Deep Brillante (; foaled 8 May 2009) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

. He showed very promising form in 2011 when he won both of his races including the Grade 3

Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes The Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes (Japanese 東京スポーツ杯2歳ステークス) is a Grade 2 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds in Japan, run in November over a distance of 1800 metres at the Tokyo Racecourse. The race was first run ...

. In the following spring he ran prominently in several major races including the

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 ...

before stepping up in distance and winning 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 ...

(Japanese Derby). He was then sent to Europe where he ran poorly in the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

. He did not race again and was retired to stud in October 2012.

Background

Deep Brillante is a bay horse standing 16.1 hands high with two 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 the Paca Paca Farm. He was from the second 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

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 and

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 ...

. Deep Brillante's dam Love and Bubbles was an American-bred, French-trained mare who won the

Prix Chloé The Prix Chloé is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or ...

in 2004. She was a great-granddaughter of Bubble Company, a broodmare whose other descendants have included

Bubble Gum Fellow Bubble Gum Fellow, (, 11 April 1993 – 26 April 2010) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1995 he was rated the best juvenile colt of his generation in Japan when he won three of his four races including the Grade I Asahi Hai S ...

and That's the Plenty ( Kikuka Sho). As a foal Deep Brillante was offered for sale and bought for ¥32,550,000 by representatives of Sunday Racing Co. Ltd. He was sent into training with

Yoshito Yahagi is a trainer of Thoroughbred race horses. He has been a licensed trainer in Japan since 2004 and since 2014 has won the training title three times. After studying English at Athénée Français for six months, he went to Australia to learn hor ...

and was ridden in all of his races by

Yasunari Iwata (born March 12, 1974; from Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture) is a Japanese jockey who rode the winner of the 2006 Melbourne Cup, Delta Blues. It was Iwata's first race outside Japan. He debuted in the Hyōgo Keiba, one of the racing organizations in N ...

Racing career

2011: two-year-old season

Deep Brillante made his racecourse debut in a contest for previously unraced horses over 1800 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 1 October 2011 and won by five

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

from Ebony Knight and ten others. On 19 November the colt was stepped up in class for the Grade 3

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) ...

and started 7/5 favourite ahead of fourteen opponents headed by Just A Way and Ennead. Deep Brillante took the lead 400 metres rom the finish and won "comfortably" by three lengths from the 54/1 outsider Fujimasa Emperor. In the

JRA Award The is given annually since 1987 by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to the outstanding horses and people in Japanese Thoroughbred horse racing. The awards originally started as the in 1954 and since 1972 the {{Nihongo, Yūshun Awards, 優駿� ...

s for 2011 Deep Brillante finished third behind Alfredo and Adam's Peak in the poll to determine the champion Japanese two-year-old colt of 2011.

2012: three-year-old season

On his 2012 debut Deep Brillante started odds-on favourite for the Grade 3 Kyodo Tsushin Hai over 1800 metres at Tokyo on 12 February. He led for most of the way but was overtaken by

Gold Ship Gold Ship (, foaled 6 March 2009) 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 br ...

100 metres from the finish and beaten one and three quarter lengths into second. In March he again headed the betting when he contested the Grade 2 Spring Stakes 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 ...

. After racing in fourth he took the lead in the straight and went clear of his rivals before faltering in the closing stages and being beaten by Grandezza. Despite consecutive defeats, Yahagi kept his faith in the horse, describing him as having "tremendous potential". Deep Brillante started third favourite for the Grade 1

at Nakayama on 15 April and finished third of the eighteen runners behind Gold Ship and World Ace. The 79th running of the Tokyo Yushun took place over 2400 metres on firm ground at Tokyo on 27 May. World Ace headed the betting from Gold Ship with Deep Brillante third choice on 7.5/1. The other runners included Grandezza, Just A Way, Alfredo, Fenomeno and Historical (Mainichi Hai Stakes). In the build-up to the race the colt's groom had praised his attitude and temperament saying "He's so calm usually it's almost frightening. He doesn't need any babysitting whatsoever. He's an intelligent horse, and he always runs his heart out in races". After tracking the leaders Iwata sent the colt into third approaching the final turn before taking the lead 200 metres out. In an extremely tight finish Deep Brillante held on to win by a nose from Fenomeno, with Tosen Homareboshi, World Ace, Gold Ship and Cosmo Ozora close behind. Less than two lengths covered the first six finishers. After the race Iwata, who was winning the race for the first time, said "Praise him not me. It was his guts that won it as he was completely empty at the finish. I have always thought he was the best horse in this generation so we trained him very hard to get a big success. We thought he was the best one and I am proud that we could prove it." After his win at Tokyo, Deep Brillante's connections took the unusual decision to send the colt to England and match him against older horses in the

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot ...

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Grade ...

on 21 July. He started a 20/1 outsider and was never in contention, finishing eighth of the ten runners behind the German mare

Danedream Danedream (foaled 7 May 2008- August 31, 2023 ) was a German Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2011 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in race record time. She is one of only three German trained horses to win the Arc, the others being St ...

. Deep Brillante's retirement was announced on 26 October. Yahagi commented "It's a terrible shame that the fans won't be able to see him race again. The little more than a year that I spent with this horse has been like a dream and for me he was nothing short of a treasure."

Stud career

After being retirement from racing Deep Brillante became a breeding stallion at the

Shadai Stallion Station is a thoroughbred breeding facility located in Abira on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. The farm was begun in the late 1970s to early 1980s by the late Zenya Yoshida, and is now run jointly by his sons (Katsumi, Haruya, and Teruya Yoshida), know ...

. His first crop of foals was born in 2014. In December 2018, Deep Brillante was moved from Shadai Stallion Station to Breeders Stallion Station.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2009 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 1-b Tokyo Yūshun winners