Win Variation

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Win Variation ウインバリアシオン
Win Variation racing at the 2014 Nikkei Sho.
Breed	Thoroughbred
Sire	Heart's Cry
Grandsire	Sunday Silence
Dam	Super Ballerina
Damsire	Storm Bird
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	10 April 2008
Country	Japan
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Northern Farm
Owner	Win Co., Ltd.
Racing colours
Trainer	Masahiro Matsunaga
Earnings	¥579,950,000 JPY
Major wins
Aoba Sho (2011) Nikkei Sho (2014)

Win Variation (Japanese: ウインバリアシオン, Hepburn: Uin Bariashion; foaled 10 April 2008) is a Japanese racehorse and stallion.^[1] His major victories include the 2011 Aoba Sho and the 2014 Nikkei Sho.

His name consists of his owner's prefix 'Win' followed by 'Variation,' which means “a dance performed by a ballet soloist.”

Win Variation made his debut on 1 August in a maiden race over 1,800 meters on the turf at Kokura. He pulled away in the home stretch, finishing 3 lengths ahead of the runner-up to live up to his status as the favorite and win his debut race.^[2] He followed that up with a victory in the Nojigiku Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse, winning by 2½ lengths over the runner-up.^[3] However, in the Radio Nikkei Cup 2-Year-Old Stakes at the end of the year, he lacked a finishing kick in the final straight and finished fourth.^[4]

In his first race of the season, the Kisaragi Sho, Win Variation finished fourth after again lacking a finishing kick in the straight, just as in his previous race. He also finished seventh in the Yayoi Sho, a trial race for the Satsuki Sho and shifted his focus to the Tokyo Yushun. Then, in the Aoba Sho, his closing kick paid off, and he claimed his first graded stakes victory, securing a priority entry into the Tokyo Yushun.^[5] In the subsequent Tokyo Yushun, he was the 10th favorite, an unusually low ranking for a trial race winner. Although he briefly took the lead in the final straight, he was overtaken by Orfèvre’s powerful surge and narrowly finished second; however, he beat third-place finisher Belshazzar by seven lengths.^[6] He began the fall season with the Kobe Shimbun Hai, moving up from the middle of the pack to a good position on the outside through the third and fourth turns, but finished second behind Orfevre. In the Kikuka Sho, he raced from the back of the field, banking on a late surge in the home stretch, but was once again beaten by Orfevre by two and a half lengths, finishing second.^[7] In the Japan Cup, his first race against older horses, he waited at the back of the pack before surging to second place at the third turn and briefly took the lead at the fourth turn, but he lacked momentum in the home stretch and finished fifth.^[8]

In his season opener, the Kyoto Kinen, Win Variation raced from the very back but lacked momentum in the home stretch and finished sixth. In the Nikkei Sho, he closed from the very back but was unable to catch the front-running Neko Punch, finishing second. In the Tenno Sho (Spring), he ran in the middle of the pack and made a late charge in the final straight but finished third behind Beat Black.^[9] This was the only race in which he finished ahead of Orfevre who finished in 11th. In the subsequent Takarazuka Kinen, he raced from the middle of the pack as in his previous start but lacked the expected finishing kick and finished fourth.^[10] He subsequently developed a mild flexor tendonitis in his left front leg and went on an extended layoff.^[11]

After an extended layoff for nearly a year and a half, Win Variation made his comeback in the Kinko Sho on 30 November. Despite it being his first race in a long time, he finished third behind Karen Mirotic, demonstrating his continued ability. On December 22, he competed in the 58th Arima Kinen, putting in a valiant effort but finishing second, 8 lengths behind Orfevre, his fierce rival from his 3-year-old season.

In his season opener, the Nikkei Sho, while ridden by Yasunari Iwata, Win Variation secured his first victory in 1,064 days, since the 2011 Aoba Sho. Then, in the Tenno Sho (Spring), Iwata—who was originally scheduled to ride—was suspended, so the ride was supposed to go to Andrasch Starke; however, Starke was injured after being thrown from his mount in Race 5 that same day, so Koshiro Take was called in at the last minute. In the race, he made a strong run down the stretch but was unable to catch Phenomeno, who had pulled ahead earlier, and narrowly lost, finishing second for the fourth time in a Grade I race.^[12] After finishing 7th in the Takarazuka Kinen, he suffered a recurrence of flexor tendonitis in his left front leg.^[13] He finished 15th in his comeback race, the Kinko Sho, and 12th in the subsequent Arima Kinen.

Win Variation's first race of the season was the Nikkei Sho. Yuichi Fukunaga, who had last ridden him in the Yayoi Sho, was assigned to the saddle. Although he made a strong run from the inside in the home stretch, he finished second, 1 3/4 lengths behind the winner. He competed in the Tenno Sho (Spring) on May 3. He turned into the home stretch from the middle of the pack with good momentum but lost speed halfway through the stretch. He crossed the finish line in 12th place by inertia, and jockey Yuichi Fukunaga dismounted immediately afterward. Examinations revealed a partial tear of the superficial flexor tendon in his left front leg, resulting in a diagnosis that he was no longer fit to race.^[14]

According to former jockey Katsumi Ando, who rode him in six races, his gait had already been irregular since he was a 3-year-old.^[15]

The following form is based on information available on netkeiba.com and JBIS-Search.^[16][17]

Although the JRA announced that Win Variation was scheduled to become a stallion after retirement.^[18] The situation changed repeatedly with Win Variation’s official website stating that he would be used as a riding horse at Northern Farm Shigaraki.^[19] Ultimately, he became the property of Spring Farm in Towada City, Aomori Prefecture, which prevailed in negotiations against stud farms in Hokkaido, South Korea, and Australia, and was stabled at Aratani Ranch in Tohoku Town. Although he suffered from the partial tendon rupture that had caused his retirement immediately after arriving in Aomori, various treatments tried over a six-month period proved successful, and he successfully began his stud career in 2016.^[20][21][22] In his first year as a stallion, Win Variation was bred to 35 mares,^[23] with his first foal being born in February 2017.^[24]

On March 7, 2020, Dos Hearts won Race 3 at Chukyo Racecourse, marking the first victory for one of his offspring.^[25] The following year, in 2021, Barikono Yume competed in the Tulip Sho, becoming the first of his offspring to run in a graded stakes race, finishing 11th as the 10th favorite in a field of 12.^[26][27]

An anthropomorphized version of Win Variation appears in Umamusume: Pretty Derby and is voiced by Hika Tsukishiro.^[28]