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[Art Source](https://x.com/Kashmir_0808/status/1714572739200287021?s=20)

(The flowers in this artwork are white cosmos, a flower symbolizing purity, elegance, and beauty.)

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Speaking of the Triple Tiara, only seven horses have ever captured the sport’s highest glory, and most of them came from prestigious farms with abundant resources, such as *Mejiro Farm (メジロ牧場)*, *Shimokobe Farm (下河辺牧場)*, and *Northern Farm (ノーザンファーム)*.

However, none of them was undefeated before winning the Triple Tiara, except one. Few could have imagined that the undefeated Triple Tiara winner would come from a small farm in the Hidaka region, run by a couple and breeding only a dozen horses a year.

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***Daring Tact (デアリングタクト)*** is the name given to the tiny Ezo corydalis. She was known as Daring Bird 2017 at birth.

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# Origin of a Tiny Hope

On April 15, 2017, a beautiful but unremarkable filly was born at *Hasegawa Farm (長谷川牧場)*. Founded in 1948, the farm has a long history, but its breeding results had yet to stand out. The most known horses from Hasegawa farm at the time was the G3 Kokura Daishoten winner in 2013, ***Osumi Spark (オースミスパーク)***, and the runner up in the G1 Miles Championship in 1993, ***Iide Zao (イイデザオウ)***.

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The farm owner, *Fumio Hasegawa (長谷川 文雄)*, believed that a foal’s mental well-being was the most important thing, and that if horses were given love, they would one day repay that kindness.

As a result, jazz music could often be heard in the stables at Hasegawa Farm to help the horses relax; the horses grazed alongside cows and sheep, and the staff gave their full care and affection to every single horse there.

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Daring Bird 2017 was born into this love-filled environment. Her mother, ***Daring Bird (デアリングバード)***, was a mare with a strong pedigree, sired by the great ***King Kamehameha (キングカメハメハ)*** and out of ***Daring Heart (デアリングハート)***, herself a daughter of the legendary ***Sunday Silence (サンデーサイレンス)***.

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Despite her good bloodline, Daring Bird had to retire from racing after just one start because her body was simply too fragile. Because of her health issues, she was sold to Hasegawa Farm for only 3.6 million yen, a surprisingly low price considering her pedigree.

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Daring Bird 2017’s father, ***Epiphaneia (エピファネイア)***, was a two-time G1 winner, born to a truly remarkable family. His father, ***Symboli Kris S (シンボリクリスエス)***, won four G1 races, while his mother, ***Cesario (シーザリオ)***, captured two, including one in the United States.

Since 2016 was his first year at stud, his breeding fee was set at just 2.5 million yen, making him an option even for small farms like Hasegawa.

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Daring Bird 2017 was Daring Bird’s second foal, and the farm staff described her as a sensitive and intelligent filly, one who was truly a joy to take care of. They believed that if she could learn the rules of racing, she would one day make her mark on the turf.

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# Planting the Tiny Hope

Also believing in her potential, farm owner Hasegawa sent her to the Select Sale to seek a new owner, with a reserve price set at 8 million yen. However, her slightly smaller frame and lesser-known birthplace meant that she did not attract a buyer at that price, and she remained at Hasegawa Farm.

Here's [a clip from her auction](https://www.youtube.com/live/-USTVptBBm4?si=ikeai7BKsvgyKzLN&t=21630).

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After she turned one year old, she was sent to *Pioneer Farm (パイオニアファーム)* in Tomakomai. The farm manager, *Adrian Sakuma (佐久間 エイドリアン)*, praised her as a horse full of potential, and her weight had gained quickly during her training there.

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Then, on her second attempt at the Select Sale, she was finally purchased by *Normandy Farm (ノルマンディーファーム)* for just 12 million yen, once again a remarkably low price for a racehorse. In fact, Normandy Farm had already noticed Daring Bird 2017 at her first Select Sale. After seeing that no one placed a bid, they approached Hasegawa after the sale and offered to buy the filly for 1 million yen, but the offer was declined.

Also, Here's [a clip from her second auction](https://www.youtube.com/live/Q5juzBJLhD0?si=LIif5EwEq5DJb6vr&t=10917).

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Normandy Farm was part of the *Okada Stud Group (岡田スタッド)*, owned by the renowned Okada family, long regarded as one of the pillars of Japanese horse racing. The farm’s training philosophy was to raise foals in harsh conditions, focusing first on building physical strength and mental toughness before beginning race training at two years old.

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As a result, Daring Bird 2017 was first sent to the grazing fields at the southern tip of Hokkaido, in Erimo, where she spent her days grazing from morning until night under strong winds and the constant threat of bears. She was later brought back to Normandy Farm in Shin-Hidaka for further training.

During her training to become a racehorse, the farm staff and managers were fascinated by her pure speed and her beautiful, wide stride.

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She was then offered for shared ownership through *Normandy Thoroughbred Racing (ノルマンディーサラブレッドレーシング)*, with 400 shares priced at 44,000 yen each.

