Uberleben, (, foaled 27 January 2018) 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. She showed promise as a juvenile in 2020 when she won on her racecourse debut and went on to finish second in the

Sapporo Nisai Stakes The Sapporo Nisai Stakes (Japanese 札幌2歳ステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race in Japan 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 1 ...

and third in the

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 two-year-old fillies in Japan. Qualifying ra ...

. In the following year she ran third in both the

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 ...

and 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 ...

before 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 ...

Background

Uberleben is a brown mare bred in Japan by Big Red Farm. She entered the ownership of K.Thoroughbred Club Ruffian and was sent into training with Takahisa Tezuka. She usually races in a

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. She was from the second crop of foals sired by Gold Ship, an outstanding Japanese racehorse whose wins included 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 ...

, Kikuka Sho,

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

Takarazuka Kinen The Takarazuka Kinen (宝塚記念) is a Grade I flat horse race in Japan for Thoroughbreds aged three and over a distance of 2,200 metres (approximately miles) at Hanshin Racecourse (阪神競馬場) in late June. It is one of the two "All-Sta ...

. Uberleben's dam Meine Theresia showed modest racing ability, winning one minor contest from three starts as a two-year-old in 2009. She was a daughter of the

winner Meine Nouvelle and a female-line descendant of the British broodmare Inquisitive Rose, the grand-dam of Drum Taps.

Racing career

2020: two-year-old season

Uberleben began her racing career in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1800 metres on soft ground 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) ...

on 14 June when she was ridden by Keita Tosaki. Starting the 9.2/1 fourth choice in the betting she came from fourth place on the final turn to win by a nose from the colt Guadeloupe. The filly was again partnered by Tosaki when she was moved up in class for the Grade 3

over the same distance

Sapporo Racecourse is a racecourse run by the Japan Racing Association located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Built in 1907, it has a seating capacity of 12,000, and can accommodate 30,000 spectators in total. Sapporo Racecourse hosts one GII (Grade 2) h ...

on 5 September and went off at odds of 9.6/1 in a fourteen-runner field. After being restrained in the early stages she stayed on well in the straight to take second place, beaten a neck by the

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

filly

Sodashi Sodashi ( foaled 8 March 2018) is a pure white Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2021 Japanese 1000 Guineas. She was also one of the best two-year-olds in Japan in 2020 when she was unbeaten in four races including the Sapporo Nisai ...

. She was ridden by Daichi Shibata in the Grade 3 Artemis Stakes at Tokyo on 31 October when she came home ninth behind Sodashi after racing at the rear of the fourteen-runner field for most of the way. For her final run of the year Uberleben was stepped up Grade 1 level for the

over 1600 metres

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 13 December and started a 30/1 outsider. She raced towards the rear of the field as usual before producing a strong late run on the outside and finishing third, beaten a nose and a neck by Sodashi and Satono Reinas. In the official Japanese rankings, Uberleben was rated the third best two-year-old filly of 2020, two pound behind Sodashi and one pound behind Satono Reinas.

2021: three-year-old season

On her three-year-old debut 20 March 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 ...

Uberleben was ridden by Yuji Tannai when she started favourite for the Grade 3

. She produced her customary late run from the rear of the field but was unable to catch the leaders and came home third behind Ho O Ixelles and Enthusiasm, beaten one and a quarter lengths by the winner. Takahisa Tezuka later explained that the filly had been suffering from

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube (small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content ou ...

early in the year and was unsuited by the tight turns of the Nakayama track. The filly was partnered by Demuro when she was stepped up in class and distance for the

(a trial race for the

) over 2000 metres at Tokyo on 25 April. Starting the 2.5/1 second favourite she settled in mid-division before staying on strongly to take third place behind Cool Cat and Slyly. In the 82nd running of the Yushun Himba over 2400 metres at Tokyo on 23 May Uberleben was ridden by Demuro and went off the 7.9/1 third choice in the betting behind Sodashi and Akaitorino Musume (winner of the Daily Hai Queen Cup) in an eighteen-runner field which also included Fine Rouge (

Fairy Stakes The Fairy Stakes (Japanese フェアリーステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run in January over a distance of 1600 metres at Nakayama Racecourse. The race was first run in 1984 and has been ...

