The National Association of Racing (NAR), the national level regulatory body for Racing by Local Governments in Japan, has announced the 2008 NAR Grand Prix Awards for the year`s outstanding horses, jockeys and trainers.

The awards ceremony was held at a Tokyo Hotel on Thursday February 5th, 2009.

Racehorses

"Horse of the Year" for 2008 was Furioso (4-y-o horse, trained by Masayuki Kawashima, Funabashi), winner of the Teio Sho. As well as culling this prestigious award for the second straight year, Furioso also won "Best Thoroughbred Older Colt or Horse".

The award for "Best Thoroughbred 2-Year-Old" was won by Ampere (2-y-o filly, trained by Hideki Kakugawa, Hokkaido). Ampere won the Edelweiss Sho, taking the award as the only Principal Dirt Race winner in this category.

"Best Thoroughbred 3-Year-Old" went to Dream Sky (3-y-o colt, trained by Katsuyoshi Uchida, Kawasaki). Dream Sky won the Tokyo Derby (Kawasaki) and came 4th in the Japan Dirt Derby, a race contested by leading horses from JRA and local racing.

As in the previous year, there was no winner in the "Best Anglo-Arab Horse" category.

The "Best Ban-ei (Draft) Horse" award was taken by Narita Bob Sapp (6-y-o horse, trained by Eito Otomo, Ban-ei), winner of three principal races including two Kinen events (Obihiro Kinen and Asahikawa Kinen).

"Best Thoroughbred Sprinter or Miler" again went to Fujino Wave (6-y-o horse, trained by Saburo Takahashi, Ohi). Fujino Wave took the award for the second straight year after winning the Tokyo Hai.

"Best Thoroughbred Filly or Mare" was won by Tosen Jo O (7-y-o mare, trained by Masayuki Kawashima, Funabashi), also for the second year running, following her victory in the Sparking Lady Cup.

"Best Thoroughbred Turf Horse" went to Executive (2-y-o colt, trained by Kazunori Tabe, Hokkaido). This horse mainly competed in turf racing and won the JRA`s Kyoto Nisai Stakes, but also performed well in principal races. (*The trainer named here was in charge of the horse for the race that decided the award.)

A new award, the "Dirt Grade (Principal Dirt) Race Special Prize", has been added from this year on. The purpose of this award is to commend horses that have performed outstandingly well in local principal dirt races, irrespective of their affiliation. The first winner of this award was the JRA`s Kane Hekili (6-y-o horse, trained by Katsuhiko Sumii, JRA Ritto Training Center), which defeated Vermilion, Success Brocken, Furioso and others to win the Tokyo Daishoten. (* The "Best Dirt Horse" prize, previously awarded by the Graded Dirt Races Committee, has been discontinued following the dissolution of the Committee.)

The "Special Award" went to Hospitality, a stud that died in 2008. As well as making his name as a locally bred champion racehorse, Hospitality also left a major mark in local racing as a stud, his more notable progeny including Doctor Spurt.

Trainers and Jockeys

"Best Trainer" was awarded to Masayuki Kawashima (Funabashi), trainer of Horse of the Year Furioso. He wins this award for the seventh straight year and the ninth overall.

"Best Jockey" went to Keita Tosaki (Ohi) for the first time. He was NAR`s top jockey in both race wins and prize money, one of his victories coming in the Teio Sho.

The "Best Apprentice Jockey" was won by Shotaro Kawashima (Funabashi). Kawashima quickly rose to prominence in the fiercely competitive southern Kanto races after making his debut in April, his successes including victory in a principal dirt race (the Cluster Cup).

"Best Female Jockey" was shared by Hitomi Miyashita (Aichi) and Mai Beppu (Kochi), both of whom posted equally impressive performances. Hitomi Miyashita won the award for the first time in two years and the eighth time overall, and Mai Beppu for the third straight year and the third time overall.

The "Fair Play Award for a Jockey" was won for the first time by Hiroto Yoshihara (Kanazawa).

"Special Awards" went to former local trainer Hideyuki Takaoka, who won the Singapore Gold Cup with Japanese-bred El Dorado in 2008 after moving to Singapore, and jockey Toshio Uchida, who continues to compete in Japan after the closure of his racecourse (Utsunomiya). Uchida (currently belongs to Urawa) won the Macau Hong Kong Trophy and was a leading jockey in South Korea (Busan) in 2008. In both cases, the award was given in recognition of achievements overseas.