The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment in Thoroughbred racing. The term originated in mid-19th-century England and nations where Thoroughbred racing is popular each have their own Triple Crown series.
Shinzan was a thoroughbred racehorse that won the Japanese Triple Crown.
Deep Impact was a champion Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Japanese Triple Crown in 2005 and the Japan Cup in 2006, as well as three other Japan Grade One races.
Sunday Silence was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1989, he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but failed to complete the Triple Crown when he was defeated in the Belmont Stakes. Nevertheless, he won the Breeders' Cup Classic and was voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Colt and American Horse of the Year that same year. Sunday Silence's racing career was marked by his rivalry with Easy Goer, whom he had a three to one edge over in their head-to-head races. Easy Goer, the 1988 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt finished second to Sunday Silence in the Kentucky Derby the Preakness, and the Breeders' Cup Classic. However, Easy Goer prevailed by eight lengths in the Belmont denying Sunday Silence the Triple Crown. Both horses were later voted into the American Hall of Fame.
The Japan Cup is one of the most prestigious horse races in Japan. It is contested on the last Sunday of November, post time of 15:40 at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters run under weight for age conditions with a maximum of 18 horses on turf (grass). With a purse of ¥476 million, the Japan Cup is one of the richest races in the world.
Makoto Kaneko is the Founder, President, CEO and Representative Director of Zuken Inc., a public listed multinational corporation in the Tokyo Stock Exchange. He also owns the exclusive golf club, The King Kamehameha Golf Club in Hawaii.
Christophe Patrice Lemaire is a French-born jockey. He has enjoyed much of his success on the Japanese flat racing circuit, with the most wins at Japan Racing Association racetracks for five consecutive years since 2017.
The Tōkyō Yūshun (東京優駿), also called the Japanese Derby is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,400 metres at the Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo in late May or early June.
Keiba; Horse racing in Japan is a popular equestrian sport, with more than 21,000 horse races held each year. There are three types of racing that take place in Japan - flat racing, jump racing, and Ban'ei Racing.
Vodka was a Japanese Thoroughbred racemare which won the 2007 Group One (GI) Tokyo Yūshun, the first filly to win this race in 64 years, as well as winning the 2009 Japan Cup. She won seven G1 races in Japan and was the highest earning racemare in Thoroughbred history at the time.
Orfevre is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active breeding stallion. In 2011 he won the Japanese Triple Crown and was voted Japanese Horse of the Year. In 2012 he added victories in the Takarazuka Kinen and the Prix Foy but was narrowly beaten in both the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Japan Cup. He acquired the reputation of being an extremely talented but temperamental racehorse. In 2013 Orfevre again won the Prix Foy and finished second in the Arc before ending his career with an eight length win in the Arima Kinen.
Gentildonna is a retired Japanese thoroughbred racehorse. In 2012 she won the Japanese Fillies Triple Crown and was voted Japanese Horse of the Year. She was also the first three-year-old filly to win the Japan Cup, in 2012, and the following year became the first two-time winner of that race. In 2014 she added victories in the Dubai Sheema Classic and the Arima Kinen earning her a second Horse of the Year award.
Apapane is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown in 2010. As a two-year-old in 2009 she won three of her four races including the Grade I Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and won the JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Filly. In the following year she won the Oka Sho and Yushun Himba before completing the Triple Crown in the Shuka Sho and winning the JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly. In the following spring she won her fifth Grade I race when she defeated the Japanese Horse of the Year Buena Vista in the Victoria Mile. She never won again and was retired after developing a leg problem in September 2012. Apart from her victories she finished third in consecutive runnings of the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup.
Meisho Mambo is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the second and third legs of the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown in 2013. She showed some promise as a juvenile in 2012 when winning on her debut. In the following spring she won the Grade II Fillies' Revue and rebounded from a poor run in the Oka Sho to win the Grade I Yushun Himba. She returned in the autumn to win the Shuka Sho before defeating older fillies and mares in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup. She won the JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly of 2013. She stayed in training for three more seasons but failed to win again.
Satono Crown is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promising form as a two-year-old in 2014, winning both of his races including the Grade 3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes. As a three-year-old he won the Yayoi Sho, finished sixth when favourite for the Satsuki Sho, and ran third in the Tokyo Yushun. In 2016 he won the Kyoto Kinen but then displayed indifferent form before defeating a top-class international field in the Hong Kong Vase to establish himself as one of the best horses in the world over 2,400 metres. He recorded another major victory in 2017 by taking the Takarazuka Kinen. He was retired from racing at the end of the 2018 season.
The Grand Slam of Thoroughbred racing is an informal name for winning four major Thoroughbred horse races in one season in the United States. The term has been applied to two configurations of races, both of which include the races of the Triple Crown—the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes—and either the Travers Stakes or the Breeders' Cup Classic as the final race.
The Hopeful Stakes (ホープフルステークス) is the only Grade 1 middle-distance race for two-year-old thoroughbreds in the JRA. This race was started as the Radio Tampa Hai Sansai Hinba Stakes, a mile race that was held at Hanshin Racecourse for two-year-old fillies. In 1991, not fillies but colts were allowed to run, with the distance extended to the current 2,000 meters. Its name was changed several times. This race was considered important because no other graded race over 2,000 meters for two-year-olds existed in those days. In particular, it was a good chance for horses with ambition for Triple Crown Races to experience a middle-distance race. In fact, some triple crown race winners had previously won this race. Logi Universe (2008) and One and Only (2013) won the Japanese Derby, Victoire Pisa (2009) won the Satsuki Shō, and Epiphaneia (2012) won the Kikuka Shō.
Contrail is a champion Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Japanese Triple Crown in 2020. He was one of the leading two-year-olds in Japan in 2019 when he was undefeated in three races including the Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes and Hopeful Stakes. In 2020 he maintained his unbeaten record with wins in the Satsuki Sho, Tokyo Yushun and Kobe Shimbun Hai before completing the Japan Triple Crown with a victory in the Kikuka Sho. He came second in the 2020 Japan Cup to champion older mare Almond Eye, winner of the 2018 Japanese Fillies Triple Crown.
Daring Tact is a champion Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Japanese Fillies Triple Crown in 2020. After winning her only race as a two-year-old, she won the Elfin Stakes on her three-year-old debut and went on to record Grade 1 victories in the Oka Sho, Yushun Himba and Shuka Sho to complete the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown. She also came third in the 2020 Japan Cup to other Triple Crown winners Almond Eye and the then undefeated Contrail.
