I actually came across this horse [in a video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmsxBnWVK1A) that combine [Lag Train](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnIhRpIT7nc) (ラグトレイン) by Inabakumori and [Sushi Tabetai](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7adbYXou8Q) (SUSHI食べたい) by ORANGE RANGE into an extremely cool track. Highly recommend giving it a shot.

At the end of the video, a racehorse suddenly popped up, and after a quick search I found out his name: ***Sushi Train (スシトレイン)***, just the same as the remix, what a coincidence. 

He was named after a conveyor belt sushi chain store in Australia, and his career is short but interesting, so I decided to make a post introducing his racing life. 

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# The Return of “El Condor Pasa”

Sushi Train was born on March 8, 2000. His owner was *Takashi Watanabe (渡邊 隆)*, who also owned ***El Condor Pasa (エルコンドルパサー)*** and ***Offside Trap (オフサイドトラップ)***. His sire was ***Deputy Minister***, and on the dam’s side, his damsire was ***Easy Goer***. His bloodline was considered a strong mix of some of the great North American horses. 

He was bred at Watanabe’s farm in the U.S. and later sent to Japan in 2001 for training. There, his trainer was *Yoshitaka Ninomiya (二ノ宮 敬宇)*, the same man who trained El Condor Pasa.

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November 30, 2002, in [his debut](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeYr0usSyrA) on the 1800m dirt track at Nakayama Racecourse, Sushi Train dominated by nine lengths. And in his next race, the [Kurotake Sho](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz6ri3QCGeA) at the same track, he won the race by ten lengths, even more impressive than his last race. 

Since his senior El Condor Pasa also had decisive wins in his first two races on dirt, plus their owner and trainer are the same, Sushi Train was soon called “the comeback of El Condor Pasa.” He was even invited to run in the UAE Derby in Dubai.

But his owner had a bigger dream. He wanted Sushi Train to have a long-time trip to the United States and run in races there, so they turned down the invitation. 

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# Awakening from a Dream 

Before going to America, Sushi Train's trainer decided to let him run one last time in the open-class Hyacinth Stakes. Because of his outstanding performance before, many horses chose not to run in the race, avoiding being punished by finishing too far behind the winner. In the end, only seven horses ran in that race. 

But in the latter part of the race, Sushi Train's jockey couldn't get him to start spurting, and he ended up finishing last, which shocks everyone. His trainer first suspected an injury during race, but inspections showed nothing. The shocking loss was soon blamed on a small stumble, a light bump from another horse, and the jockey’s mistake in failing to let him take the lead. And just like that, his plan to America had went up in smoke. 

After three months, Sushi Train ran in the open-class Syoryu Stakes on the 1700m dirt track at Chukyo, where he came in seventh. Two weeks later, in [the G3 Unicorn Stakes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wm-t4VjNKT8) on Tokyo’s 1600m dirt track, he ended up in a disappointing tenth. 

The dominant power and speed he shown in his first two races now felt like just a sweet dream. Some said he might had a mild stridor, while others felt it was more like the horse simply decided not to run and gave up on his own.

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After more than a year, Sushi Train finally returned to the track, this time on the 1800m dirt at Niigata. Though he was the most favorited horse in that race, he only managed to finish thirteenth. 

And that turned out to be his retirement race. Afterward, he was said to be sent to Saint horse-riding club (セント乗馬クラブ) in Ibaraki, but I couldn't find further information about his life after that. 

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And that’s the story of Sushi Train. A racehorse remembered for his unforgettable name and his short but shining dream. Just hope that we can know more about his retirement life.

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[Picture Source 1](https://x.com/souden_11/status/1369255541797613575)

[Picture Source 2](https://youtu.be/gmsxBnWVK1A?si=yBUeRbdGvpPRSBHM&t=237)

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My past work:

[Offside Trap: The Winner on the Glorious but Silent Sunday](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1nfpwya/offside_trap_the_winner_on_the_glorious_but/)

[Hokuto Vega: Stardust Scattered in a Foreign Land](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1nblcn4/a_quick_guide_to_hokuto_vega_the_extraordinary/)

[Narita Hayabusa: A Sand Falcon Born in the Wrong Era](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1n0mokm/narita_hayabusa_a_sand_falcon_born_in_the_wrong/)

Sushi Train: Horse with a Bizarre Name and a Big Dream