), Cool Cat, Enthusiasm and Slyly. She settled in mid-division on the outside as Cool Cat set the pace and turned into the straight in eighth place before making rapid progress down the centre of track. She gained the advantage approaching the last 200 metres and kept on well to win by a length and a nose from Akaitorino Musume and the 214/1 outsider Hagino Pilina. Demuro commented "She responded well when the pace accelerated from the third corner and showed her tenacity in steadily advancing in the straight. She was strong pulling away and holding off the others. The added distance wasn’t a problem for her at all." After the Yushun Himba, Uberleben ran 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 ...

with

Mirco Demuro Mirco Demuro (, January 11, 1979) is an Italian jockey based in Japan. His younger brother, Cristian, as well as their sister, Pamela, is also a jockey. Their late father Giovanni was also a jockey. Career Mirco Demuro first earned his jockey ...

as her jockey but came in at 13th place. Uberleben also then ran the

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 ...

but came in 6th place behind

Contrail Contrails (; short for "condensation trails") or vapour trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several kilometres/miles above the Earth's surface. ...

and Shahryar. Following the Japan Cup, it was announced that Uberleben's next race would be the Kyoto Kinen the following year.

2022: four-year-old season

Uberleben started the 2022 season by running the Kyoto Kinen, as announced previously, and came in 5th place despite being a 3.1/1 favorite. Uberleben then went on to compete in the 2022

Dubai Sheema Classic The Dubai Sheema Classic is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates open to thoroughbreds which are four-years-old or above. It is run over a distance of 2,400 metres (approximately miles; 2410 metres since 2010) on the turf track a ...

, of which she also came in 5th place behind Shahryar. Uberleben would have little success for the rest of the year, with her finishing the Autumn

at 8th place being the highest for the remaining half of 2022.

2023: five-year-old season

Uberleben only ran one race in 2023, which was the

American Jockey Club Cup The American Jockey Club Cup (Japanese アメリカジョッキークラブカップ) is a Grade 2 horse race in Japan for Thoroughbred colts and fillies aged four and over. It is run over a distance of 2,200 metres at Nakayama Racecourse. This r ...

where she finished 3rd. Following this, she was being prepared to enter the

Kinko Sho The Kinko Sho (Japanese 金鯱賞) is a Japanese Grade 2 horse race for Thoroughbreds aged four and over. It is run in March over a distance of 2000 metres at Chukyo Racecourse, in Toyoake, Aichi, Japan. It was first run in 1965 and was promot ...

where it was discovered that she had developed a

bowed tendon Tendinitis/tendonitis is inflammation of a tendon, often involving torn collagen fibers. A bowed tendon is a horseman's term for a tendon after a horse has sustained an injury that causes swelling in one or more tendons creating a "bowed" appearan ...

, which led to her owner to announce her retirement on March 2.

Breeding career

Following her retirement, she assumed broodmare duty at the . In 2025, she foaled her first crop, which is a colt by

Equinox A solar equinox is a moment in time when the Sun appears directly above the equator, rather than to its north or south. On the day of the equinox, the Sun appears to rise directly east and set directly west. This occurs twice each year, arou ...

Pedigree

* Uberleben has a half brother named (by Stay Gold), who won the

Niigata Kinen The Niigata Kinen (Japanese 新潟記念) is a Japanese Grade 3 horse race for Thoroughbreds aged three and over, run in late August or early September over a distance of 2000 metres on turf at Niigata Racecourse. The Niigata Kinen was first run ...

in 2021, as well as a full brother named who won the Nikkei Sho in 2025.

References

{{Reflist 2018 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 6-b Yushun Himba winners