Founded in 2012, Normandy Thoroughbred Racing is also part of the Okada Stud Group and is known for its reasonable membership fees and share prices. At the time, Normandy Thoroughbred Racing had only one graded race winner, ***Platinum Bullet (プラチナムバレット)***, who won the G2 Kyoto Shimbun Hai in 2017.

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Here's [the promotional video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhOj4EmdmHI) and [catalog](https://www.normandyoc.com/pdf/catalog/2017019.pdf) released during her share offering.

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# Nurturing the Tiny Hope

After the offering period ended, she was given the official name "Daring Tact" and sent to rookie trainer *Haruki Sugiyama (杉山 晴紀)*, who had only opened his stable in 2016. Although he had not been a trainer for very long, he had already won a JPN1 with ***K T Brave (ケイティブレイブ)*** and a G2 with ***Win Tenderness (ウインテンダネス)***.

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In fact, it was trainer Sugiyama who personally selected Daring Tact from the Normandy Racing horses, as her pedigree simply could not be ignored. He described Daring Tact as a model student who required little extra care despite not standing out at first glance, noting that it was uncommon for a two-year-old filly to be as intelligent and docile as she was.

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As 2019 drew to a close, the ordinary-looking filly was finally ready for her debut. Trainer Sugiyama chose to entrust her future to jockey *Kouhei Matsuyama (松山 弘平)*, who had earned his first G1 victory in 2017 aboard ***Al Ain (アルアイン)*** in the Satsuki Sho.

Despite being only 29 years old at the time, he was already ranked among the top ten jockeys in Japan. Yet he remained remarkably modest, rarely speaking about his own achievements.

During training, he rode Daring Tact regularly, and she responded well to his commands, while also handling the pressure inside the pack with ease. They seemed made for each other.

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With a well-mannered nature shaped at Hasegawa Farm and resilience forged on the harsh fields of Cape Erimo, the seemingly unremarkable filly finally arrived at the starting gate as the sum of everything she had been shaped by, joined by the understated ambition of a young trainer and the calm, disciplined hands of a rising jockey.

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# When the Hope First Sprouted

On [November 16, 2019](https://x.com/Kashmir_0808/status/1727250600906432988?s=20), at Kyoto Racecourse, over 1,600 meters on the turf, Daring Tact went into her debut race as the second favorite.

Standing in her way was ***Knight of Lady (ナイトオブレディ)***, a filly bred at *Shiraoi Farm (白老ファーム)* under the famed *Shadai Group (社台グループ)*, owned by *Silk Racing (シルクレーシング)*, the club that had just captured the Triple Tiara with ***Almond Eye (アーモンドアイ)***, and ridden by the legendary turf jockey *Yutaka Take (武 豊)*.

It was a huge contrast to Daring Tact’s far more modest background.

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Though Daring Tact was blocked upon entering the final straight, she soon swept around the pack from the outside and unleashed an incredible burst of speed. She claimed her first victory by one and a half lengths at last, while Knight of Lady finished sixth.

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Just like this, the small Ezo corydalis had taken her first steps onto the turf at Kyoto Racecourse. Soon, she would bloom gloriously before the world.

No one could have imagined that such a small dream born in Hidaka would one day streak across the turf like a shooting star, in a world struggling through a pandemic.

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\----------

My past work:

[African Gold: In Search of the Golden Eggs](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1qv46f3/african_gold_in_search_of_the_golden_eggs/)

[Meiner Fanrong: A Never-Ending Dice Journey](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1qoetbi/meiner_fanrong_a_neverending_dice_journey/)

[Oguri Roman: A Silver Bloom in the Shadow](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1ptz2kx/oguri_roman_a_silver_bloom_in_the_shadow_art_by_%E8%8D%BC%E7%84%A1/)

[Sakura Star O: Spirit of the Ink-Black Cherry Blossom](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1p0a5xa/sakura_star_o_spirit_of_the_inkblack_cherry/)

[Spring Song: Curren Chan's "Big Bro" In Real Life](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1oxk7u6/spring_song_curren_chans_big_bro_in_real_life/)

[Kiseki: A Trail of Miracles and Its Followers](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1oojt1i/kiseki_a_trail_of_miracles_and_its_followers/)

[Hana’s Goal: Make the Flowers of Happiness Bloom Down Under](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1o6nnmq/hanas_goal_make_the_flowers_of_happiness_bloom/)

[Orewa Matteruze: Smile, Because I’m Here!](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1o0edrs/orewa_matteruze_smile_because_im_here/)

[Egao o Misete: Please Keep Smiling, Even After I’m Gone](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1nufscu/egao_o_misete_please_keep_smiling_even_after_im/)

[Resistencia’s Weight-Check Series: 1,231 Days of a Cameraman’s Love Story](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1nn6m2x/resistencias_weightcheck_series_all_pictures/)

[Sushi Train: Horse with a Bizarre Name and a Big Dream](https://www.reddit.com/r/UmaMusume/comments/1ngz2ax/sushi_train_horse_with_a_bizarre_name_and_a_big/)

[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/)

The Root of the Undefeated Triple Tiara: Daring Tact’s Journey to Her Debut (Art by @Kashmir_0808)