Akaitorino Musume (, foaled 16 April 2018) is a Japanese

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

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 The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan. The race is restricted to three-year-old Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbre ...

and the

Yushun Himba The , also known as the is a Japanese Conditions races, Grade 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race for three-year-old thoroughbred Filly, fillies run over a distance of 2,400 metres (approximately 1 mile 4 furlongs) at the Tokyo Racecours ...

before winning the

Shuka Sho Shuka ( , also Shukadeva ) is a rishi (sage) in Hinduism. He is the son of the sage Vyasa and the main narrator of the scripture ''Bhagavata Purana''. Most of the ''Bhagavata Purana'' consists of Shuka reciting the story to the king Parikshit ...

Background

Akaitorino Musume is a bay filly with a white blaze and three white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the Calf (leg), calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. ...

bred in Japan by Northern Farm. The horse entered the ownership of Makoto Kaneko and was sent into training with Sakae Kunieda. Her name can be translated as Daughter of the Red Bird, because she is a daughter of Apapane who was named after a native Hawaiian red bird. She was from the eleventh crop of foals sired by Deep Impact, who was the

Japanese Horse of the Year The Japanese Horse of the Year is the highest honor given to the most outstanding horse in Japanese thoroughbred horse racing. It is awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards. This ...

in 2005 and 2006, winning races including the

Tokyo Yushun Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Tenno Sho The is a horse race held twice a year in Japan, once in the spring and once in the autumn. "Tenno" means "Emperor of Japan". The races are both International Grade 1 races. Prior to the 2007 races, both Tenno Sho races were Japanese domestic Gr ...

Arima Kinen The Arima Kinen (有馬記念) is a Conditions races, Grade I Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Japan open to Thoroughbreds three-years-old and above and the world's largest betting horserace. It is run in late December each year, over ...

and

Japan Cup The 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 (about miles) run under weight for age conditions with ...

. Deep Impact's other progeny include

Gentildonna is a retired Japanese thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. 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 ...

Harp Star Harp Star (, foaled 24 April 2011) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She was one of the leading two-year-old fillies in Japan in 2013 when she won the Niigata Nisai Stakes and was narrowly beaten in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. In the follo ...

, Kizuna,

A Shin Hikari A Shin Hikari (japanese language, Japanese エイシンヒカリ, foaled 3 May 2011) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He began his racing career as a three-year-old in 2014 when he won his first five races including the Listed Irela ...

Marialite Marialite is a silicate mineral with a chemical formula of if a pure endmember or with increasing meionite content. Marialite is the sodium endmember of the scapolite group and a solid solution exists between marialite and meionite, the calci ...

and

Saxon Warrior Saxon Warrior (foaled 26 January 2015) is a Japanese-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2017 he was one of the best colts of his generation in Europe, winning all three of his races including the Beresford Stakes a ...

. Akaitorino Musume was the fifth foal produced by Apapane, an outstanding racemare whose wins included the

Hanshin Juvenile Fillies The Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (阪神ジュベナイルフィリーズ) is a one-mile turf stakes race for thoroughbred fillies two years old. It is considered the ''de facto'' year-end championship for two-year-old fillies in Japan. Qualifying ra ...

and

Victoria Mile The Victoria Mile () is a Graded stakes race, Grade 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbred Filly, fillies and mare (horse), mares. Organized by Japan Racing Association, it is run over a dista ...

. Apapane's dam Salty Bid was an American-bred mare who raced in Japan and won three times as well as finishing second in the Grade 3

Fairy Stakes The Fairy Stakes (Japanese フェアリーステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run in January over a distance of 1600 metres at Nakayama Racecourse. The race was first run in 1984 and has been ...

. She was a distant female-line descendant of the influential American broodmare Escutcheon.

Racing career

2020: two-year-old season

Akaitorino Musume made her debut in a contest for previously unraced two-year-olds over 1600 metres on Going at

Niigata Racecourse is located in Kita-ku Niigata, Niigata in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is used for horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven wit ...

on 2 August when she started the 1.5/1 favourite but came home seventh of the eighteen runners behind the colt Havasu, beaten more than seven lengths by the winner. On 17 October at

Tokyo Racecourse is located in Fuchū, Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1933 for horse racing, it is considered the "racecourse of racecourses" in Japanese horseracing. It has a capacity of 223,000, with seating for 13,750. Tokyo Racecourse hosts numerous G1 (Grade 1) ...

the filly went off second favourite for a

maiden race In horse racing, a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the s ...

over 1600 metres at

. Ridden as on her first start by Keita Tosaki she recorded her first success as she came from seventh place on the final turn to win by a length from Reve de la Prairie.

