japanese bloodstock Danon Smash under Ryan Moore wins last December’s Hong Kong Sprint, emulating his sire Lord Kanaloa (inset, below)
Empire builders
Japan’s K I Farm and Northern Farm both enjoyed fabulous seasons in 2020. Martin Stevens, via Zoom, recounts the year’s racing with Tomoyuki Nakamura of K I Farm and Shingo Hashimoto of Northern Farm
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NE OF THE MOST powerful racing and breeding operations in Japan outside of the Yoshida empire is the Nakamura family’s K I
Farm. The name should be familiar to fans of the sport and members of the bloodstock industry in the western hemisphere as they are the notable breeders of world champion sprinter and young sire Lord Kanaloa and former Japanese highweight two-year-old Danon Premium, who ran third to Addeybb in the Ranvet Stakes (G1) last year. K I Farm is also a regular buyer of elite broodmare prospects at sales in Europe and North America, and among its purchases this past winter were the Grade 1 Clement L Hirsch Stakes heroine Ollie’s Candy for
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$1.65 million at Keeneland and Photo Call’s three-parts sister Swan River for 130,000gns at Tattersalls. December also brought the crowning glory of the Nakamura family’s involvement in the sport so far – the homebred Danon Smash emulated his sire Lord Kanoloa by winning in the Hong Kong Sprint (G1). Lord Kanaloa, who won the Sha Tin event twice among six top-level triumphs, was raced by K I Farm’s Tomoyuki Nakamura under the Lord Horse Club banner, whereas Danon Smash is one of many high-class horses who bear the “Danon” insignia and carry the colours of Masahiro Noda’s Danox Co Ltd. “K I Farm opened in 1987, and at that point there were only five broodmares in the operation,” says Tomoyuki Nakamura, who is often seen at the sales in Europe
and America. “We now have around 70 broodmares, as well as 60 yearlings in pre-training and 110 two-year-olds and older horses in training.” Lord Kanaloa was the result of K I Farm sending its winning mare Lady Blossom, a daughter of Storm Cat and Beldame and Gazelle Stakes scorer Saratoga Dew, to Kingmambo’s champion son King Kamehameha in his third season standing at the Shadai Stallion Station. The mating was a no-brainer, according to Nakamura. “King Kamehameha was one of the top stallions in Japan at the time, and our philosophy is always to breed the best to the best; it’s as simple as that,” he says. Lady Blossom, another campaigned by the Lord Horse Club, produced six winners in total, also including the Listed-placed Lord
