Shonan Pandora (

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 ...

ショウナンパンドラ, foaled 10 March 2011) 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 ...

racehorse and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than f ...

, best known for her victory in the 2015

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 wi ...

. After finishing second on her only start as a juvenile in 2013 the filly made steady progress in the following year and won the

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called '' Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples b ...

Shuka Sho Shuka ( sa, शुक , 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 k ...

on her penultimate appearance. She reached her peak in 2015 when she finished third in the

Takarazuka Kinen The Takarazuka Kinen (宝塚記念) is a Grade I flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds where they run over a distance of 2,200 metres (approximately miles) at Hanshin Racecourse (阪神競馬場) in late June. It ...

, won the

Sankei Sho All Comers The Sankei Sho All Comers (Japanese オールカマー) is a Grade 2 horse race for Thoroughbreds aged three and over run in September over a distance of 2,200 metres at Nakayama Racecourse. It was first run in 1955 and was promoted to Grade 3 in ...

and ran fourth in 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 I races. Prior to the 2007 races, both Tenno Sho races were Japanese domestic Gr ...

before defeating a strong international field to take the Japan Cup. Her performances that year saw her being awarded the

JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare The JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards. Records Most successful horse (2 wins): * Dyna Actress – ''1987, 1988'' * Mejiro ...

. She was retired from racing after finishing third twice as a five-year-old.

Background

Shonan Pandora is a small bay mare with no white markings bred at the Shiraoi Farm in

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...

by the Shadai Corporation. During her track career she was trained by Tomokazu Takano and carried the red and white colours of the Japanese businessman Kunimoto Tetsuhide. She is from the fourth 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 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 award originally started as ...

in 2005 and 2006, winning races including 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 37.4 ...

Arima Kinen The Arima Kinen (有馬記念) is a Grade I flat horse race in Japan open to Thoroughbreds which are three-years-old or above and the world's largest betting horserace.

and

. Deep Impact's other progeny include

Gentildonna is a retired Japanese thoroughbred racehorse. 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 year became th ...

Harp Star Harp Star ( ja, ハープスター, link=no, 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 Hansh ...

, Kizuna,

A Shin Hikari A Shin Hikari ( Japanese エイシンヒカリ, foaled 3 May 2011) is a 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 Ireland Trophy. In the followin ...

Satono Diamond Satono Diamond ( ja, サトノダイヤモンド, link=no, foaled 30 January 2013) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promise as a juvenile in 2015 when he won both of his races. In the following year he developed into a top-class ...

and

Makahiki The Makahiki season is the ancient Hawaiian New Year festival, in honor of the god Lono of the Hawaiian religion. It is a holiday covering four consecutive lunar months, approximately from October or November through February or March. The fo ...

. Shonan Pandora's dam Cutie Gold failed to win a race in five attempts but was a half-sister of the leading racehorse and sire

Stay Gold Stay Gold may refer to: Music Albums * ''Stay Gold'' (Butch Walker album) or the title song, 2016 * ''Stay Gold'' (CNBLUE album), 2017 * ''Stay Gold'' (First Aid Kit album) or the title song, 2014 * ''Stay Gold'', by Ozark Henry, 2013 * ''Stay ...

. She was a female-line descendant of the British broodmare Salecraft, a half-sister of the Epsom Derby winner

Straight Deal Straight Deal (1940–1968) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1942 to 1943 he ran ten times and won five races. His most important success came in June 1943 when he won the “New Derby”, a substit ...

Racing career

2013: two-year-old season

Shonan Pandora began her racing career in a race for newcomers over 1800 metres at

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

on 8 December and finished second of the nine runners behind Blue Flash.

