Cesario (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: , March 31, 2002 – February 27, 2021) was a champion Japanese thoroughbred racehorse who won 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 ...

and

American Oaks The American Oaks is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the turf held annually in late December Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, USA. The event currently of ...

in 2005.

Background

Cesario's sire

Special Week Special Week (, 2 May 1995 – 27 April 2018) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (horse), sire. From 1997 to 1999, he won ten of his seventeen races including four at Graded stakes race, Grade I level. After winning his only start as ...

was also a champion horse which won

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 ...

in 1998, as well as Tenno Sho (Spring),

Tenno Sho (Autumn) 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 ...

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 ...

in 1999. Her dam, Kirov Premiere, a horse bred in Britain and trained in Ireland, also had good performance on turf which won the Group 3 race Rutgers Handicap in 1993. The horse is named after the alias used by the main character of the Shakespeare play ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

.''

Racing career

2004: Two-year-old season

Cesario's racing career started, with

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 ...

in saddle, in a maiden race over 1600 meters held 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 December 25.

2005: Three-year-old season

Cesario began her second season by a 2000 meters race Kanchiku Sho, she won over Admire Fuji by a neck. Two months later she moved up in class and set Grade III

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 ...

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 ...

. She won her first graded race by two and half lengths, and also broke the record of the race. 65th-oukashou2

After becoming a graded race winner, her next race was

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 ...

, the first race of Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown. Meanwhile, as Fukunaga announced to ride Rhein Kraft in the same race, Cesario's Jockey was changed to Minoru Yoshida. In this race, she was beaten by Rhein Kraft by a head. Later, she raced in the second leg of Triple Crown, which was the Grade I race

(Japanese Oaks) held 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) ...

. As her main rival Rhein Kraft chose to join

NHK Mile Cup The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies, run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately one mile) on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse in May. The NHK Mile Cup is sponsored by the Japanese p ...

at this point of time, Cesario could be ridden by Fukunaga once again in the race. She finished the last three furlongs in 33.3 seconds, winning her first Grade I champion by a neck. Cesario's trainer

Katsuhiko Sumii (born 28 March 1964, Kanazawa, Ishikawa) is a Japanese retired trainer of Thoroughbred race horses. He trained the first and second placing horses in the 2006 Melbourne Cup, Delta Blues and Pop Rock. Other notable horses Sumii has trained i ...

announced the plan of joining

. After a one-month break, she arrived at

Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may refer to: Places United States * Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California * Hollywood Park, Chicago, a neighborhood in North Park, Chicago, Illinois *Hollywood Park, Inglewood, an entertainment complex and ma ...

on 20 June to compete with several strong rivals such as unbeaten horse Melhor Ainda,

Premio Regina Elena The Premio Regina Elena is a Group 3 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at Capannelle in April or May. It is Italy's equivalent of the ...

(Italian 1,000 Guineas) winner Silver Cup and

Oaks d'Italia The Oaks d'Italia is a Group 2 flat horse race in Italy open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,200 metres (about 1 mile and 3 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in May or June. It ...

runner up Hallowed Dream. Cesario won by four lengths and broke the record by 1:59.03, becoming the first Japanese trained three-year-old horse winning oversea Grade 1 race. Because of the great performance in this race, Cesario was described as "Japanese Super Star" by a local race commenter. After returning to Japan, Cesario originally planned to come back to America and participated the

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championsh ...

held at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

in November. However, she showed symptoms Suspensory , causing the plans to be scrapped. For her efforts on winning the two Oaks title, Cesario was given the JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly and JRA Award for Best Horse By Home-bred Sire.

2006: Four-year-old Season

In the beginning of 2006, as Cesario showed a good recovery, Sumii planned to let her race in the inaugural Grade I race

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 ...

. However, the horse developed symptoms of Suspensory Desmitis again. As a result, Carrot Club decided to retire her to become a broodmare in order to avoid any future risk.

