Lemon popwho recently became the first two-time winner of the G1 Champions Cup in over a decade, has been nominated for 2025 at a fee of ¥5 million (€30,615), making him the most exorbitant stallion in Darley Japan's squad.
Named the 2023 JRA Best Dirt Horse, the six-year-old son of Lemon Drop Kid will begin his first season in Hokkaido after retiring with his Chukyo swansong as winner of 13 of his 18 career starts. He was trained by Hiroyasu Tanaka and also won the G1 February Stakes in Tokyo last year.
Lemon Pop will be at the side of the proven dirt sire Pyrowho will run for an unchanged fee of ¥4 million (€24,492), and Palace malicethe father of this year's G1 NHK Mile Cup hero Jantar Mantar (Jpn). Palace Malice, previously based at Three Chimneys Farm, remains at 3.5 million yen (€21,430) and was the busiest stallion in Japan this year after moving to Hokkaido.
Adayar (Irish) And Law (Irish)Both top middle distance players in Europe, also started their second career with Darley Japan this season. Derby hero Adayar will demand an unchanged transfer fee of ¥1.8 million (€11,021), while Hukum, whose biggest success came in the 2023 G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, is at ¥1.2 million (€7,347). remains.
Notable increases include revenue from Tower of London (Jpn)who will arrive in 2025 for a transfer fee of 2 million yen (12,246 euros), up from 1.5 million yen this season. The son of Raven's Pass has had a successful year with his first crop of two-year-old runners, led by G2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes winner Panja Tower (Jpn).
Shotaro Kajiya, nominations manager, said: “In addition to Palace Malice, which had the most covers this year, and Tower Of London, whose first runners attracted so much attention, we now have Lemon Pop, who achieved unprecedented success on clay tracks , joining the stallion roster to make it even stronger than before.
“We will continue to strive to support owners and breeders by offering the best stallions from around the world while offering attractive conditions. We look forward to your continued generous support.”
Darley Japan's full fee list:
- Lemon Pop, 5 million yen
- Pyro, 4 million yen
- Palace Malice, ¥3.5 million
- Tower of London (Jpn), 2 million yen
- Adayar (Irish), ¥1.8 million
- Fine Needle (Jpn), ¥1.5 million
- Thunder Snow (Irish), 1.5 million yen
- Yoshida (Jpn), ¥1.5 million
- American Patriot, 1.2 million yen
- Law (Irish), ¥1.2 million
- Will take responsibility, ¥1.2 million
- Talismanic (UK), ¥1 million
