Cafe Pharoah ( foaled 3 March 2017) is an American-bred, Japanese-trained

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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

. As a two-year-old in 2019, he established himself as a top-class dirt performer in the following year, winning the

Hyacinth Stakes The Hyacinth Stakes is an international listed flat racing, flat horse racing, horse race in Japan open to three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. It is run at Tokyo Racecourse over a distance of 1,600 meters. The race was first run in 1969 as an ope ...

, Unicorn Stakes and Sirius Stakes. He also won the

February Stakes The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for thoroughbreds aged four years and above. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 8 furlongs) at Tokyo Racecourse in late February. It was first run in 1984 as February Handicap, and ...

two years in a row.

Background

Cafe Pharoah is a bay colt with a small white

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

bred in Kentucky by Paul P Pompa. In March 2019, after failing to find a buyer at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for ...

as a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the ...

, he was consigned to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training and was bought for $475,000 by the bloodstock agency Narvick International. The colt was exported to Japan and entered training with Noriyuki Hori. He carries the yellow and black racing colours of Koichi Nishikawa. As of February 2021 Cafe Pharoah has raced exclusively on dirt tracks. He was from the first crop of foals sired by

American Pharoah American Pharoah (foaled February 2, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first ...

, who won the American Triple Crown and the

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Champion ...

in 2015. Like his sire, Cafe Pharoah's name uses an unconventional spelling of ''

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

''. Cafe Pharoah's dam Mary's Follies showed good racing form on turf in the United States, winning four races including the

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Mrs. Revere Stakes The Mrs. Revere Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of miles on turf held annually in November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky during the fall meeting. Currently offers a ...

and the Grade III

Boiling Springs Stakes The Boiling Spring Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the last week of June at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. A Grade III event open to three-year-old fillies, it is currently contested on turf o ...

. She was descended from the American broodmare Charwoman (foaled in 1926), making her a distant relative of Bounding Home and

Riva Ridge Riva Ridge (April 13, 1969 – April 21, 1985) was a Thoroughbred racehorse, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1972. Often remembered simply as a stablemate of Secretariat, Riva Ridge was a successful racehorse in his own rig ...

Racing career

2019: two-year-old season

Cafe Pharoah made his first and only appearance of 2019 in a contest for previously unraced two-year-olds over 1800 metres at

Nakayama Racecourse was built in 1990 in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan, for horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for c ...

on 14 December when he was ridden by the British jockey Ryan Moore. Starting favourite against thirteen opponents he led from the start and won by ten lengths from Barnard Loop, who was in turn nine lengths clear of the rest.

2020: three-year-old season

For his first run as a three-year-old Cafe Pharoah was stepped up in class for the Listed Hyacinth Stakes over 1600 metres 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) ...

on 23 February and started the 1.1/1 favourite ahead of Tagano Beauty, a colt who had finished fourth in the Grade 1

Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes The Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (朝日杯フューチュリティステークス) is a one-mile turf stakes race for thoroughbred colts two years old in Japan. It is considered the ''de facto'' year-end championship for Japanese thoroughbred racing ...

. Ridden by

Mirco Demuro Mirco Demuro (, January 11, 1979) is an Italian jockey based in Japan. His younger brother, Cristian, as well as their sister, Pamela, is also a jockey. Their late father Giovanni was also a jockey. Career Mirco Demuro first earned his jockey ...

he raced towards the rear and was only eighth entering the straight but then finished strongly, took the lead in the closing stages, and won by a length from Tagano Beauty. After a break of almost four months the colt was partnered by

Damian Lane Damian Lane (born 6 February 1994) is an Australian jockey based in Victoria. Lane was born in Bunbury in Western Australia to Michael and Vickey Lane, who were both horse trainers. He grew up around horses, and began his career in Western A ...

when he started favourite for the Grade 3 Unicorn Stakes over the same course and distance. After tracking the front-running Lecce Baroque he took the lead in the straight and drew away to win by five lengths. On 9 July at the

National Association of Racing The National Association of Racing ( ''Chiho Keiba Zenkoku Kyokai'', or NAR) is the authority for horse races operated by local governments in Japan (Prefectures, cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has ...

's Ohi Racecourse Cafe Pharoah started favourite for the

Japan Dirt Derby The is a Domestic Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 meters (approximately 1 mile 2 furlongs) at the Oi Racecourse, Shinagawa, Tokyo in early October. It is the thir ...

but sustained his first defeat as he ran disappointingly on the sloppy track and finished seventh behind Danon Pharaoh. Following a late summer break, Cafe Pharoah returned to the track in October at

Chukyo Racecourse is located in Toyoake, Aichi, 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 without riders) over a set distance ...

to contest the Sirius Stakes, a race which saw him matched against older horses for the first time. Ridden for the first time 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 ...

