Songline (horse)

Last updated • 8 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Songline
Songline Yasuda Kinen 220605h.jpg
Songline after winning the Yasuda Kinen
Sire Kizuna
Grandsire Deep Impact
DamLuminous Parade
Damsire Symboli Kris S
SexMare
Foaled4 March 2018 [1]
CountryJapan
Colour Brown
Breeder Northern Farm
OwnerSunday Racing
TrainerToru Hayashi
Record15: 7-2-1
Earnings799,991,100 JPY
Japan : 661,306,000 JPY
Saudi : 900,000 USD [2]
USA : 60,000 USD [3]
Major wins
Kobai Stakes (2021)
Fuji Stakes (2021)
1351 Turf Sprint (2022)
Yasuda Kinen (2022,2023)
Victoria Mile (2023)
Awards
JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare (2023)
JRA Award for Best Miler (2023) [4]
Last updated on January 9, 2024

Songline (Japanese: ソングライン foaled 4 March 2018) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed some promise as a two-year-old in 2022 when she won a maiden race on the second of her two starts. She developed into a high-class miler in the following year, winning the Kobai Stakes and Fuji Stakes as well as running second in the NHK Mile Cup. In 2022 she improved again and recorded major successes in the 1351 Turf Sprint and Yasuda Kinen. She was awarded the JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare and JRA Award for Best Miler for 2023.

Contents

Background

Songline is a brown mare with a white blaze and white socks on her hind legs bred in Japan by Northern Farm. She was sent into training with Toru Hayashi and races in the black, yellow and red colours of the Northern Farm associate Sunday Racing.

She was from the second crop of foals sired by Kizuna whose wins included the Tokyo Yushun, Prix Niel and Osaka Hai. [5] His other foals have included Akai Ito and Deep Bond. [6] Songline's dam Luminous Parade showed solid racing ability, winning four minor races from twenty-three starts on dirt in Japan. [7] Luminous Parade's granddam Soninke, a British broodmare who was exported to Japan in 2001 was also the female-line ancestor of Logi Universe and Deirdre. Soninke was in turn a daughter of the outstanding racemare Sonic Lady who was not, technically, a Thoroughbred as her female ancestry could not be traced to one of the foundation mares of the breed. [8]

Racing career

2020: two-year-old season

Songline began her track career in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1400 metres on good ground at Tokyo Racecourse on 20 June when she started the 1.6/1 favourite and finished second to Cool Cat, beaten two lengths by the winner. [9] After a five-month break she returned for a maiden race over 1600 metres at Tokyo on 22 November and started the 2.1/1 second favourite in an eighteen-runner field. Ridden by Genki Maruyama she raced in mid-division before staying on strongly down the centre of the track, overtaking the favourite Tosen Melanie inside the last 200 metres and drawing away to win by three lengths. [10]

2021: three-year-old season

On her three-year-old debut Songline was stepped up in class for the Listed Kobai Stakes over 1400 metres at Chukyo Racecourse on 16 January when she was ridden by Christophe Lemaire and went off the 1.9/1 favourite against ten other fillies. She raced in third place, went to the front approaching the last 200 metres and went clear of her rivals to win by three lengths from La La Christine. [9] Toru Hayashi commented "she ran an impeccable race. She was able to get a good position despite the fast pace and gained ground in the final stage". [11] The filly was then elevated to Grade 1 class for the 1600 metre Oka Sho on 11 April at Hanshin Racecourse and started at odds of 13.7/1. She was never in serious contention and came home fifteenth of the eighteen runners behind Sodashi, beaten twelve lengths by the winner. [12] Hayashi reported that there was "nothing amiss" with his trainee but suggested that she may have been unsuited by the right-handed track. [13] Four weeks after her run in the Oka Sho Songline was matched against male opposition in the Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup in which she was ridden by Kenichi Ikezoe and started at odds of 15.9/1 in an eighteen-runner field. She raced just behind the leaders, made a strong run on the outside in the straight and gained the advantage from the favourite Grenadier Guards 200 metres from the finish only to be run down in the final stride and beaten a nose by Schnell Meister. [14]

