Talk:Mairzy Doates

GA review

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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This review is transcluded from Talk:Mairzy Doates/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: RandomEditsForWhenIRemember (talk · contribs) 07:52, 16 April 2026 (UTC)

Reviewer: Canary757 (talk · contribs) 12:33, 17 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi. I'm reviewing this as part of GARC 81. Canary757 (talk) 12:33, 17 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi, the prose looks pretty solid on first reading with a good level of depth in the coverage. I've made a few minor copyedits, added a few commas etc so I trust that's okay?

Lead

• an international invitational established by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to access Japanese horses' performance against the Should this be 'assess' rather than access? Access is used again later in the article too.

Early life

• Mairzy Doates was born 1 April 1976 In American English shouldn't this be April 1, 1976?
• She was briefly trained by Angel Penna and then Mickey Preger in the year, but by winter Schefler I find 'in the year' a little clunky. Maybe just initially trained...., but by winter? I also think there needs to be a comma after the word winter.

Racing history

• Over the two months Mairzy Doates vied several times Over the 'next' two months? I also think there needs to be a comma after months.
• In her final year of racing in 1981, Mairzy Doates again failed to win a Grade 1 race despite three attempts per MOS:WORDSTOWATCH, I think 'despite' should be removed here.
• Per the words to watch link above, there are quite a few 'however's and a nevertheless in the prose. Their usage is generally okay but I recommend a sweep to see if one or two can be removed or reworded.

Running in the Japan Cup

• designed by the Japanese Racing Association (JRA) to access the performance of their horses against the rest of the world on home turf Assess not access?
• the final line-up of international horses was ultimately deemed nothing special Okay. Can we say who deemed them "nothing special"?

Retirement

• Santa Barbara Handicap is an overlink and I don't think it requires a second link in a 1500 word article.
• An interesting article. Earwig copyvio check gives 2% so no problems there and the page is stable. It will take me a little time to do a source check and I will probably do that tomorrow. Let me know any thoughts. Thanks. Canary757 (talk) 15:40, 17 April 2026 (UTC)

Many of the references are from newspapers.com which is fine but is adding some clippings to help with verification still an option? Canary757 (talk) 17:43, 17 April 2026 (UTC)

Hmm, I actually hadn't considered this an option, as I was under the impression clippings still required viewers to have an account. Having a play with it though, it looks like non-accounts actually get up to five free viewings... it'll take a while considering the number, but happy to start trying to convert some of these. RandomEditsForWhenIRemember (talk) 12:41, 18 April 2026 (UTC)

Ok, these should be all be converted now. The remaining few are articles split over several pages, so I don't think they can be clipped. RandomEditsForWhenIRemember (talk) 15:00, 18 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks for the quick response Canary! I've gone through with your suggestions and made them - can't lie, the date format hadn't even occurred to me. I guess the two to highlight are:

• 6 "However"s have been reduced to 2, and "despite" has been removed.
• "Okay. Can we say who deemed them "nothing special"?" - I've altered this to "the final line-up of international horses was ultimately deemed unremarkable within the Japanese horseracing industry," but I'm open to suggestions!

Please let me know if you need a hand with any of the sources, especially the Japanese ones. RandomEditsForWhenIRemember (talk) 12:39, 18 April 2026 (UTC)

Hi. Thanks for making all these changes. I've started a source check.

• Refs 10/11 - Article - Her sire was Nodouble, a multiple graded stakes winner that had retired to stud in 1971. Source - "He was champion older horse in the U.S. in both 1969 and 1970, retiring to stud at Domino Stud in Kentucky." I don't think this is enough to state he retired in 1971 unless I missed something.
• Ref 34 - In her final year of racing in 1981, Mairzy Doates again failed to win a Grade 1 race in her three attempts, her best performance being a narrow defeat by a nose in the Santa Barbara Handicap - I thought it said she finished two lengths behind but I can't re-check it.
• Ref 59 - Many of her children did not race, and those which did rarely won. Apologies if I'm interpreting the data wrong but Double Clearance had a 23-2-4-2 record. Are the 23 not wins. Sopris and Jodis Land look like they might have reached double figures too?

8/9/18/21 look okay Canary757 (talk) 15:49, 18 April 2026 (UTC)

Sources 38 (quote), 52, 54, 61, 69, 73, 80, 81, 85 all fine. Lots of secondary sources, seem reliable. Page is broad but focused and well written. Canary757 (talk) 10:04, 19 April 2026 (UTC)

Infobox - breeder= Is there a brother missing? I think the short description should have 'first winner of...' removed to be more concise. Bar some ref queries above, the article looks good. Thanks. Canary757 (talk) 10:13, 19 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks Canary, the infobox and short description are now fixed (I'm never quite short how short is too short for those!). For the refs:

10 - I've added a more explicit source here now (and changed it to 1970, which is slightly more accurate since it was October that year the decision was made). New source is another newspaper clipping

34 - The two (and a bit) lengths was the 1980 running. 1981's run was a nose.

59 - The website's formatting isn't fantastic here (I made the exact same mistake at first), but 23-2-4-2 is saying Doubleclearance ran 23 times, and won twice (and placed second 4 times and third twice). If you go on the horses' individual pages they spell it out a little more clearly (example).

