Slowly but surely, the jockey profiles are starting to mount up. So far, we've covered Yuta Sato, Kota Motohashi, Shotaro Kawashima, Takashi Harita, Yutaka Take, Taito Mori, Fumio Matoba, Takayuki Ishizaki and Masashige Honda, as well as a brief - later to be expanded - look at the lady jockeys in Japan. There are already at least ten more names on my list to do, but today it's the turn of Gen Hayashi.
Born in Tokyo in November 1983, Gen was always a sporty type, but fell for the romance of Keiba in his early teens. He duly qualified for his jockey licence in March 2002, and had his first professional ride in the following month. In the spring of 2004, whilst with Yoshihiro Hakodate's stable, he was runner-up in the All-Japan Newcomers race, but then the legendary trainer died that June after being kicked by a horse.
Gen signed up with Kaoru Watanabe at Funabashi, but decided to go to America to study dirt racing. Despite a distinct lack of English at the start, he spent six months as an exercise rider, and then began racing, mainly in Kentucky. Within a year, he'd ridden 160 times in the States (including a G2 outing), winning no less than 11 times, and clocking up ten places and 27 shows along the way.
When his visa ran out at the end of 2007, Gen returned to the Watanabe Stable. All told, in Japan, he's won 168 NAR races, and has also made a few JRA appearances. I look forward to speaking with this challenger in English the next time we meet!
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