u/AngleRepulsive5470

Just like in my previous post, I will continue to briefly introduce some old Japanese horses that I found something interesting about and want to share them. You can also share some cool stories of the unpopular Japanese horses from the old era if you feel like it.

Most of the info in this post is from Wiki Japan, and I will only bring up something I find the most memorable and noteworthy rather than writing about their careers in full detail, so if you are curious for more about them, I recommend you to read their stories on Wiki Japan or other sources.

- Bostonian (May 13, 1950 – September 3, 1967): In 1953, he won Satsuki Sho as the 7th favorite. Then in the Japanese Derby that year, there were 33 horses in the field (35 confirmed runners, but two were scratched on the day of the race), and to this day, this Japanese Derby still holds the record for the highest number of entrants in Japanese Derby, and if two horses hadn’t been scratched, it would have had the highest number of entrants in the history of the Derby race, surpassing Espom Derby 1962 with 34 horses. Due to a large number of horses, the race unfolded chaotically, there were three horses that threw their jockeys. Bostonian won this race as the 1st favorite. But in Kikuka Sho, he lost to Hakuryo, who placed 2nd in Satsuki Sho. In 1954, he won Naruo Kinen and Hanshin Kinen, but then lost to Hakuryo again in Tenno Sho Spring. He was retired at the end of 1954. As a sire, while he didn’t produce any notable progeny, he did produce Asama Yuri, who was the great-grandmother of Mejiro Mcqueen and Mejiro Durren; and Shonan Kampf (Takamatsunomiya Kinen 2002 winner) also descended from her. Despite not winning Kikuka Sho and Tenno Sho Spring himself, some of his notable descendants were able to win it, including Mejiro Durren, Mejiro Mcqueen, Orfevre, Gold Ship. Nowadays, his blood gets passed on mainly through Orfevre, Gold Ship and other Goldlings.

- Tachikaze (April 11, 1946 – February 22, 1965): In 1948, he was highly-regarded after wininning his second race and secured a spot for the Japanese Derby. But then in 1949, he placed badly in the next two races before Japanese Derby. Disappointed by this, his trainer, Katsuyoshi Ito, returned to his stable at Kyoto Racecourse without even waiting for the day of Japanese Derby. As a result, Tachikaze's reputation plummeted, and he became the 19th favorite out of 23 horses in Japanese Derby. It is said that when Ito was leaving for Kyoto, his jockey, Takeo Kondo, asked what he should do with the prize money if, by any chance, they won. And Ito replied along the lines of "Aside from the transport expenses, do whatever you like with it. Take the horse to Atami Onsen and spend it all". But Tachikaze would then win Japanese Derby, with Shiraoki (yes, that’s Shiraoki) finishing 2nd. This victory caused a massive upset and set a record for the highest win payout in the history of not just Japanese Derby but all the eight major races, and the record remains to this day. Having already returned to Kyoto, Ito received the news of Tachikaze's victory at his stable office. Ito was a trainer so obsessed with winning the Japanese Derby that he was said to have "Derby disease". But despite purchasing many expensive horses over the years, his best result had only been 3rd place. Having abandoned the horse before the race, and with the horse he wrote off achieving his lifelong dream in his absence, Ito showed no joy and he simply stood there in total shock. In Kikuka Sho, Tachikaze finished 4th, and the winner was Tosa Midori. But in his final race in 1950, Tachikaze beat Tosa Midori and won it. He died of heart attack in 1965.

- Queen Narubi (April 13, 1949 – April 17, 1960): Throughout her racing career, she was a very consistent horse and never placed outside of top 5 in 44 races. Her best achievement was winning Tenno Sho Autumn in 1953 (Tenno Sho Autumn was 3200m back then). Her other placements in the major races were: 3rd in Oka Sho, 3rd in Japanese Derby, 5th in Japanese Oaks, 3rd in Kikuka Sho, 2nd in Tenno Sho Spring. She retired in 1954, after finishing 3rd in Nikkei Shinshun Hai. As a broodmare, while she didn’t have any notable progeny, her G1 descendants include: Oguri Cap, Oguri Roman, Kyoei March, Namur, Marche Lorrain.

- Hisatomo (April 23, 1934 – November 19, 1949): In 1937, she won Japanese Derby and became the first filly to win this race. For the first time, the Japanese Derby was held on good track, and she broke the record of Kabutoyama (Japanese Derby 1933 winner) by 8.8s. At the end of the year, she placed 3rd in Tenno Sho Autumn (3200m). In 1938, she placed 3rd in Tenno Sho Spring, and she later won Tenno Sho Autumn. She would run 4 more races and then retire at the end of 1938. Throughout her racing career, she never placed outside of the top 5. After retirement, she continued to be owned by Shintaro Miyazaki and began her life as a broodmare in Hokkaido. However, her 1st son (Miyatomo) and her 2nd son (Sachitomo) were both bad at racing. She then failed to conceive in the two following years. Her next foals, Hisatoman and Bleu Ribbon each went on to win 5 races. In 1946, she was relocated to a ranch hastily established by Miyazaki to prevent his land from being taken by land reform in postwar Japan. She was pregnant with her fifth foal, but miscarried. She also developed endometritis, resulting in another two consecutive years of failing to conceive. In response, Miyazaki temporarily retired Hisatomo from breeding and kept her at his villa in Hakodate.

