Sad news 21-year-old jockey Tsunoda Taiga passes away， JRA announces， on the night of the 1st he entered Hakodate Racecourse by car and damaged the turf course．
August 10, 2024 9:16am It has been revealed that JRA jockey Tsunoda Taiga has passed away. I was 21 years old. The JRA announced this on the 10th. On the night of the 1st, he drove his own car onto the racecourse at Hakodate Racecourse, damaging the turf course, and has been suspended from riding since the 3rd. On the morning of the 2nd, he was riding in training at the same racecourse. Jockey Ogawa was born into a horse racing family, with his father being former jockey and trainer Koichi (53) and his older brother being jockey Yamato (22). He received the Irish Ambassador’s Special Award, given to outstanding performers in the 2010 new jockey license examination. He joined Ishibashi Mamoru’s stable in Ritto and made his debut in March of the same year, winning two consecutive races on his first ride and garnering a lot of attention. The following year, in 2011, he had a rich season and won the Mainichi Hai, his first JRA Grade 1 win, bringing his total to 90 wins (1 Grade 1 win). On the other hand, in May last year, he was suspended from riding for 30 days (10 days after the event) as a sanction for inappropriate use of communication devices and smartphones on a race day. ◆Tsunoda Taiga Born on May 21, 2003 in Shiga Prefecture. He made his debut as a jockey in March 2022, affiliated with Ishibashi Stable. On the 5th, his first ride was in the first race at Hanshin (Meisho Sogetsu), and he won his first race. In 2011, he won his first JRA Grade 1 race at the Mainichi Hai (Season Rich). In total, he has won 90 races in 1,593 JRA races (including 1 major win). His father is trainer Koichi and his older brother is jockey Yamato. 165 cm, 46.7 kg. Related articles Jockey Kakuta Taiga’s father, trainer Koichi, comments on the death of the jockey, “It’s a great pity.” Jockey Take Yutaka comments on the death of jockey Kakuta Taiga, “I’m filled with sadness.” Previous thread melanoleuca★].
>>5 According to the timeline in >>9, before Fujita Shinji and Takigawa Toshiya released the information, Hosoe Junko and Ritto’s assistant trainer wrote something similar
Maybe Fujita Shinji’s source is trainer Ishibashi Mamoru? Fujita and Ishibashi were good friends when they were active.
What was he trying to do? On the night of August 1st, the jockey drove his own car onto the racecourse at Hakodate Racecourse and damaged the turf course. He explained that he was there to watch the fireworks display held in Hakodate City on the same day, but the JRA deemed this to be serious misconduct and suspended him from riding from August 3rd.
>>8 This is sudden. Driving a car on a grass course is abnormal behavior, so it’s obvious that it wasn’t because he wanted to see the fireworks. In the picture, it looks like there was someone in the passenger seat, but do you know what that was?
Some of the activities of jockey Tsunoda Taiga (Kurita, Ishibashi, age 21), whose death was announced by the JRA on the 10th, have been revealed. The last time the JRA had contact with jockey Tsunoda Kawa was at 10:00 a.m. on the 2nd. He was questioned for 15 minutes at Hakodate Racecourse in relation to driving a car onto the turf course at 8:30 p.m. the previous day. However, although the person in question was notified that his case would be sent to the arbitration committee that afternoon, they were unable to contact him. As a result, the horse’s trainer, Ishibashi, was notified at 4:00 p.m. on the same day, and a public announcement was made that a judging committee would be held. They continued to try to notify the person in question, but were unable to get through. The JRA became aware of the jockey’s death after receiving a call from his relatives on the evening of the 9th. The JRA will refrain from commenting on the date and time of death or the cause of death in accordance with the wishes of the family. As his death has meant that his JRA jockey license will be revoked, it has not yet been decided whether an arbitration committee will be convened.
>>19 Would he ride the next morning’s training session if he was prepared to die? He was questioned afterwards If he was really prepared, I feel like he would have skipped the whole thing.
Because the JRA gives half-hearted punishments to young jockeys, I’ve started to think every time that if it’s something like that, the punishment won’t be that bad. They should have been more strict in teaching jockeys from the time they were in jockey training school that bringing smartphones or disturbing the track will have a serious impact on the race and be against the law.
In short, he got angry when he was told off for using his smartphone, destroyed the racetrack with his car, and then his parents got mad at him, so he went on the train to get revenge.
The JRA questioned jockey Ogawa on the 2nd and once again explained the situation at the time. He was questioned for about 15 minutes at Hakodate Racecourse at 10:00 a.m. on the same day, and it was said that he “appeared to be remorseful and responded obediently to the questioning.” They tried to inform jockey Ogawa in the afternoon that the matter would be sent to the arbitration committee, but were unable to get in touch. After notifying his master, trainer Ishibashi, the sanctions were announced at 4:00 p.m.
JRA Chairman Yoshida Masayoshi: “Jockey Tsunoda Taiga has been a promising young jockey who has continued to perform well since his debut. We were looking forward to his continued success in the future, so it is truly unfortunate. We would like to express our deepest condolences to his family and pray for his soul to rest in peace.” Japan Jockey Club Chairman Take Yutaka “We are still emotionally wrapped up in this sudden event, and are filled with sadness, but we will all move forward with determination.” Trainer Tsunoda Koichi “Taiga was supported and encouraged by many people. He had just begun his career as a jockey, fulfilling his childhood dream, so it is truly disappointing. Although the grief is never over, our family will continue to work together to heal.”
The JRA should do some mental care for young jockeys. It’s rare for jockeys to die one after the other in such a short span of time. There are probably some jockeys whose wounds from Kota’s death haven’t healed yet.
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