After a break of more than three months Songline returned in the Grade 3 Sekiya Kinen over 1600 metres at Niigata Racecourse in she faced older horses. She started the odds-on favourite but finished third behind the four-year-old filly Lotus Land and the five-year-old horse Karate. On 23 October at Tokyo, with Ikezoe in the saddle, Songline contested the Grade 2 Fuji Stakes and started the 2.9/1 favourite against seventeen opponents including the previous Group 1 winners Danon The Kid, Wagnerian and Lauda Sion. After racing in mid-division she produced a sustained run down the centre of the straight, took the lead 200 metres from the finish and held off the late challenge of Satono Wizard to win by a neck. [15] On her final run of the year the filly started favourite for the 1400 metre Hanshin Cup in December but ran poorly and finished thirteenth behind Grenadier Guards.

2022: four-year-old season

Songline wins the Yasuda Kinen Songline Yasuda Kinen 220605d1.jpg
Songline wins the Yasuda Kinen

For her first run of 2022, Songline was sent to Saudi Arabia to contest the $1.5 million 1351 Sprint Cup over 1351 meters at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh where she was ridden by Lemaire and started 5/1 second favourite behind Naval Crown. After racing in mid-division she made sustained progress in the straight, got the better of the British filly Happy Romance in the last 100 metres and held of the late run of the American challenger Casa Creed to win by a neck. [16] Hayashi commented "She is such a brilliant filly and the ride from Lemaire was perfect. The owners also deserve great credit for their ambition in coming here. Last year she raced well in this counter-clockwise direction and she has a lot of natural speed so we thought we could run well coming back in distance a little." [17]

Songline's first appearance of the year in Japan came at Tokyo on 15 May when she started 4.4/1 second favourite for the Grade 1 Victoria Mile. She raced in ninth place before making steady progress in the straight but never looked likely to win and came home fifth, two and a half lengths behind the winner Sodashi. [18] Hayashi felt that she had been unsuited by the slow early pace. [19] Ikezoe took the ride when the filly started the 7.2/1 fourth choice in the betting for the Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen over the same course and distance three weeks later. The four-year-old Elusive Panther started favourite while the other contenders included Cafe Pharoah, Salios, Danon The Kid, Schnell Meister and Naran Huleg (Takamatsunomiya Kinen). She settled behind the leaders as Ho O Amazon set the pace before moving on the outside on the final turn and making rapid progress in the straight. She took the lead from Salios 100 metres from the finish and held on to win by a neck from Schnell Meister. After the race Ikezoe said "It was a tight schedule for the filly but the staff at the stables prepared her remarkably. She broke well and I decided to settle her behind Salios... Trying not to make the same mistake as last time, we made an early bid before the last corner and she responded well and stretched all the way for a strong finish". [20]

2023: five-year-old season

For her first run of 2023, she returned to Saudi Arabia to defend her title at the 1351 Sprint Cup over 1351 meters. She was ridden by Lemaire again and started as 15/8 favorite. She was held up towards the rear and had no response in the final furlong losing 10th place behind fellow japanese runner Bathrat Leon who broke the track record.

She made her second appearance in the Victoria Mile over at the Tokyo Racecourse starting as the 66/10 fourth favorite behind Stars on Earth, Namur, and Sodashi, ridden by Keita Tosaki this time. As the race progressed, she settled at the middle of the pack by the rails. Entering the final straight, she engaged on a straightline battle with the defending winner Sodashi from a furlong out and finally won by a head securing her second Grade 1 win. [21]

Songline defends her Yasuda Kinen title Songline 20230604a.jpg
Songline defends her Yasuda Kinen title

