Geoglyph (Japanese: ジオグリフ, foaled 25 February 2019) is a Japanese

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, 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 basic pr ...

. He showed promise as a two-year-old in 2021 when he won two of his three races including the

Sapporo Nisai Stakes The Sapporo Nisai Stakes (Japanese 札幌2歳ステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in late August or early September over a distance of 1800 metres at Sapporo Racecourse. The race was first run in 1966 and w ...

. In the following year he ran second in the

Tokinominoru Kinen The Tokinominoru Kinen (Japanese 共同通信杯) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run in February over a distance of 1800 metres at Tokyo Racecourse. Officially known as the Kyodo News Hai, the race is named in honour of ...

before winning 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: ...

Background

Geoglyph is a bay colt with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

bred in Japan by Northern Farm. During his racing career he was trained by Tetsuya Kimura and raced in the black, red and yellow colours of the Northern Farm associate Sunday Racing. He was from the first crop of foals sired by the

American Champion Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1947, in 1971 it became part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to the top horse in sprint races (usually those run at a distance ...

Drefong Drefong (foaled February 19, 2013) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who was named the American Champion Sprint Horse at age three after winning the King's Bishop Stakes and Breeders' Cup Sprint. He also won the Forego Stakes at age four. Background ...

who was exported to Japan at the end of his track career. Geoglyph's dam Aromatico showed high class form in Japan, winning six of her twenty-seven races and being placed in both the Shuka Sho and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. She was descended from the British broodmare Justitia, making her a distant relative of

Roland Gardens Roland Gardens (foaled 9 May 1975 – after 1993) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the classic 2000 Guineas in 1978. During a racing career which lasted from 1977 until 1979 he ran sixteen times and won f ...

and

Kooyonga Kooyonga was an Irish champion Thoroughbred racehorse who raced from 1990 to 1992. After showing good form as a juvenile, she had a highly successful three-year-old campaign, winning the Group One Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Coronation Stakes ...

Racing career

2021: two-year-old season

Geoglyph began his racing career in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1800 metres on good to firm ground at Tokyo Racecourse on 26 June 2021. Ridden by Christophe Lemaire he started the 3.5/1 second favourite in a ten-runner field and won by one and a half

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 Intern ...

from Asahi with the favourite Ask Victor More a further half length away in third place. Lemaire was again in the saddle when the colt was stepped up in class to contest the Grade 3

over the same distance on 4 September at

Sapporo Racecourse is located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It was built in 1907 for horse racing use. It has 12,000 seats, with a capacity of 30,000. Sapporo Racecourse hosts one GII (Grade 2) race, the Sapporo Kinen. Physical attributes Main turf cou ...

. Starting the 1.1/1 favourite he raced towards the rear in early stages he moved up to take the lead in the straight and drew right away to win by four lengths from Ask Wild More. Lemaire later commented "he never hit top gear, so it was an easy win". On 19 December at Hanshin Racecourse, Geoglyph was stepped up to Grade 1 class to contest

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. It is considered the ''de facto'' year-end championship for Japanese thoroughbred racing in the t ...

over 1600 metres and went off the 2.2/1 third choice in the betting behind Serifos. Lemaire positioned the colt towards the rear before making strong late progress but Geoglyph was never able to reach the leaders and came home fifth behind

Do Deuce Do Deuce (Japanese: ドウデュース, foaled 7 May 2019) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He was the best two-year-old colt in Japan in 2021 when he was undefeated in three races including the Ivy Stakes and the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. ...

, beaten just under three lengths by the winner. In the official Japanese rankings Geoglyph was rated the ninth-best two-year-old of 2021, six pounds behind the top-rated

2022: three-year-old season

On his first run as a three-year-old, Geoglyph started favourite for the Grade 3

over 1800 metres at Tokyo Racecourse on 13 February. He tracked the leaders for most of the way and made steady progress in the straight but was beaten a length and a half into second place by Danon Beluga. His trainer Tetsuya Kimura, later commented that the colt "hadn’t trained so well, which was possibly down to the climate and how he felt mentally." In the

over 2000 metres at Hanshin Racecourse on 17 April the colt started the 8.1/1 fifth choice in the betting behind

, Danon Beluga, Equinox (

Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes The Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes (Japanese language, Japanese 東京スポーツ杯2歳ステークス) is a Graded stakes race, Grade 2 Horse racing, horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in November over a distance of 1800 metres at Tok ...

) and

Killer Ability Killer Ability (Japanese: キラーアビリティ, foaled 27 January 2019) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the best two-year-olds in Japan in 2021 when he won two of his four races including the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes. Bac ...

in an eighteen-runner field which also included Ask Victor More (

Yayoi Sho The is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres at the Nakayama Racecourse, Funabashi, Chiba. The race is run in March and serves as a major trial race for ...

), Onyankopon (

Keisei Hai Keisei may refer to: * Keisei (monk) *Keisei Electric Railway *Keisei Bus The is a bus company within the Keisei Group which was established on 1 October 2003 to inherit all business of the Keisei Electric Railway bus department. Local bus se ...

), Justin Rock (

Kyoto Nisai Stakes The Kyoto Nisai Stakes ( ja, 京都2歳ステークス, link=no) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in November over a distance of 2000 metres at Kyoto Racecourse. The race was first run in 1959 and was promoted to Grade ...

), Be Astonished ( Spring Stakes) and Matenro Leo (

Kisaragi Sho The Kisaragi Sho (Japanese きさらぎ賞) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run in February over a distance of 1800 metres at Kyoto Racecourse. The race is also known as the NHK Sho. The race was first run in 1961 and w ...

). With Lemaire taking the ride on his more fancied stablemate Equinox, Geoglyph was partnered by Yuichi Fukunaga. Geoglyph tracked the leaders in fifth place as Ask Victor More set the pace, before switching to the outside to make his challenge in the straight. He ranged up alongside Equinox 200 metres from the finish and after briefly looking held by his stablemate he rallied strongly in the final strides to gain the advantage and win by a length. After the race Fukunaga said “His start was good and we were able to sit in an ideal position which was crucial in winning today... The colt has the strength to sustain his speed so I geared him wide launching an early bid before the fourth corner. I’m just glad I was able to do my job. In the

Tokyo Yushun Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, we’ll have to see if he can handle the 400-meter added distance." Geoglyph finished seventh at the Tokyo Yushun behind

, and took a three month long break after undergoing a leg surgery to take out a chipped bone. After recuperation, Geoglyph ran in the Tenno Sho (Fall) as well as the

Hong Kong Cup The Hong Kong Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres (about miles or 10 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in ...

came in nineth and sixth respectively.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2019 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 19