However, in 1949, when Hisatomo was 16 years old, Miyazaki was approached with the suggestion of letting Hisatomo return to local racing. The official justification was something along the lines of "If she is to return to breeding in the future, the excess fat on her body will negatively affect conception, so this will serve as a way to reduce her weight". Miyazaki agreed, while realizing the real purpose was to use her to alleviate the shortage of horse resources after the end of WWII, which had resulted in even farming horses being used in races. At the time, Miyazaki had lost much of his wealth due to the poor performance of the shipping industry, and it was difficult for him to continue taking care of Hisatomo, so he accepted the proposal while knowing the true motive. Hisatomo was sent to Totsuka Racecourse in Kanagawa Prefecture. After returning to racing, Hisamoto ran five races in just over two weeks starting at the end of October, winning two races. After winning at Kashiwa Racecourse on November 17, she was transferred to Urawa Racecourse, where her next race was scheduled. Then, on November 19, while returning to her stall after training, she suddenly collapsed and passed away. Her cause of death was presumed to be heart failure. A portion of her coat was sent to Miyazaki.

At the time, Hisatomo’s bloodline was barely surviving. Hisatoman, her 3rd son, did become a stallion, but his bloodline eventually died out. Bleu Ribbon, Hisatomo’s only female foal, was the only mare left to carry on the bloodline. But Bleu Ribbon had a poor breeding record. Hisatomo’s bloodline was in a situation where it could have easily disappeared. But the turning point came in 1967, when Masanori Uchimura, a new horse owner at the time, purchased a filly who was Hisatomo's great-granddaughter. He named her Tokai Queen, and she would win 6 races. After that, Uchimura grew more interested in horse racing and researched her pedigree. When he learnt that her great-grandmother was a Japanese Derby-winning mare, he decided that this was a bloodline that would produce a great horse someday. From that point on, he purchased Hisatomo’s descendants one after another, protecting the bloodline while also preserving the female line. After more than a decade, his efforts finally bore fruit when Tokai Roman, who was Tokai Queen’s granddaughter, won Japanese Oaks in 1984. But the greatest masterpiece of this bloodline emerged in 1988, when a granddaughter of Tokai Queen, Tokai Natural, mated with the 7 G1 Triple Crown, Symboli Rudolf in the previous year, resulting in none other than the monarch, the miracle horse, Tokai Teio. Tokai Teio would win Satsuki Sho 1991, Japanese Derby 1991 (not only like his father, but also his great x4-grandmother), Japan Cup 1992, Arima Kinen 1993, and was nominated as HOTY in 1991 and received JRA Special Award in 1993, and then he was inducted into the HOF in 1995. These achievements brought great honor to Uchimura as a horse owner and fulfilled Uchimura's long-cherished dream.

Hisatomo’s other notable descendants were Tokai Taro (Niigata Kinen 1996 winner) and Tokai Oza (Copa Republica Aregntina 2001 winner). Because Tokai Teio is related to Hisatomo, so any notable descendant of Tokai Teio is also a notable descendant of her, and there were Tokai Point and Yamanin Sucre. Hisatomo’s notable descendants nowadays I can think of now is Lebensstil.

Apparently, it seems that Exceed's next race will be Rose Stakes.

Yuga Kawada will be Basse Terre's jockey in St Lite Kinen.

Kamunyak will head to Ireland Trophy, and then QEIIC.

Apparently, A Train, an Efforia progeny who just debuted around a week ago, has passed away.

Number of mares bred by stallions at Aarow Stud in 2026

Star Anise will head to Sprinter Stakes.

Der Glanz won Cosmos Sho and beat Agordino, a Efforia progeny. In his debut race, he also beat Ippei, another Efforia progeny. People are jokingly calling him the Efforialings killer.

Laughterlines, who placed 3rd in Japanese Oaks, will head to Mainichi Okan and then QEIIC.

Regaleira will head to Sankei Sho All Corners.

Basse Terre, who placed 3rd in Japanese Derby, will head to St Lite Kinen.

Masquerade Ball is now on a break for a few weeks or months. Then he will be trained for Japan Cup.

Rodeo Drive's jockey in Niigata Kinen will be Christophe Lemaire.

Quick Q&A between Lemaire and Take.

Bond Girl has retired.

It's revealed that Regaleira will run three more races this year and then retire.

Top 5 best horses Lemaire's ridden in his career according to Lemaire

Apparently, Do Deuce’s penis swelled up while he was mating, so he had to take a break from breeding.

Calandagan will head to Japan Cup again this year.

Danon Decile isn't registered for Cox Plate. The Japanese horses that are registered for this race are Cosmo Kuranda, Shin Emperor.

Some neat and interesting things about some lesser-known Japanese horses pre-Rudolf era that I just read - Part 2.