Bubble Gum Fellow

Foaled on 11 April 1993, Bubble Gum Fellow was bred in Japan by Shadai Farm. He raced for Shadai Race Horse Co. Ltd. and was trained at Miho by Kazuo Fujisawa, keeping his breeding, ownership and race preparation within the Shadai system throughout his career.

His pedigree joined two influential international bloodlines. His sire, Sunday Silence, was a son of Halo, while his dam, the French-bred Bubble Company, was by Lyphard. JBIS records Bubble Company as a daughter of Prodice. The resulting cross placed one of the defining stallions of Japanese breeding over a female line carrying the blood of Lyphard, the American-bred, European-raced son of Northern Dancer.

Bubble Gum Fellow’s recorded siblings included Air Notorious, Bubble Prospector and August Honeymoon. He would ultimately become one of the early high-class runners who helped establish Sunday Silence’s extraordinary influence in Japan.

Three weeks after his Mainichi Okan third, Bubble Gum Fellow contested the 1996 Tenno Sho (Autumn) at Tokyo. The 2,000-metre G1 drew a field of 17 and included established names such as Mayano Top Gun, Sakura Laurel, Marvelous Sunday and Nice Nature.

Ridden on this occasion by M. Ebina, Bubble Gum Fellow defeated Mayano Top Gun to claim the race. The victory was significant on several levels: it was his first win over 2,000 metres, his second G1 success and the result that confirmed his transition from champion juvenile to a horse capable of defeating older open-company opposition.

The race remained the defining achievement of his career. He had already proved precocious enough to lead his generation at two, but the Tenno Sho showed that his quality was not confined to juvenile racing. It also became the major win highlighted in his official netkeiba profile.

His next start brought a sharp reversal in the Japan Cup. Stepping up to 2,400 metres at Tokyo, he finished 13th of 15 behind Singspiel. It was the only time in 13 appearances that he finished worse than third.

Kazuo Fujisawa trained Bubble Gum Fellow at Miho throughout the horse’s racing career. Y. Okabe was his most frequent jockey and partnered him for six of his seven victories, including the Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes, Spring Stakes, Naruo Kinen and Mainichi Okan. M. Ebina rode him to his signature Tenno Sho success and later partnered him when he finished second in the Takarazuka Kinen.

The bare numbers underline how efficiently the colt’s career was assembled. From 13 starts, Bubble Gum Fellow won seven times, finished second twice and third three times. Eleven of his 13 appearances therefore ended in a top-three placing. His only unplaced effort was the 1996 Japan Cup, and he returned to the same race a year later to finish third.

His victories ranged from 1,600 to 2,000 metres and included major races at Tokyo, Nakayama and Hanshin. More important than the breadth of that list was the career progression it represented: maiden winner, open-class juvenile winner, two-year-old G1 champion, successful three-year-old and Tenno Sho winner, then a four-year-old capable of winning major G2 races and placing repeatedly at G1 level.

Following his retirement from racing, Bubble Gum Fellow entered stud; racing databases retain both stallion and progeny records for him. His place in the broader Sunday Silence story rests principally on his own achievements as one of the sire’s high-class Japanese runners.

Bubble Gum Fellow died on 26 April 2010 at the age of 17. His racecourse legacy is unusually concentrated: only 13 starts, but two G1 victories, a juvenile championship, four other major wins and repeated success or placings against leading horses of his era. The 1996 Tenno Sho (Autumn) remains the central performance in that record, while his results at two and four show that his importance extended well beyond a single afternoon.

• netkeiba horse profile and record
• JBIS horse profile, pedigree and race record
• Bubble Gum Fellow career overview
• 1995 Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes result
• 1996 Spring Stakes result
• 1996 Tenno Sho (Autumn) result
• 1997 Naruo Kinen result
• 1997 Takarazuka Kinen result
• 1997 Mainichi Okan result
• 1997 Tenno Sho (Autumn) result
• 1997 Japan Cup result
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/199505040103/
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/199505040803/
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/199505050609/
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/199605050211/