Yutaka Take: a legend in search of a golden finale in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

When Frankie Dettori emerged as racing's standout household name in Britain, he was picking up a torch previously carried by Sir Gordon Richards and Lester Piggott.

To understand the impact that Yutaka Take has had on racing in Japan, you would need to imagine Dettori ramping up the popularity of a sport that had never had a Richards or a Piggott. 

Routinely referred to as a legend in his homeland, Take has helped take racing into the Japanese mainstream and, whatever riches he may have earned during a career in which he passed 4,500 winners on the JRA circuit in May – with a glittering yield of domestic and international Group and Grade 1 victories into the bargain – they pale into insignificance compared to the money and interest he has generated for the industry.