Sinhalite (

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 ...

シンハライト, foaled 11 April 2013) 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 breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

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 four ...

. In a racing career which lasted from October 2015 until September 2016 she won five of her six races. After winning her only start as a juvenile she took a minor race on her three-year-old debut she won the

Tulip Sho The Tulip Sho (Japanese チューリップ賞) is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 1,600 metres at Hanshin Racecourse, Takarazuka, Hyogo. The race is run in March and ser ...

and then sustained her only defeat when finished a close second in the

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 ...

. At Tokyo in May she recorded her biggest win when taking 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 ...

. She returned in autumn to win the

Rose Stakes The Rose Stakes (Japanese ローズステークス) is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Hyōgo Prefecture for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1800 metres at Hanshin Racecourse in September, having been run ...

but then sustained a leg injury which ended her track career.

Background

Sinhalite is a "small-framed" dark bay mare bred in Japan by Northern Farm. During her racing career she was trained by Sei Ishizaka and raced in the green, white and red colours of the Northern Farm affiliate U Carrot Farm. She was ridden in all of her races by

Kenichi Ikezoe Kenichi Ikezoe (, born July 23, 1979池添謙一
- TEAM GRIP(チームグリップ)、2015年12月6日閲覧) ...

. She is from the sixth 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

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 ...

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,

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 ...

Marialite Marialite is a silicate mineral with a chemical formula of if a pure endmember or with increasing meionite content. Marialite is the sodium endmember of the scapolite group and a solid solution exists between marialite and meionite, the calci ...

and

Makahiki The Makahiki season is the ancient Hawaiian New Year festival, in honor of the god Lono of the Hawaiian religion. It lasts four consecutive lunar months, approximately from October/November through February/March. It is a time for men, women ...

. Sinhalite's dam Singhalese won one race in her native England before taking the

Del Mar Oaks The Del Mar Oaks is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid August at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. Open to three-year-old fillies, it is contested at a distance of one and one-eighth miles (9 furlongs) on the tur ...

in 2005 before being sold for $1,900,000 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 ...

and exported to Japan in 2007. She was descended from the broodmare New Moon (foaled 1940) who was a half-sister to Hyperion,

Sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting or reaping grain crops, or cutting Succulent plant, succulent forage chiefly for feedi ...

and

Pharamond Pharamond, also spelled Faramund, is a legendary early king of the Franks, first referred to in the anonymous 8th-century '' Liber Historiae Francorum'', which depicts him as the first king of the Franks. Historical sources and scholarship Phara ...

and the female-line ancestor of Wassl and Twilight Son.

Racing career

2015: two-year-old season

On her track debut, Sinhalite contested an event for previously unraced juveniles over 1600 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. The current stand was built in 1999. History Kyoto Racecourse opened at its current location in December 1, 1925. In prepara ...

on 10 October 2015 and won from Oken Believe and thirteen others.

2016: three-year-old season

Sinhalite began her second season at Kyoto on 17 January when she won the Kobai Stakes over 1400 metres. On 5 March she was stepped up in class for the Grade 3

(a major trial race for the

) over 1600 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 ...

and started the 4.6/1 second favourite behind

Jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

. Sinhalite produced a strong finish and won by a nose from Jeweler with the 40/1 outsider Lavender Valley in third place. In the Oka Sho at the same track on 10 April the filly started 3.9/1 second choice in the betting behind the 2015 juvenile champion Major Emblem, with Jeweler third in the market. After being settled in mid-division she produced a strong run on the outside and took the lead 100 metres from the finish but was caught on the line and beaten a nose by Jeweler. On 22 May Sinhalite was stepped up in distance for the Yushun Himba over 2400 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) ...

and, with Jeweler sidelined by injury, she started a strong favourite against seventeen opponents. The best fancied of here rivals were Cecchino (winner of the

Flora Stakes The Flora Stakes (Japanese フローラステークス) is a Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres at Tokyo Racecourse every April. The Flora Stakes was first run in 1 ...

), Angel Face (Flower Cup), At The Seaside (third in the Oka Sho), Denko Ange (Artemis Stakes) and Rottenmeier. The favourite raced towards the rear of the field and the outsider Dantsu Pendant set a steady pace and still had a great deal of ground to make up on the final turn. Sinhalite wove her way through the field before finally obtaining a clear run in the last 50 metres and won by a neck and half a

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with Dimension (physical quantity), dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a Base unit (measurement), base unit for length is chosen, ...

from Cecchino and Biche. After the race Kenichi Ikezoe said "We missed a beat coming out of the gate and had to race further back than intended in the early stages, but we were able to recover some ground along the way. I was instructed by the trainer to save as much ground as possible since we had a good chance in the race from a good inside draw, so I didn’t attempt to go wide, squeezing our way between horses instead. Once escaping the crowd, she responded really well and switched into gear". After a summer break of almost four months, Sinhalite returned to action in the Rose Stakes (a major trial for the

Shuka Sho Shuka ( , 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 king Parikshit ...

) over 1800 metres at Hanshin on 18 September. Starting the 0.6/1 favourite on heavy ground she caught the front-running outsider Crocosmia in the final stride and won by a nose. Her old rivals enko Ange, Jeweler, At The Seaside and Lavender Valley finished unplaced. The filly was being prepared for a run in the Shuka Sho when she sustained a tendon injury to her left foreleg and did not race competitively again.

Assessment and awards

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 2016 Sinhalite topped the poll for the JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly, taking 277 of the 291 votes.

Pedigree

*Sinhalite was

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders an ...

3 × 4 to Halo, meaning that this stallion appears in both the third and fourth generations of her pedigree.

References

{{Reflist 2013 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 6-e Yushun Himba winners