TWO CHAMPIONS SET TO BOW OUT ON THE SAME DAY

By Graham Potter | Thursday, November 12, 2026

The last hurrah for two of racing’s global superstars is set to light up the racecourse in Japan on December 29 with Forever Young and Ombudsman taking different routes into retirement … the former taking on Group 1 Tokyo Daishoten in a hometown farewell while Ombudsman will contest the Group 1 Japan Cup.

These decisions … the last race assignment and the retirement call … have been confirmed by the respective trainers Yoshito Yahagi (Forever Young) and co-trainer John Gosden (Ombudsman).

Forever Young, the 2025 Japanese Horse Of The Year, is currently in quarantine n Japan, following his return after a failed attempt to defend his Breeders’ Cup Classic Crown at Keeneland where he finished out of the first three places for the first time in his seventeen career starts.

"While we will need to assess his condition once he is released, our goal is the Tokyo Daishoten. He will be retired after that race," Yahagi was quoted on Netkeiba (A leading Japanese racing website) … but Tahagi also pointed out that, if connections were not happy with Forever Young’s condition when he leaves quarantine, he would be retired immediately.

"Regardless, nothing that happened diminishes what this horse has achieved so far,” said Tahagi. “I truly hope we can give the Japanese fans one last chance to see him run."

Forever Young, who, amongst others, scored back-to-back wins in the US$ 20 million Saudi Cup, has earned US$32,523,590 in his remarkable career, that overall prize-money coming from twelve wins and four placings from seventeen starts.

For his part, the Godolphin owned Ombudsman, a winner of ten out of fourteen starts will be taking on history when he tackles the Japan Cup in his swansong, as the last British trained winner to claim the Japan Cup was Alkaased all of twenty-one years ago.

A back-to-back winner of the Prince Of Wales’ Stakes, trainers John and Thady Gosden elected not to take Ombudsman to the Breeders’ Cup this year, instead targeting the Japan Cup where a win will bring a US$ 5 million ‘sendoff’ bonus following on his success at Ascot.

Two of the biggest name bowing out on the same day … and, if the stars align, both can go out as winners.

It should be a day to remember!