Breeding record

Cesario was retired to become a broodmare at Northern Farm. As of 2024, she had produced twelve named foals and ten winners including three Group 1 race champions: * Twelfth Night, a dark bay coat, foaled in 2007, sired by King Kamehameha. Won one race. * Viola, brown filly, 2008, by King Kamehameha. Did not perform in any race. * Epiphaneia, bay colt, 2010, by

Symboli Kris S Symboli Kris S (, foaled January 21, 1999 in the United States – December 8, 2020) was a Japanese Thoroughbred race horse and sire. He was voted Japanese Horse of the Year in 2002 and 2003. He was retired at the end of 2003 and was syndicat ...

. Won six races including Group 1 Kikuka Sho and

. Later sired the first undefeated Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown horse Daring Tact and three Group 1 races winner

Efforia Efforia ( foaled 10 March 2018) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning two minor races as a two-year-old in 2020 he won the Kyodo Tsushin Hai on his first run of 2021 and maintained his unbeaten record by taking the Satsuki Sho on ...

. * Rosalind, dark bay filly, 2011, by Symboli Kris S. Failed to win in six races. Later produced Grade 2 Aoba Sho and Copa Republica Argentina winner . * Claudio, bay coat, later gelded, 2012, by

Harbinger A harbinger is a forerunner or forewarning, but may also refer to: Companies * Harbinger Corp., an Internet-oriented business * Harbinger Capital, a hedge fund * Harbinger Knowledge Products, an eLearning products and content services company ...

. Won one race. *

Leontes King Leontes is a fictional character in Shakespeare's play ''The Winter's Tale''. He is the father of Mamillius and husband to Queen Hermione. He becomes obsessed with the belief that his wife has been having an affair with Polixenes, his childh ...

, dark bay coat, 2013, by King Kamehameha. Won two races including Group 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 ...

. Sire of T O Royal and

Satsuki Shō The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres (approximately mile) at the Nakayama Racecourse, Funabashi, Chiba, in April. It was first run in 1939 and is the Ja ...

winner Museum Mile. * Globe Theatre, dark bay coat, 2014, by King Kamehameha. Won seven races. * Celia, brown filly, 2015 by King Kamehameha. Won two races. *

Saturnalia Saturnalia is an Roman festivals, ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the List of Roman deities, god Saturn (mythology), Saturn, held on 17 December in the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities until 19 December. By t ...

, dark bay coat, 2016, by

Lord Kanaloa is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist sprinter, he recorded his first important success in 2011 when he won the Grade 3 Keihan Hai at Kyoto Racecourse. In the following year he won once from his first four starts but then ...

. Won six races including Group 1

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...

and

Satsuki Sho Satsuki is a traditional Japanese name for the month of . It is commonly used as a feminine given name and, more rarely, as a surname or a masculine name. Possible spellings Satsuki can be spelled using different ''kanji'' characters and can mean ...

. * First Folio, chestnut filly, 2017, by King Kamehameha. Won four races. * Lupercalia, bay coat, 2018, by

Maurice Maurice may refer to: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean *Maurice, Iowa, a city *Maurice, Louisiana, a village *Maurice River, a trib ...

. Won two races. Active. * Tempest, dark bay coat, 2020, by Lord Kanaloa. Won one race. Active. File:Epiphaneia Japan Cup 2014(IMG1).jpg, Epiphaneia (2010) File:Leontes Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes 2015(IMG1).jpg, Leontes (2013) File:Saturnalia(JPN) IMG 4201-2 20181228.jpg, Saturnalia (2015)

Racing statistics

Below data is based on data available on JBIS Search, netkeiba.com, and Equibase. ''Legend:''

Pedigree

Death

On 27 February 2021, Cesario died because of

hemorrhagic shock Hypovolemic shock is a form of shock caused by severe hypovolemia (insufficient blood volume or extracellular fluid in the body). It can be caused by severe dehydration or blood loss. Hypovolemic shock is a medical emergency; if left untreated, ...

caused by

arterial An artery () is a blood vessel in humans and most other animals that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart in the systemic circulation to one or more parts of the body. Exceptions that carry deoxygenated blood are the pulmonary arteries in ...

rupture in

uterus The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', : uteri or uteruses) or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans, that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic and prenatal development, f ...

during

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestation, gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception (biology), Conception usually occurs ...

References

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