Three weeks after her Victoria Mile win, she was entered into the Yasuda Kinen to defend her title against 9 other Grade 1 winners which included Osaka Hai winner Jack d'Or, Mile Championship winner Serifos, Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes winner Dolce More, three of the last NHK Mile Cup winners Schnell Meister, Danon Scorpion, Champagne Color, Cafe Pharoah, Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Naran Huleg, and lastly her Victoria Mile rival Sodashi. She was ridden again by Keita Tosaki starting from the farthest gate from the rail. He ran her wide at the middle of the pack all throughout until they entered the final straight. Sweeping from the outside, she passed Champagne Color nearing 2 furlongs left with an accelerated dash forward at around a furlong left overtaking Jack d'Or and Serifos who were battling it from the inside, winning the race and defending her title by a length and a quarter from Serifos. [22] She became the fourth horse ever to win the Yasuda Kinen back-to-back after Swee Sue, Yamanin Zephyr, and Vodka. She's also the second horse after Vodka to complete the Victoria Mile and Yasuda Kinen double in the same year.

After the Yasuda Kinen, Songline was entered in to the Mainichi Okan, where she came in second behind Elton Barows  [ ja ], [23] before being sent to the United States to compete in the Breeders' Cup Mile. She ultimately finished in 5th place in what would become her final race behind Master of The Seas. [24] On November 22, Songline's owner Sunday Racing announced that both she and Schnell Meister would retire from racing, with Songline herself returning to Northern Farm to become a broodmare. [25]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Songline (JPN), brown mare, 2018 [1]
Sire
Kizuna (JPN)
2010
Deep Impact (JPN)
2002
Sunday Silence (USA) Halo
Wishing Well
Wind in Her Hair (IRE) Alzao (USA)
Burghclere (GB)
Catequil (CAN)
1990
Storm Cat (USA) Storm Bird (CAN)
Terlingua
Pacific Princess (USA) Damascus (USA)
Fiji (GB)
Dam
Luminous Parade (JPN)
2011
Symboli Kris S (USA)
1999
Kris S Roberto
Sharp Queen
Tee KayGold Meridain
Tri Argo
Luminous Point (USA)
2003
Agnes Tachyon Sunday Silence (USA)
Agnes Flora
Soninke (GB) Machiavellian (USA)
Sonic Lady (USA) (Half-bred Family: B3) [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gentildonna</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice (horse)</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Maurice, is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing promise as a two-year-old he disappointed in 2014, being well-beaten in all four of his races. In 2015 he emerged as one of the best milers in the world with an unbeaten record of six wins from six races. After two minor wins early in the year he recorded his first important success in the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy before taking the Grade I Yasuda Kinen. He returned in autumn to win the Mile Championship and then defeated a strong international field in the Hong Kong Mile. His performances in 2015 saw him named Best Japanese Sprinter or Miler and Japanese Horse of the Year. In the following year he won the Champions Mile before moving up i distance in the autumn to win the Tenno Sho and the Hong Kong Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apapane (horse)</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curren Chan</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Curren Chan is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won two JRA Awards. After finishing second on her only start as a juvenile she won three minor races from five starts as a three-year-old in 2010. She emerged as a top-class sprinter in 2011 when she won five consecutive races including the Hanshin Himba Stakes, Hakodate Sprint Stakes, Keeneland Cup and the Sprinters Stakes and won the JRA Award for Best Sprinter or Miler. In 2012 she was overshadowed by her stablemate Lord Kanaloa but won the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and took the JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shonan Pandora</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Shonan Pandora is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare, best known for her victory in the 2015 Japan Cup. After finishing second on her only start as a juvenile in 2013 the filly made steady progress in the following year and won the Grade 1 Shuka Sho on her penultimate appearance. She reached her peak in 2015 when she finished third in the Takarazuka Kinen, won the Sankei Sho All Comers and ran fourth in the Tenno Sho before defeating a strong international field to take the Japan Cup. Her performances that year saw her being awarded the JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare. She was retired from racing after finishing third twice as a five-year-old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivlos</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Vivlos is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She showed some promise as a juvenile in 2015 when she won a minor race on the second of her two starts. In the following year she was moved up in class and made steady progress, ending her season with a win in the Grade 1 Shuka Sho. As a four-year-old she defeated an international field to take the Dubai Turf and won the JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare. In 2018 she failed to win a race but finished second in both the Dubai Turf and the Hong Kong Mile. On her final racecourse appearance she finished second in the 2019 Dubai Turf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gran Alegria</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Gran Alegria is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning a minor race on her debut in 2018 she won the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup before running third in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. On her first appearance as a three-year-old she won the Oka Sho. In 2020 and 2021 she was the dominator in sprinter and mile races in Japan, whilst also challenged mid-distance races in between. She won the Yasuda Kinen, Sprinters Stakes, Victoria Mile and Mile Championship, with the latter one winning twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logotype (horse)</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Logotype is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a juvenile in 2012 he won two minor races in his first four starts before recording an upset victory in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, which resulted in his taking the JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt. In the following spring he maintained his winning form by taking the Spring Stakes and then winning the Satsuki Sho in record time. He failed to win for over three years before taking the Yasuda Kinen as a six-year-old in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Admire Mars</span> Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse

Admire Mars is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. As a juvenile in 2018 he was undefeated in four races including the Daily Hai Nisai Stakes and the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes and won the JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt. In his first two races of 2019 he was beaten in the Tokinominoru Kinen and the Satsuki Sho before returning to winning form to take the NHK Mile Cup. In December he won the Hong Kong Mile. He failed to win in 2020 but ran third in both the Mile Championship and the Hong Kong Mile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lys Gracieux</span> Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse

Lys Gracieux is a champion Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2016 she showed top-class form, winning two of her four starts and finished second in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. In the following year she failed to win but was placed in several major races including the Oka Sho and the Shuka Sho. As a four-year-old she won the Tokyo Shimbun Hai and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup as well as running second in the Victoria Mile and the Hong Kong Vase and was awarded the JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare. In 2019 she had her most successful season as she took the Takarazuka Kinen in Japan and the Cox Plate in Australia before ending her track career with a victory in the Arima Kinen. She was the 2019 Japanese Horse of the Year and 2019 Best Older Filly or Mare. Lys Gracieux is one of the three highest earning racehorses in the world among the racehorses born in 2014, along with Thunder Snow and Enable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indy Champ</span> Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse

Indy Champ is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning his only start as a juvenile in 2017 he showed good form in the following year when he won three races and finished third in the Mainichi Hai. He emerged as a top-class performer in 2019 winning the Tokyo Shimbun Hai in February and going to take both of Japan's open age Grade 1 mile races, the Yasuda Kinen and the Mile Championship. In the following years he won the Yomiuri Milers Cup and was placed in both the Yasuda Kinen and the Mile Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resistencia (horse)</span> Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse

Resistencia is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She was the leading juvenile filly in Japan in 2019 when she was unbeaten in three starts including the Fantasy Stakes and the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. In 2020 she ran second in both the Oka Sho and the NHK Mile Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodashi (horse)</span> Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse

Sodashi is a pure white Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2021 Japanese 1000 Guineas. She was also one of the best two-year-olds in Japan in 2020 when she was unbeaten in four races including the Sapporo Nisai Stakes, Artemis Stakes and Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. In 2021 she won the Oka Sho but sustained her first defeat when running unplaced in the Yushun Himba. The filly returned to the track in August and defeated older rivals in the Sapporo Kinen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grenadier Guards (horse)</span> Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse

Grenadier Guards is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the best two-year-olds in Japan in 2020 when he won two of his four races including the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danon The Kid</span> Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse

Danon The Kid is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the best two-year-olds in Japan in 2020 when he won all three of his races including the Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes and the Hopeful Stakes. In 2021 he finished third in the Mile Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schnell Meister</span> German-bred racehorse

