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.
The Sun Chariot Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile, and it is scheduled to take place each year in early October.
The Yasuda Kinen is a Japanese International Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at the Tokyo Racecourse in Tokyo. Raced annually each June, the Yasuda Kinen is run at a distance of eight furlongs on turf and is open to horses three years of age and up. The event was first run in 1951 as the Yasuda Sho in honor of Izaemon Yasuda, the founding chairman of the Japan Racing Association. Following the death of Mr. Yasuda, in 1958 the race name was changed to the Yasuda Kinen.
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.
The Yushun Himba (優駿牝馬), also known as the Japanese Oaks (オークス) is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race for three-year-old thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 2,400 metres at the Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo in May.
The Oka Sho (桜花賞) is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan. The race is restricted to three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies and is run over a distance of 1,600 metres at the Hanshin Racecourse, Takarazuka, Hyōgo in April.
The Takarazuka Kinen (宝塚記念) is a Grade I flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds where they run over a distance of 2,200 metres at Hanshin Racecourse (阪神競馬場) in late June. It is one of the two "All-Star" races in Japanese horse racing; the other is the Arima Kinen in late December.
The Takamatsunomiya Kinen (高松宮記念) is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres at Chukyo Racecourse in late March.
The Japan Dirt Derby (ジャパンダートダービー) is a Japanese Domestic Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres at the Oi Racecourse, Shinagawa, Tokyo in late July.
The Shūka Shō (秋華賞) is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres at the Kyoto Racecourse, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture in October.
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.
The St Lite Kinen is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,200 metres at the Nakayama Racecourse, Funabashi, Chiba. The race is run in September and serves as the main trial race for the Kikuka Sho.
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.
The Fillies' Revue Japanese フィリーズレビュー} is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 1,400 metres at Hanshin Racecourse, Takarazuka, Hyogo. The race is run in March and serves as a major trial race for the Oka Sho. First three finished horses are provided to race at Oka Sho
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.
The Rose Stakes is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Hyōgo Prefecture for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1800 metres at Hanshin Racecourse in September, having been run over 2000 metres until 2006.
The Fuchu Himba Stakes is a Grade 2 horse race for Thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three and over run in October over a distance of 1800 metres at Tokyo Racecourse.
The Nakayama Himba Stakes is a Grade 3 horse race for Thoroughbred fillies and mares aged four and over, run in March over a distance of 1800 metres on turf at Nakayama Racecourse.
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.