RandomEditsForWhenIRemember (talk) 16:56, 19 April 2026 (UTC)

Thank you for your explanation. Photo is non-free use but it's rationale for use seems okay with the cropping and resolution lowered and all that, so happy to pass. Congrats. Canary757 (talk) 17:14, 19 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks Canary, that's great to hear! :) RandomEditsForWhenIRemember (talk) 17:34, 19 April 2026 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. Track your hook after promotion. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Cielquiparle (talk) 05:03, 16 May 2026 (UTC)

(

• Comment or view
• Article history

)

• ... that the American Mairzy Doates winning the first Japan Cup was seen as a disaster for Japanese horseracing?

Source: Amongst other sources: 堀井, 六郎 (17 December 2024). 【名馬伝説】「逃走劇」が生んだ日本馬初勝利、名脇役・カツラギエースがジャパンカップの舞台で主役になった日 [Legendary Racehorses: The “escape run” that produced Japan’s first Japanese victory — the day supporting actor Katsuragi Ace became the star on the Japan Cup stage]. JBPress (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 22 January 2026. Retrieved 14 April 2026. "思い起こせば今から43年前、日本で初めて国際的なレースが開催されるという鳴り物入りで始まった、このジャパンカップ。 ... といった悲観論がファンの間に浸透していったことを覚えています。" -> "Forty-three years ago, the Japan Cup started as the first international race in Japan. Seven out of fifteen overseas horses participated in the first race held in 1981. Representing Japan was Monte Prince (the second most popular [Japanese horse]) and Hoyo Boy (third most popular) who were said to be the strongest in Japan at that time. But [Mairzy Doates winning] was a disastrous defeat, and Gold Spencer, who was the most popular, was in 5th place. From Fuji TV announcer Ana Moriyama’s commentary of “Japan has been completely defeated” you can sense the frustration and emptiness felt at the time. In that race, the winner Mairzy Doates was followed by Frost King, The Very One, and P'Tite Tete, with the top four places all taken by horses from the United States and Canada. Reports also spread that these horses were only second-tier competitors in their home countries. This led to a growing pessimism among fans: if even stronger horses from Europe—the true heartland of horse racing—were to join in, Japan would have no chance against international competition, and the dream of a Japanese horse winning the Japan Cup would remain far off."

(Additionally, sources 64-69 in the article collaborate this.)

• • ALT1: ... that the first Japan Cup was won by an American second-rate mare? Source: Yamamoto, Tomoyuki (25 November 2018). 韓国馬が地元G1で日本馬にボロ負けする理由 [Why Korean horses lose to Japanese horses in local G1s]. 東洋経済オンライン [Weekly Toyo Keizai] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 9 October 2025. Retrieved 2025-10-05. (Paragraph starting: "このように門戸を開放した韓国競馬はいま、" -> With its gates opened in this way, Korean horse racing could be said to be in a state much like the arrival of “black ships.” Thinking back, the Japan Cup, now in its 38th year, also had a difficult start. In its inaugural race, the American second-rate mare Mairzy Doates shattered the course record by a full second, leaving those involved in Japanese racing deeply shocked and wondering, “Will we ever be able to win?”)
  • ALT2: ... that the American Mairzy Doates' victory at the first Japan Cup was the catalyst for Japan to seriously improve the caliber of their racehorses?

Source: Duckworth, Amanda (23 November 2017). "For Kitasan Black, the Finish Line Draws Near". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2026. “The Japan Cup was the very first international race to take place in Japan,” said Naohiro Goda, the international representative for Japan Racing Horse Association (J.R.H.A.). “The racing and breeding industry in Japan was isolated before that, and all of us involved in racing and breeding were convinced the quality of Japanese horses was inferior to foreign horses.” That feeling proved true with the inaugural running, which went to an American mare named Mairzy Doates, who was owned by the New York City art dealer Arno D. Schefler. For the Japanese, the pain of losing did not stop there. “The first four finishers in the first running of the Japan Cup were foreign raiders,” Goda said. “That was the moment when all of us in Japan started to work hard to improve the quality of Japanese-bred and Japanese-trained horses.”

歴史・沿革 [History of Tokyo Racecourse]. 一般社団法人 東京馬主協会 [Tokyo Horse Owners Association] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025. The result of the first race was shocking. Foreign horses dominated the top four places, including American Mairzy Doates, which shortened the previous record by one second with a brilliant come-from-behind victory. ... However, this crushing and surprising defeat became a turning point, sparking a strong movement within Japanese horse racing to focus seriously on developing stronger horses and from that point on, Japanese runners rapidly improved.

• • Reviewed:
  • Comment: I've put "American" in each of these to emphasize it was a horse from outside of Japan winning the first race, but I'm happy for this to be removed if this feels clunky.

Improved to Good Article status by RandomEditsForWhenIRemember (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has fewer than 5 past nominations.

RandomEditsForWhenIRemember (talk) 18:08, 19 April 2026 (UTC).

• All fine per recent GA status and spotchecks. No QPQ required (but we politely ask for it to reduce backlog, @RandomEditsForWhenIRemember:). Also, thoughts on hooks: I concur that is important to add adjective American. I'd also add the noun race horse, to make it clear what is the topic here. My preferred hook is ALT2 (most encyclopedic, still interesting), but I'd drop the word seriously as unnecessary/weaselish. --_{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 03:22, 28 April 2026 (UTC)

Thanks Piotrus! I've reviewed some DYKs since posting this one. Those suggestions are fine with me, so I'm happy with the following being picked:

• • ALT3: "... that the American racehorse Mairzy Doates' victory at the first Japan Cup was the catalyst for Japan to improve the caliber of their racehorses?

RandomEditsForWhenIRemember (talk) 09:44, 28 April 2026 (UTC)