Sakae Kunieda (国枝栄; born 14 April 1955, in Kitagata, Gifu) is a retired Japanese horse trainer. Dubbed "the Kunieda of fillies", he is most known for winning 12 Grade I races for fillies and mares, as well as training two Triple Tiara winners; Apapane in 2010 and Almond Eye in 2018.[1][2][3]
Career
Kunieda grew interest in horse racing when during middle school, having a friend who was also in to the sport. During high school, he grew to desire wanting to take up a job related to horses, choosing to enroll in the Cooperative Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, where he would join the university's equestrian club.[4]
Kunieda would join Akiyoshi Yamazaki[ja]'s stable in 1978 as an assistant trainer after he was introduced to the trainer by Yu Takahashi[ja], who he had known from his equestrain activities.[4][5] He would earn his trainer license in 1989 and open his stable at Miho Training Center[ja] the following year.[4]
In 2018, Kunieda became the first trainer in Japan to win either the Triple Crown or Tiara multiple times when he won the Triple Tiara with Almond Eye.[8]
On 2 July 2022, Kunieda became the 15th trainer in JRA history, and the only active JRA horse trainer, to win his 1,000th race.[9][10]
On 13 April 2025, Kunieda became the 10th trainer in JRA history to win his 1,100th race. The horse that he won the race with, Bird Watcher, was foaled by Apapane.[11]
Kunieda retired on 3 March 2026, as he would reach the retirement age of 70 that year.[12]