Takeshi Yokoyama Takeshi Yokoyama (; born December 22, 1998) is a Japanese jockey. Takeshi was born to a family heavily involved in horse racing. His grandfather , father Norihiro, and elder brother Kazuo, are all jockeys. When he entered the Horse Racing Sch ...

took the ride when Akaitorino Musume started favourite for the Akamatsu Sho over the same course and distance on 22 November and won by one and a quarter lengths from May Thousand Hour after coming from ninth place on the last turn.

2021: three-year-old season

On her first appearance as a three-year-old Akaitorino Musume was moved up to contest the Grade 3 Daily Hai Queen Cup (a trial race for the

) over 1600 metres at Tokyo on 13 February when she started 3.9/1 second favourite behind Kukuna. Ridden by Tosaki, she settled behind the leaders before taking the lead inside the last 200 metres and prevailed in a tight finish, winning by a neck from Art de Vivre with Kukuna, A Shin Hiten and Isn't She Lovely close behind. Sakae Kunieda commented "she was able to get a good position, keep up well, and though she made her move a bit early, she ran really well. I was able to watch with no anxiety." In the Grade 1 Oka Sho over 1600 metres at

Hanshin Racecourse is located in Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan. It has a capacity of 139,000 and is used for horse racing. The land was originally owned by Kawanishi Aircraft Company, which manufactured combat planes during World War II. After World War II, GHQ orde ...

on 11 April, Akaitorino Musume, with Yokoyama in the saddle, started the 9.5/1 fourth choice in the betting. She was in contention from the start and kept on well in the straight to finish fourth behind

Sodashi Sodashi ( foaled 8 March 2018) 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 ...

, Satono Reinas and Fine Rouge, beaten a length by the winner. The filly was then moved up in distance to contest the 2400 metre

at Tokyo on 23 May when she was ridden by

Christophe Lemaire Christophe Patrice Lemaire (Japanese:, born 20 May 1979) 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 sin ...

and started second favourite behind Sodashi. After settling in sixth place she lost her position on the final turn and was boxed in early in the straight before finding a gap on the inside and finishing strongly to take second place, a length behind the winner Uberleben. After a summer break of almost five months, Akaitorino Musume returned to the track in the

over 2000 metres at Hanshin on 17 October. Ridden by Tosaki she started the 7.9/1 fourth choice in the betting behind Sodashi, Fine Rouge and Andvaranaut (

Rose Stakes The Rose Stakes (Japanese ローズステークス) 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 ...

) in a sixteen-runner field which also included Uberleben, Art de Vivre, A Shin Hiten, Cool Cat (

Flora Stakes The Flora Stakes (Japanese フローラステークス) is a Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres at Tokyo Racecourse every April. The Flora Stakes was first run in 1 ...

) and Ho O Ixelles (

Flower Cup The Flower Cup (Japanese フラワーカップ) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies organized by Japan Racing Association (JRA). It is run in March over a distance of 1800 metres at Nakayama Racecourse. The race was ...

). Akaitorino Musume settled in sixth place as A Shin Hiten set the pace from Sodashi before making a sustained run on the outside in the straight. She overtook the tiring A Shin Hiten 100 metres from the finish and kept on well in the closing stages to win by half a length from Fine Rouge with Andvaranaut the same distance away in third place. After the race Tosaki said "I was able to settle the filly in good position and race her in good rhythm. She responded willingly and stretched really well in the lane. I think she is a strong horse and felt that she has stepped up to the next level. I look forward to her performances going forward". On 15 November Akaitorino Musume was matched against older fillies and mares in the Grade 1

Queen Elizabeth II Cup The Queen Elizabeth II Cup is a Group One Thoroughbred horse race at Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1975 by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, it is run annually in April over a distance of 2,000 metres (te ...

over 2200 metres at Hanshin and started second favourite behind Lei Papale. After tracking the leaders she was obstructed as she attempted to make progress in the straight and finished seventh behind the 64/1 outsider Akai Ito.

2022: four-year old season

Akaitorino Musume was set to run at the

Hanshin Himba Stakes The Hanshin Himba Stakes (Japanese 阪神牝馬ステークス) is a Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for Thoroughbreds fillies and mares of at least four years of age. It is run over a distance of 1600 metres at Hanshin Racecourse in April. Th ...

on April 9 of that year, and had been the favorite until the final stages, but was removed from the race at the last minute due to her right rear leg becoming

lame LAME is a software encoder that converts digital audio into the MP3 audio coding format. LAME is a free software project that was first released in 1998 and has incorporated many improvements since then, including an improved psychoacoustic ...

upon entering the racecourse. It was later revealed her right third phalanx was broken, and she was subsequently retired from racing not long after.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2018 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 9-f Shūka Sho winners