# Mejiro Palmer (メジロパーマー)
**Mejiro Palmer** (メジロパーマー) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse, bred and owned by Mejiro Farm, who won the 1992 Takarazuka Kinen and the 1992 [Arima Kinen](https://www.edgepedia.org/arima-kinen), two of Japan's G1 Grand Prix races, in the same year and was named the JRA's Best Older Colt or Horse for 1992.[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) • [2](https://umaarchive.com/uma/mejiro-palmer?gallery=all) A bay horse foaled on 21 March 1987, he was by Mejiro Eagle out of Mejiro Fantasy, with Gay Mecene as the damsire, and was trained by Masaharu Okubo at Ritto.[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Foaled / died | 21 March 1987 (Date, Hokkaido); 7 April 2012[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) • [3](https://gametora.com/ja/umamusume/characters/mejiro-palmer) |
| Pedigree | Mejiro Eagle – Mejiro Fantasy (by Gay Mecene); bred and owned by Mejiro Farm[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) |
| Race record | 38 starts, 9 wins, 5 seconds, 2 thirds; career earnings JPY 536,742,200[4](https://en.netkeiba.com/db/horse/1987105372/) • [5](https://www.pedigreequery.com/mejiro%2Bpalmer) |
| G1 wins | 1992 Takarazuka Kinen (Hanshin, 2200 m, 2:18.6) and 1992 Arima Kinen (Nakayama, 2500 m, 2:33.5), both ridden by Taisei Yamada[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) |
| Other graded wins | Sapporo Kinen (1991, then G3), Niigata Daishoten (1992, G3), Hanshin Daishoten (1993, G2)[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) |
| JRA award | Best Older Colt or Horse for 1992[2](https://umaarchive.com/uma/mejiro-palmer?gallery=all) |
| Stud record | 60 foals; removed from the JRA registry on 22 September 1994[3](https://gametora.com/ja/umamusume/characters/mejiro-palmer) • [1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) |
## Racing career
**Early years.** Palmer was of the same generation as Mejiro McQueen and [Mejiro Ryan](https://www.edgepedia.org/mejiro-ryan), but unlike them he was never a horse of high expectation. He won a maiden race and an open special race in September of his two-year-old year, then, once promoted to higher classes on the strength of his prize money, went through roughly a year and a half of defeats.[6](https://note.tokyo-sports.co.jp/n/nd4f2bfe2b15e?hl=en) He was a late bloomer who gained strength as he reached four: in June 1991 he won consecutive races in Hokkaido and captured the Sapporo Kinen, then a G3 race, as the fourth favorite.[6](https://note.tokyo-sports.co.jp/n/nd4f2bfe2b15e?hl=en)
His career also included unusual detours for a future G1 winner.
**The 1992 season.** In May 1992 he won the Niigata Daishoten (G3) over 2200 m, and on 14 June he took the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin, starting as the ninth favorite and winning in 2:18.6 over 2200 m with Taisei Yamada in the saddle.[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) After unplaced runs in the Kyoto Daishoten and the [Tenno Sho](https://www.edgepedia.org/tenno-sho) (Autumn), he returned on 27 December for the Arima Kinen at Nakayama. Sent off as the 15th favorite in a 16-horse field, he won over 2500 m in 2:33.5, completing a sweep of Japan's two all-star Grand Prix races in the same year.[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) • [2](https://umaarchive.com/uma/mejiro-palmer?gallery=all) The 1992 season, built around the two Grand Prix wins and the Tenno Sho (Autumn) that preceded the Arima Kinen, is the part of his career most often retold.[7](https://note.com/dorayaki54/n/ndac6d77b9392?hl=en)
**1993 and retirement.** In 1993 he won the Hanshin Daishoten (G2) over 3000 m in March and finished third in the Tenno Sho (Spring) over 3200 m behind Rice Shower in April.[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) His form then declined: he ran tenth in the 1993 Takarazuka Kinen behind his stablemate Mejiro McQueen, tenth in the [Japan Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/japan-cup), and sixth in the 1993 Arima Kinen behind [Tokai Teio](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokai-teio), in which he started at odds of 25.0.[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) • [4](https://en.netkeiba.com/db/horse/1987105372/) His final start was a second in the Nikkei Shinshun Hai (G2) at Hanshin on 23 January 1994, and he was removed from the JRA registry on 22 September 1994.[1](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00) • [8](https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0000201493/record/)
## Racing style and record
Palmer was known as a front-runner, and his bold front-running in the same races as Daitaku Helios made the two a celebrated pair among racing fans.[6](https://note.tokyo-sports.co.jp/n/nd4f2bfe2b15e?hl=en)
## Mejiro Farm context
Palmer belonged to the farm's celebrated early-1990s generation alongside Mejiro McQueen and Mejiro Ryan, and the farm's horses of that era won the Takarazuka Kinen in sequence from 1991 to 1993.[7](https://note.com/dorayaki54/n/ndac6d77b9392?hl=en) Within that family he was, for much of his career, the less-expected performer, which made his 1992 double all the more striking.[2](https://umaarchive.com/uma/mejiro-palmer?gallery=all)
## Stud record and legacy
Palmer sired 60 foals before his death on 7 April 2012 at age 39.[3](https://gametora.com/ja/umamusume/characters/mejiro-palmer) He is also remembered through the media franchise *Uma Musume: Pretty Derby*, in which a character based on him appears alongside the other Mejiro horses of his era.[9](https://gametora.com/umamusume/characters/mejiro-palmer)
## References
1. [競走馬情報 メジロパーマー Mejiro Palmer（JPN）, JRA](https://jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=pw01dud101987105372%2F00)
2. [Mejiro Palmer – Uma Musume & Racehorse, UmaArchive](https://umaarchive.com/uma/mejiro-palmer?gallery=all)
3. [メジロパーマー (Mejiro Palmer) | 競走馬データ, GameTora](https://gametora.com/ja/umamusume/characters/mejiro-palmer)
4. [Mejiro Palmer | Horse Profile, Pedigree, Form, Race Record, netkeiba](https://en.netkeiba.com/db/horse/1987105372/)
5. [Mejiro Palmer Horse Pedigree, Pedigree Query](https://www.pedigreequery.com/mejiro%2Bpalmer)
6. [The 'Uma Musume' Bestie Duo! Looking Back at the Explosive Front-Running of Daitaku Helios and Mejiro Palmer in 'Tokyo Sports', Tokyo Sports note](https://note.tokyo-sports.co.jp/n/nd4f2bfe2b15e?hl=en)
7. [Famous Horse Introduction: Mejiro Palmer, note (dorayaki)](https://note.com/dorayaki54/n/ndac6d77b9392?hl=en)
8. [Race Records | Mejiro Palmer(JPN), JBIS-Search](https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0000201493/record/)
9. [Mejiro Palmer – Uma Musume, GameTora](https://gametora.com/umamusume/characters/mejiro-palmer)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Equestrian and animal sports › Horse racing › Racehorses and breeding › Individual Thoroughbred flat racehorses*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license