire of Japanese supermare Almond Eye. And while the situation regarding Deep Impact is not so cut and dried, three of his early sire sons, Kizuna, Real Impact and World Ace, fill the top three spots on this year’s leading Japanese first-crop sires’ list. In fact, Kizuna’s start has been strong enough for him to challenge his sire as the nation’s leading two-year-old sire overall.