2014: three-year-old season

Shonan Pandora recorded her first victory on her three-year-old debut when she won 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 200 metres at

Kyoto Racecourse is located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 120,000. It was built in 1999. History Kyoto Race Course opened on December 1, 1925. In preparation for the track's 100th anniversar ...

in January. She was beaten in her next four races when tried against better opposition: she finished second in the Elfin Stakes, fifth in the Grade 3 Flower Stakes, fifth in the listed Sweetpea Stakes and second in the Carnation Cup. The filly then won over 2000 metres at

Niigata Racecourse is located in Kita-ku Niigata, Niigata. It is used for horse racing 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 fo ...

in August and then ran second to Reve dEtoiles in the Listed Shion Stakes over the same course and distance. On 19 October at Kyoto, Shonan Pandora was one of seventeen three-year-old fillies to contest the Grade 1 Shuka Sho, the third leg of the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown. The

Yushun Himba The , also known as the is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race for three-year-old thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 2,400 metres (approximately 1 mile 4 furlongs) at the Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchū, Tokyo in May. History It was first run ...

winner Nuovo Record started odds-on favourite ahead of Red Reveur (

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 Japanese thoroughbred racing in the two-year-o ...

) with Shonan Pandora being made the 9.1/1 third choice in the betting. Ridden by Suguru Hamanaka, Shonan Pandora raced in mid-division before moving up to track the leaders on the final turn. She moved up on the inside rail to take the lead halfway down the straight and held off the late challenge of Nuovo Record to win by a neck. The winning time of 1:57.0 was a new record for the race. Explaining his tactics Hamanaka said "We got off to a very smooth start and I couldn’t have asked for a better position during the trip. We were able to turn for home without hitting a single bump. The turf on the inside was clearly faster so I was set on taking that route". He went on to say "We’ve always thought the world of her, but she matured a lot both mentally and physically over the summer. You can notice it right away in the workouts, in the races. She’s a G1 winner now so I hope she keeps racing well and lives up to that title from here on". On her final run of the year Shonan Pandora was matched against older fillies and mares in the

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 at a distance of 2,000 metres (ten ...

at Kyoto in November and finished sixth behind the four-year-old

Lachesis Lachesis ( ; grc, Λάχεσις, Lákhesis, disposer of lots; from , 'to obtain by lot, by fate, or by the will of the gods'), in ancient Greek religion, was the second of the Three Fates, or Moirai; the others were her sisters, Clotho and ...

2015: four-year-old season

Shonan Pandora made little impact in her first two runs as a four-year-old, finishing ninth to Lachesis in the

Osaka Hai is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama ...

and eighth behind

Straight Girl Straight Girl ( ja, ストレイトガール, link=no, foaled 12 March 2009) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She showed modest ability in her early career, competing mainly in minor sprint races before winning the Listed Owar ...

in the

Victoria Mile The Victoria Mile () is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbred fillies and mares run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse in May. Winners See also * Horse r ...

. After these races Kenichi Ikezoe took over from Hamanaka as the filly's jockey and rode her in all of her subsequent races. When she was matched against male opposition in the Grade 1

over 2200 metres on 28 June at Hanshin he was given little chance and started at odds of 98/1. She belied her odds as she produced her best performance up to that point, finishing third behind

Lovely Day "Lovely Day" is a song by American soul and R&B singer Bill Withers. Written by Withers and Skip Scarborough, it was released on December 21, 1977, and appears on Withers's 1977 album, ''Menagerie''. The song is notable for Withers's sustaine ...

and Denim And Ruby. The horses finishing behind her included

Toho Jackal is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

( Kikuka Sho), Nuovo Record, Lachesis, One And Only (

) and

Gold Ship Gold Ship ( ja, ゴールドシップ, link=no) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. In a racing career which began in July 2011, he ran twenty-eight times and won thirteen races. As a two-year-old in 2011, he won his two of his four races. In ...

After a three-month summer break, Shonan Pandora returned in the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers over 2200 metres at

Nakayama Racecourse is located in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 165,676. It was built in 1990. Physical attributes Nakayama Race Course has two grass courses, a dirt course, and a jump course. The turf's measures 1 ...

on 27 September. She started the 6.6/1 third favourite behind Nuovo Record and

Logotype A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordm ...

(

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 ...