Schnell Meister is a German-bred Japanese-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promise as a two-year-old in 2020 when he won both of his races. In the following spring he finished second in the Yayoi Sho before winning the Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uberleben</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Uberleben, is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed promise as a juvenile in 2020 when she won on her racecourse debut and went on to finish second in the Sapporo Nisai Stakes and third in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. In the following year she ran third in both the Flower Cup and the Flora Stakes before taking the Yushun Himba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danon Kingly</span> Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse

Danon Kingly is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning both of his races as a two-year-old in 2018 he proved himself one of the best colts of his generation in the following year when he won the Tokinominoru Kinen and the Mainichi Okan as well as running second in the Tokyo Yushun and third in the Satsuki Sho. As a four-year-old he defeated a strong field to win the Nakayama Kinen and ran a close third in the Osaka Hai. In 2021 he recorded his first Grade 1 victory in the Yasuda Kinen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akaitorino Musume</span> Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Akaitorino Musume, is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. A daughter of two Japanese Triple Crown winners she showed promise as a two-year-old in 2020 when she won two of her three starts. In the following year she won the Daily Hai Queen Cup and ran well in both the Oka Sho and the Yushun Himba before winning the Shuka Sho.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akai Ito (horse)</span> Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse

Akai Ito is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She proved herself a successful but unremarkable racehorse in her first two seasons, winning minor races at Hanshin in 2019 and Sapporo in 2020. As a four-year-old she made significant improvement, winning races at Chukyo and Hanshin before recording an upset victory in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

References

  1. 1 2 "Songline pedigree". Equineline.
  2. "2022 サウジカップ開催施行競走 登録要綱".
  3. "Equibase|Charts". Equibase. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
  4. "「2023年度JRA賞」決定!年度代表馬はイクイノックス! JRA". jra.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  5. "Kizuna - Race record and form". Racing Post.
  6. "Kizuna - progeny". Racing Post.
  7. "Luminous Parade – Race Record & Form". JBIS.
  8. 1 2 "Perion Mare – Half-Bred Family 3". Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2013-08-17.
  9. 1 2 "Race Records:Lifetime Starts Songline". JBIS.
  10. "Maiden Race result". Racing Post. 22 November 2020.
  11. "Oka Sho - Comments from runners' connections". Horse Racing in Japan. 9 April 2021.
  12. "Sodashi Captures Oka Sho Title-First Fillies' Classics of 2021". Horse Racing in Japan. 11 April 2021.
  13. "NHK Mile Cup - Comments from runners' connections". Horse Racing in Japan. 7 May 2021.
  14. "Schnell Meister Becomes First German-bred Winner of NHK Mile Cup". Horse Racing in Japan. 9 May 2021.
  15. "Fuji Stakes result". Racing Post. 23 October 2021.
  16. "1351 Sprint Cup result". Racing Post. 26 February 2022.
  17. Anderson, Heather (26 February 2022). "Japan On Song Again In The Turf Sprint". Thoroughbred Daily News.
  18. "Four-Year-Old Sodashi Defeats Strong Field in This Year's Victoria Mile". Horse Racing in Japan. 15 May 2022.
  19. "Yasuda Kinen (G1) - Comments from runners' connections". Horse Racing in Japan. 3 June 2022.
  20. "Songline Secures First Grade One Victory in Yasuda Kinen". Horse Racing in Japan. 5 June 2022.
  21. "Songline wins the G1 Victoria Mile in a thriller". Netkeiba. 14 May 2023.
  22. "Songline claims back-to-back Group 1s in Yasuda Kinen". Netkeiba. 4 June 2023.
  23. "【毎日王冠】3歳馬エルトンバローズが重賞連勝 古馬の壁を打ち崩す". スポーツ報知 (in Japanese). 2023-10-08. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  24. "【BCマイル】日本のマイル女王ソングラインは5着 戸崎圭「人気を背負って負けたことに責任を感じています」". 東スポ競馬 (in Japanese). 2023-11-05. Retrieved 2023-11-25.
  25. "現役屈指のマイラー、ソングラインとシュネルマイスターがそろって引退". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2023-11-25.