Efforia

Efforia made his first appearance in a 2000 metre contest for previously unraced juveniles on firm ground at Sapporo Racecourse on 23 August 2020. Starting the 0.4/1 favourite in a seven-runner field he tracked the leaders before taking the lead in the straight and winning by three quarters of a length from Escobar. On 8 November over the same distance at Tokyo Racecourse he started second favourite behind Veil Nebula for a minor race and came from fourth place on the final turn to win by one and a quarter lengths.[5]

Commenting on the colt's juvenile campaign, Yuichi Shikato said "physically and mentally he was a little weak, and his hindquarters weren’t so strong, so it took him a bit of time to recover from races."[6]

Efforia's trainer Yuichi Shikato

For his first run as a three-year-old Efforia was stepped up in class to contest the Grade 3 Tokinominoru Kinen over 1800 metres at Tokyo on 14 February and started the 5.8/1 fourth choice in the betting behind Stella Veloce (winner of the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup), Shahryar and the filly Leftovers. After tracking the early leaders Efforia made strong progress early in the straight, went to the front approaching the last 200 metres and drew away to win by two and a half lengths from Victipharus.[7] Yuichi Shikato commented: "He ran very smoothly... in what was a perfect race for him".[8]

On 18 April Efforia moved up to Grade 1 class for the Satsuki Sho over 2000 metres at Nakayama Racecourse. He went off the 2.7/1 second favourite behind Danon The Kid in a sixteen-runner field which also included Victipharus, Lagom (Kisaragi Sho), Stella Veloce, Gratias (Keisei Stakes), Titleholder (Yayoi Sho) and Red Belle Aube (Daily Hai Nisai Stakes). Takeshi Yokoyama settled in fourth place as Titleholder and World Revival set the pace before making rapid progress to take the lead entering the straight. He quickly opened up a clear advantage and was never challenged, winning by three lengths from Titleholder. After the race Yokoyama said "I was fortunate to have been able to ride this colt since his debut.. I believed that if I put my concentration on using whatever skills I had as a rider and bring out the best performance from my horse, that we would have a great chance of winning. The pace wasn't that fast, so we were able to cruise along in a good position but we were a little tight going into the stretch and I could not be sure of my win until the end."[9]

For his next race Efforia was stepped up in distance for the 88th running of the Tokyo Yushun over 2400 metres at Tokyo on 30 May and started the 0.7/1 favourite in a seventeen runner field. After settling behind the leaders he moved up to take the lead 200 metres from the finish but was run down in the final strides by Shahryar and was beaten a nose into second place.[10] Shikato described the colt's first defeat as "very frustrating".[11]

After an absence of six months, Efforia returned to the track for the autumn edition of the Tenno Sho over 2000 metres at Tokyo on 31 October, when he was matched against older horses for the first time. He was made the 2.4/1 third choice in the betting behind Contrail and Gran Alegria in an eighteen-runner field which also included World Premiere, Persian Knight (Mile Championship) and Curren Bouquetd'or. Efforia settled in sixth place as the outsider Kaiser Minoru set the pace, before moving up on the outside on the final term. He quickened well in the straight, gained the advantage from Gran Alegria 200 metres from the finish and held off a late challenge from Contrail to win by a length. After the race Tokoyama said "I cried with joy for the first time in my life, as I was very disappointed with the result of the Derby. He’s a good starter and a clever racer so I decided to believe in his ability and ride him without thinking too much.. I am grateful that we were able to win the race in front of many fans."[12]

Efforia closed out his three-year-old season with a victory in the Grade 1 Arima Kinen, also known as Japan's "Grand Prix." With the most fan votes and sent off as the favorite in the 2500-metre event, Efforia moved forward from the middle of the pack to take the lead in the stretch, winning by three quarters of a length.[13][14][15]

With four victories out of five starts in his 2021 campaign, including three Grade 1 wins and a Grade 1 placing, Efforia is selected as the Japanese Horse of the Year recipient of 2021.[13][14]