) in a fifteen-runner field. The filly recorded her first win of the season as she came home a

length 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 Inte ...

and a half ahead of Nuovo Record with a gap of three and a half lengths back to Mitra in third place. At

Tokyo Racecourse is located in Fuchu, 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 1 November she started at odds of 8/1 for the autumn edition of the

over 2000 metres. She finished fourth behind Lovely Day, Staphanos and

Isla Bonita Isla Bonita ( ja, イスラボニータ, link=no, foaled 21 May 2011) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. As a juvenile in 2013 he showed very promising form as he won three of his four races including the Icho Stakes and the Tokyo S ...

(Satsuki Sho) beaten less than one and a half lengths by the winner with

Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

(winner of the race in 2014), One And Only and

Satono Crown Satono Crown ( ja, サトノクラウン, link=no, foaled 10 March 2012) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. He showed promising form as a two-year-old in 2014, winning both of his races including the Grade 3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes. As ...

among the unplaced finishers. On 29 November Shonan Pandora was one of sixteen horses to contest the 35th running of the Japan Cup over 2400 metres at Tokyo and was made the 8.2/1 fourth choice in the betting market behind Lovely Day, Gold Ship and

Mikki Queen Mikki Queen ( ja, ミッキークイーン, link=no), foaled 8 February 2012, is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She showed promise as a juvenile in 2014 when she won the second of her two starts. In 2015 she took the JRA Award f ...

(Yushun Himba, Shuka Sho). The race attracted four challengers from Europe, namely

Trip To Paris Trip To Paris (foaled 8 February 2011) is an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing modest form in his first two seasons he emerged as a top-class stayer as a four-year-old in 2015 after being gelded, winning the Ches ...

, Erupt (

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and ...

), Nightflower (

Preis von Europa The Preis von Europa is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Cologne over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place eac ...

) and Ito (

Grosser Preis von Bayern The Grosser Preis von Bayern is a Group 1 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Munich Racecourse over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year i ...

). The best-fancied of the other Japanese runners were Sounds of Earth and Last Impact (

Kyoto Daishoten Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the cit ...

). Ikezoe settled the filly in mid-division as the outsider Curren Mirotic set the pace, but began to make steady progress approaching the final turn. Lovely Day went to the front in the straight but Shonan Pandora launched a strong challenge on the outside, closely followed by Sounds of Earth, whilst Last Impact made rapid progress on the inside rail. The filly gained the advantage in the final strides and won by a neck from Last Impact with Lovely Day a neck away in third. The first fifteen finishers were covered by only four and a half lengths. Asked about the filly's future, her trainer Tomokazu Takano said "She is a very small-built filly and there are a lot of races in Japan where she could show her strength. It will be totally up to the owner. She is a filly with an independent mind. She isn't a bad horse but she is territorial". Ikezoe explained "For the Tenno Sho, she had been in good shape but we couldn’t get a good position. I felt that God was testing me, giving me this chance to make good on things. Today, I decided not to wait as much before making my move. I rode more aggressively. She was nicely in hand and feeling very supple and very light-footed. She gets that from her sire... there was a lot of bumping around. She got bumped too but it didn’t bother her. She squeezed through. Today, I really seriously rode to win. And, since I won, I think God would now approve".

2016: five-year-old season

Shonan Pandora returned as a five-year-old and made her seasonal debut at Hanshin on 3 April when she finished third behind Ambitious and

Kitasan Black is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and prospective sire. In a three-year track career he won twelve of his twenty races including seven Grade 1 events, won four JRA Awards and set the record for prize money won in Japan. He was a stayer who ...

in the

. On 15 May she was dropped back in distance for a second attempt at the Victoria Mile but was beaten into third place behind Straight Girl an Mikki Queen. She did not run competitively again and was retired from racing at the end of the season.

Assessment and awards

In January 2016 at

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 2015 Shonan Pandora was named Best Older Filly or Mare, receiving 213 of the 291 votes to take the title ahead of Straight Girl.

Breeding record

At the end of her racing career, Shonan Pandora returned to her birthplace and became a broodmare at Shiraoi Farm. Her foals include: *Shonan Highness, a bay filly, foaled in 2018, sired 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 ...

*A bay filly, foaled in 2019, sired by Lord Kanaloa *A bay colt, foaled in 2020, sired by Lord Kanaloa

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2011 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 1-t Japan Cup winners