Delta Blues (デルタブルース, born 3 May 2001) 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 ...

best known for winning the 2006 Melbourne Cup. He was the first Japanese horse to win the Cup. In doing so he defeated

Pop Rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

, another Japanese horse, also trained by

Katsuhiko Sumii (born 28 March 1964, Kanazawa, Ishikawa) is a Japanese horse trainer. He trained the first and second placing horses in the 2006 Melbourne Cup, Delta Blues and Pop Rock. Other notable horses Sumii has trained include Kane Hekili, Vodka, Victo ...

Racing career

Delta Blues was virtually unknown until he had his victory in the 2004 Kikuka Sho.Delta Blues (JPN) - The Japan Association for International Horse Racing profile of Delta Blues
/ref> He defeated Heart's Cry and Cosmo Bulk then. Delta Blues placed third in 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 ...

in November 2004. Other runs by Delta Blues include wins in the Domestic Grade One Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) in October 2004, the Domestic Grade Two Stayers Stakes in December 2005, a third in the Grade Two

Hanshin Daishoten , derived from the second kanji from and the first kanji from (but in ''on''-reading instead of ''kun''-reading), refers generally to Osaka, Kobe, and the surrounding area in the Kansai region of Japan. In the context of a region of Hyōg ...

on 19 March 2006 fifth in the

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 10th in the Domestic Grade One

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 ...

(Spring) on 30 April 30. Delta Blues won the Best Horse by Home-Bred Sire JRA award in 2004.

2006 in Australia

Taken to Australia, Delta Blues finished third in the 2006

Caulfield Cup The Caulfield Cup is a Melbourne Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race held under handicap conditions, although the Melbourne Racing Club is in the process of turning the race into weight for age (WFA) conditions. This is for all horses ...

after racing wide throughout the race. In the 2006 Melbourne Cup, Delta Blues was ridden by Japanese jockey

Yasunari Iwata (born March 12, 1974; from Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture) is a Japanese jockey who rode the winner of the 2006 Melbourne Cup, Delta Blues. It was Iwata's first race outside Japan. He debuted in the Hyōgo Keiba, one of the racing organizations in ...

who was the winner of the 2005 19th World Super Jockey Series. Delta Blues won the Melbourne Cup by a nose ahead of

, with

Maybe Better Maybe Better (foaled 12 August 2002) is an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2006 Group 3 Saab Quality and finished 3rd in the 2006 Melbourne Cup when ridden by Chris Munce Chris Munce (born 17 May 1969) is a highly successful T ...

finishing in third place. Prior to the race, stable spokesman Keita Tanaka characterised Delta Blues as a "lazy horse", and trainer Sumii characterised him as "tough".Sumii goes for Pop Rock over Delta Blues
- ''racingandsports.com.au''

Achievements

* Winner of the 2004 Kikuka Sho (JPN Domestic GI, Japanese

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 d ...

) * Winner of the 2004 Best Horse by Home-Bred Sire JRA award. * Winner of the 2006 Melbourne Cup * Winner of the 2006–2007

Australian Champion Stayer The Australian Champion Stayer is awarded annually to the Thoroughbred horse whose performances in Australia over distances of 2,200 metres (approximately 11 furlongs) and greater are deemed to be the superior to its rivals. It has been awarded sinc ...

Breeding

Delta Blues was sired by

Dance in the Dark "Dance in the Dark" is a song by American singer Lady Gaga from her third extended play (EP), ''The Fame Monster'' (2009)—the reissue of her debut studio album, ''The Fame'' (2008). It is about a woman who prefers to have sex in the dark as ...

with the dam Dixie Splash (sire Dixieland Band). The breeder was Northern Farm. Dance in the Dark won the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger), and was the son of "magnificent US-bred

Sunday Silence Sunday Silence (March 25, 1986 – August 19, 2002) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1989, he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but failed to complete the Triple Crown when he was defeated in the Belmont ...

, the ill-fated sire who has been unmatched in Japanese breeding history".

Namesake

Australian rail operator

CFCL Australia Rail First Asset Management (RailFirst), formerly known as CFCL Australia (CFCLA), is an Australian rolling stock leasing company operating in the rail freight market. It leases assets to a number of private rail operators in the local rail indus ...

named locomotive CF4401 after the horse.Motive Power Roundup ''

Motive Power ''Motive Power'' is a bi-monthly railway related magazine that focuses on diesel locomotives in Australia. The first issue was published on 23 August 1998. Its headquarters is in Sydney. The content includes photographs of locomotives & trains, ...

'' issue 79 January 2012 page 20

References

External links

{{wikinews, Delta Blues wins 2006 Melbourne Cup
ABC News
- Photo gallery of Delta Blues winning the 2006 Melbourne Cup 2001 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Melbourne Cup winners Thoroughbred family 3-d