Ayusan ( ja, アユサン, link=no, foaled 21 February 2010) 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 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 ...

best known for her win in the 2013

Oka Sho The is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan. The race is restricted to three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies and is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) at the Hanshin Racecourse, Takarazuka, Hyōgo in April. It was ...

. As a two-year-old she won on her debut before finishing second in the Artemis Stakes and seventh 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 Japanese thoroughbred racing in the two-year- ...

. In the following year she ran third the Tulip Sho before taking the Oka Sho and went on to finish fourth in 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 ...

. After failing in two starts in 2014 she was retired from racing.

Background

Ayusan is a bay mare with a white star and snip and four white

socks A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...

bred in Japan by Shimokobe Farm. During her racing career she was owned by Juichi Hoshin and trained by Takahisa Tezuka. She was ridden in most of her races by Genki Maruyama. She was from the third 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 pa ...

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 37.468 ...

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 Gra ...

, Arima Kinen 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. 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 is a Japanese word meaning "bond". It may also refer to: Music * ''Kizuna'' (album), a 2022 album by JO1 * "Kizuna" (Aya Matsuura song) * "Kizuna" (Aya Ueto song) * "Kizuna" (Orange Range song) * "Kizuna", a song from the anime Mermaid Melody Pich ...

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 following ...

, Marialite and Saxon Warrior. Ayusan's dam Buy The Cat was a Kentucky-bred mare who won one minor race from three starts and was exported to Japan after being sold for $60,000 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 its ...

in November 2006. She was a descendant of the American broodmare Demolition, making her a distant relative of the

St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a ...

winner

Lucarno Lucarno (February 10, 2004 - March 20, 2018) is a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the St Leger in 2007. Background Lucarno is a big, powerful bay horse, standing 16.3 hands high, bred in Pennsylvania by his owner George W ...

Racing career

2012: two-year-old season

Ayusan began her track career in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1400 metres 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) r ...

on 6 October and won from Hishi Last Guy and eleven others. Four weeks later at the same track she was stepped up in class and distance for the

Listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Artemis Stakes over 1600 metres in which she finished a close second to Collector Item. Despite her defeat she was moved up to the highest class for 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 by ...

in December and came home seventh of the eighteen runners, four

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 ...

behind the winner

Robe Tissage A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils" ...

. In the Japanese Thoroughbred rankings for two-year-olds on Ayusan was given a rating of 104, making her the seventh-best filly of her generation, four pounds below the top-rated Robe Tissage.

2013: three-year-old season

On her three-year-old debut Ayusan started at odds of 12.6/1 for the Tulip Sho (a major trial race for the

) over 1600 metres at Hanshin and finished third, beaten three and a half lengths and three quarters of a length by Kuforfune Surprise and Win Primera. Cristian Demuro took the ride (Maruyama was injured) when Ayusan started a 17/1 outsider for 73rd running of the Oka Sho at Hanshin on 7 April. Kurofune Surprise started favourite, while the other sixteen runners included Red Oval, Crown Rose ( Fairy Stakes), Tosen Soleil,

Meisho Mambo Meisho Mambo ( ja, メイショウマンボ, link=no, foaled 25 February 2010) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the second and third legs of the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown in 2013. She showed some promise as a juvenile in 2012 w ...

, Robe Tissage and Collector Item. Ayusan raced in mid-division before overcoming an obstructed run early in the straight to overtake the front-running Kurofune Surprise 200 metres from the finish. She repelled the late run of Red Opal to win by a neck with third place going to the 86/1 outsider Princess Jack. At Tokyo on 19 May, with Maruyama in the saddle, Ayusan went off at odds of 5.5/1 for the

over 2400 metres. She finished fourth of the eighteen runners behind Meisho Mambo, Ever Blossom and Denim And Ruby. In the Japanese Thoroughbred rankings for three-year-olds on turf Ayusan was given a rating of 110, making her the fourth-best filly of her generation, six pounds below the top-rated Denim And Ruby.

2014: four-year-old season

Ayusan remained in training as a four-year-old but made little impact in her two races. She finished last of the fifteen runners behind

Just A Way Just A Way (Japanese ジャスタウェイ, foaled 8 March 2009) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After showing useful, but unexceptional form in his early career he emerged as a major talent with a win in the 2013 Autumn edition of the Te ...

in the

Nakayama Kinen The Nakayama Kinen is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for Thoroughbreds aged four and older run over a distance of 1,800 metres at the Nakayama Racecourse is located in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It h ...

over 1800 metres in April and then ran eleventh in the following month at the same track in the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy, five lengths behind the winner Curren Black Hill.

Breeding record

Ayusan was retired from racing to become a broodmare. She has produced four foals: *Astrantia, a chestnut filly, foaled in 2016, sired by King Kamehameha. Unraced. *Applause Yu, bay filly, 2017, by Rulership. Failed to win in four races. *Upstream, bay filly, 2018, by King Kamehameha. Won two races. *Engidaruma, bay colt, 2019, by Rulership. Won one race. *Dolce More, bay colt, 2020, by Rulership. Won

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 ...

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2010 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 9-f