Japanese champion and stallion Heart's Cry dies at age 22

Japanese champion Heart's Cry, a son of the legendary Sunday Silence who went on to become a prominent sire in his own right, has died at the age of 22, the Japanese Racing Authority reported on Friday.

Heart’s Cry was bred by the Shadai Stallion Station and resided there.

"I heard from the Shadai staff that he was happy and healthy until the end,” Shadai Farm CEO Teruya Yoshida told the Racing Post. “He produced so many top horses as a stallion, and he was also the horse who helped to break through the barriers and anxieties of overseas racing trips.

“After retiring from stud duties, he spent his time comfortably in the field.”

Heart's Cry earned more than $8 million, racing mainly in his home country of Japan. He was the 2005 champion older horse there after winning the Grade 1 Arima Kinen Grand Prix and finishing second in the Grade 1 Japan Cup.

The following year, he took his show on the road, winning the Group 1 Sheema Classic in Dubai and finishing third in the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Royal Ascot in England.

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Heart's Cry, whose final crop will race as juveniles this year, is the sire of 65 career stakes winners to date. His top runners include 2019 Japanese Horse of the Year Lys Gracieux and Japanese champion Just a Way.

Lys Gracieux was a three-time Grade 1 winner in her home country who also won the Group 1 Cox Plate in Australia and was multiple Group 1-placed in Hong Kong. Just a Way was a multiple Grade 1 winner at home and also won the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free.

Heart's Cry's other major winners include Japanese Derby winners Do Deuce and One and Only; Japan Cup winners Sheal Grand and Suave Richard; Japanese Oaks winner Nuovo Record; and Caulfield Cup winner Admire Rakti.

In the U.S., he is best known as the sire of Yoshida, a Grade 1 winner on both dirt and turf. Yoshida stands at WinStar Farm, and his first crop will race as juveniles this year.

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