he started the 0.7/1 favourite with the best-fancied of his fifteen opponents in the 1900 metre contest being the five-year-old Ardore. He raced in mid-division before making progress on the outside on the final turn and produced a sustained run to overtake Sakura Allure in the final strides and win by three quarters of a length. On his final run of the year the colt started second favourite behind the 2019 JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse winner

Chrysoberyl The mineral or gemstone chrysoberyl is an aluminate of beryllium with the formula Be Al2 O4. The name chrysoberyl is derived from the Greek words χρυσός ''chrysos'' and βήρυλλος ''beryllos'', meaning "a gold-white spar". Despit ...

in the Grade 1 Champions Cup over 1800 metres at Chukyo on 6 December. He raced on the outside in tenth place before making steady progress in the straight but never looked like winning and came home sixth behind the five-year-old Chuwa Wizard. In the official Japanese rankings Cafe Pharoah was rated the best three-year-old colt of 2020 on dirt, level with half-brother Danon Pharaoh (whose dam is Crisp, finished seventh in the 2010 Kentucky Oaks).

2021: Four-Year-Old Season

Cafe Pharoah began his third campaign in the Grade One

over 1600 metres at

on February 21. In the build-up to the race, Noriyuki Hori explained that Lemaire had been unable to ride the horse in training owing to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

restrictions, and also said that the colt would be equipped with blinkers for the first time. Cafe Pharoah started the 2.3/1 favourite in a sixteen horse field which also included Inti (winner of the race in 2019), Arctos ( Procyon Stakes winner), Red Le Zele ( Negishi Stakes winner), Sunrise Nova (Procyon Stakes winner), Auvergne (

Tokai Stakes The Tokai Stakes (Japanese 東海ステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race in Japan for Thoroughbreds aged three and over run in July over a distance of 1,400 meters at Chukyo Racecourse. It was first run in 1984 as the Grade 3 Winter Stakes and ...

winner), Wonder Lider ( Musashino Stakes winner), Air Spinel ( Daily Hai Nisai Stakes winner), Air Almas (Tokai Stakes winner), and Wide Pharaoh (

New Zealand Trophy The New Zealand Trophy (Japanese ニュージーランドトロフィー) is a Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1600 metres at Nakayama Racecourse in April. The New Zealand Trophy w ...

winner). After racing in third behind Wide Pharaoh and Air Almas, Cafe Pharoah went to the front in the straight and held off the late challenge of Air Spinel to win by three quarters of a length. His victory gave his sire American Pharoah his first Japan Grade 1 winner and first Grade 1 winner on dirt. After the race Lemaire said "His condition was super, and I had confidence already at the paddock. We decided to use cheek pieces hoping for a more aggressive performance. His start was good, we were positioned well and he responded beautifully. The colt has such high potential... I'm happy that it all worked out today". Following the victory, Cafe Pharoah was sent to the Kashiwa Kinen. He was the most favored to win at that race, but ended up finishing in fifth place behind . Cafe Pharoah was later sent to the Hakodate Kinen, which made it the first time the horse ran on a turf course, but finished at 9th place. The horse would go on and race in the Champions Cup once again, but finished at 11th place.

2022: Five-year-old Season

Cafe Pharoah once again started the season with the February Stakes. However, as Lemaire was slated to run with that race,

Yuichi Fukunaga is a Japanese horse trainer and former jockey who has won 29 Grade 1 races in Japan and abroad. He is affiliated with the Japan Racing Association (JRA) in Rittō. His father is former jockey who was said to be a "genius" during his active care ...

temporarily became Cafe Pharoah's jockey. In spite of this, Cafe Pharoah still managed to win the race. The horse was sent to a turf race once more, this time the Grade I Yasuda Kinen, but finished at 17th place. After a summer break, the horse returned to the dirt races by enterering the

Mile Championship Nambu Hai The Mile Championship Nambu Hai (in Japanese: マイルチャンピオンシップ南部杯) is a Domestic Grade 1 race for Thoroughbred, thoroughbreds three-year-olds and above held at Morioka Racecourse in Japan. The name of the race originate ...

. where he finished by a nose against Helios.

2023: Six-year-old Season

Rather than starting the season off with the February Stakes once more, it was announce that he would be sent to Saudi Arabia for that year's

Saudi Cup The Saudi Cup (Arabic: كأس السعودية) is an international horse race held annually at the end of February at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is the richest horse race ever held, with a $20 million purse. It ...

. He finihshed 3rd behind

Panthalassa Panthalassa, also known as the Panthalassic Ocean or Panthalassan Ocean (from Greek "all" and "sea"), was the vast superocean that encompassed planet Earth and surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea, the latest in a series of supercontinent ...

. Following this, he was sent to Dubai for the Dubai World Cup, but finished at 12th place behind Ushba Tesoro. Cafe Pharoah struggled to even get in 5th place on for the rest of the year, and on November 24, it was announced by the JRA that Cafe Pharoah would be retiring from racing to stand stud at the Arrow Stud in Shinhidaka, Hokkaido.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2017 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 1-k