Harp Star ( ja, ハープスター, link=no, foaled 24 April 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. She was one of the leading two-year-old fillies in Japan in 2013 when she won the

Niigata Nisai Stakes The Niigata Nisai Stakes (Japanese 新潟2歳ステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in August over a distance of 1600 metres at Niigata Racecourse. The race was first run in 1981 and was promoted to Grade 3 ...

and was narrowly beaten 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 won the Tulip Sho and the

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 ...

before rebounding from a surprise defeat 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 ...

to beat Gold Ship in the

Sapporo Kinen The Sapporo Kinen (Japanese 札幌記念) is a Grade 2 Handicap horse race for Thoroughbreds aged three and over run in August over a distance of 2,000 metres at Sapporo Racecourse. It was first run in 1965 and was promoted to Grade 3 in 1984. ...

Background

Harp Star is a bay filly with a small white star and 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 ...

on her hind legs bred in Japan by Northern Farm. 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 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 ...

and

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 ...

. Harp Star's dam Historic Star was unraced daughter of the Japan Cup winner

Falbrav Falbrav (foaled 28 February 1998) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire, bred in Ireland but trained in Italy and the United Kingdom during his racing career which ran from 2000 to 2004. He is notable for having won Group 1/Grade ...

and the broodmare Vega, who won the Oka Sho and Yusun Himba in 1993. Vega was a descendant of the American mare

Nellie Morse Nellie Morse (1921–1941) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the fourth filly to win the Preakness Stakes. After her retirement from racing, she became a successful and influential broodmare. Background Her sire was Lu ...

, making her a distant relative of

Bold Forbes Bold Forbes (March 31, 1973 – August 9, 2000) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse, winner of the 1976 Kentucky Derby and 1976 Belmont Stakes. Background Bold Forbes was a bay horse bred in Kentucky by Lee Eaton. Bold Forbes' dam Comely Nel ...

and

Bet Twice Bet Twice (April 20, 1984 – March 5, 1999) was a multi-millionaire American thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Foaled in Kentucky, he was out of the marGolden Dustand was sired bSportin' Life who in turn was the son of the British Triple Cro ...

. During her racing career, Harp Star has been owned by the U Carrot Farm and trained by Hiroyoshi Matsuda. She has been ridden in all of her races by Yuga Kawada. Should connections decide to change jockey, she will have every chance to be crowned "the best horse in the world".

Racing career

2013: two-year-old season

Harp Star began her racing career by winning a race for newcomers at over 1400 metres at

Chukyo Racecourse is located in Toyoake, Aichi, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It was built in 1994. It has a capacity of 58,400. It has 8,795 seats. Physical attributes Chukyo Racecourse has a grass courses, a dirt course, and a jump course. The turf's m ...

on 14 July. She was then moved up in class and distance for the Grade III Niigata Nisai Stakes over 1600 metres at

Niigata Racecourse is located in Kita-ku Niigata, Niigata. It is used for horse racing. It was built in 1965. The capacity of the stadium is 75,000. Physical attributes Niigata Race Course has a turf course with two distinct ovals, and a dirt course. Jump race ...

on 25 August. She was restrained at the back of the eighteen runner field before producing a sustained run on the outside, taking the lead in the closing stages and winning by three

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 ...

from

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 ...

. The runner-up went on to win 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: ...

and finish second in the

. On her return from the summer break, Harp Star was made 7/10 favourite for the Grade I

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 World War I ...

on 8 December. She was again held up by Kawada before producing a late run in the straight, but failed by a nose to catch Red Reveur.

2014: three-year-old season

Harp Star made her three-year-old debut in the Grade III Tulip Sho at Hanshin on 8 March in which she started the 1/10 favourite against twelve opponents and won by two and a half lengths from Nuovo Record. On 13 April, Harp Star again clashed with Red Reveur when the fillies started at 1/5 and 6.4/1 respectively in the Grade I Oka Sho over 1600 metres at Hanshin. Harp Star was last of the eighteen runners until the turn into the straight, when she produced her customary late run to take the lead in the final strides to win by a neck from Red Reveur, with Nuovo Record three quarters of a length back in third place. After the race Kawada commented "I'm relieved it all went well. We sat in our usual position and were able to race in good rhythm. I was just careful in where to launch our bid. It's as if she knew that this was a big group I race because she gave it her best. I've experienced a lot with her since her 2-year-old races so I'm just glad we were able to win today." 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 25 May, Harp Star was made 3/10 favourite for the

over 2400 metres. Kawada employed the usual tactics but on the occasion they were unsuccessful as the favourite failed by a neck to overhaul Nuovo Record. On 24 August, the filly was matched against older horses for the first time in the Grade II Sapporo Kinen at

Sapporo Racecourse is located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It was built in 1907 for horse racing use. It has 12,000 seats, with a capacity of 30,000. Sapporo Racecourse hosts one GII (Grade 2) race, the Sapporo Kinen. Physical attributes Main turf c ...

and started the 2.7/1 second favourite behind the five-year-old Gold Ship. As usual, she was restrained at the back of the field before taking the lead in the straight and won by three quarters of a length from Gold Ship, with a gap of five lengths back to the six-year-old mare Whale Capture. In autumn, Harp Star was sent to Europe to contest the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

as part of a three horse Japanese challenge which also included Gold Ship and

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 ...

. She raced at the back of the twenty-runner field for most of the way before moving to the outside to make her challenge in the straight. She made rapid progress in the last 400 metres but appeared to have been given too much ground to make up and finished sixth of the twenty runners, three and a half lengths behind the winner Treve. On her return to Japan, Harp Star started second favourite behind Gentildonna for the

on 30 November. She stayed on on the wide outside in the straight but never challenged for the lead and finished fifth behind Epiphaneia, Just A Way, Spielberg and Gentildonna. In the polling for the 2014 JRA Award, Harp Star was elected Best Three-Year-Old Filly, beating Nuovo Record by 170 votes to 112.

2015: four-year-old season

On her first appearance of 2015, Harp Star started 4/5 favourite for the Kyoto Kinen on 15 February but finished fifth of the eleven runners behind Lovely Day. She was then sent to the United Arab Emirates to contest the Sheema Classic at

Meydan Racecourse Meydan Racecourse is a racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The grandstand is over a mile in length, and can accommodate over 60,000 spectators. Meydan opened on 27 March 2010, replacing Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, which formerly occupi ...

on 28 March. Ridden by Ryan Moore, Harp Star started favourite but never looked likely to win and finished eighth of the nine runners behind Dolniya.

Pedigree

* Harp Star is

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 and o ...

4 × 4 to Northern Dancer, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation on her pedigree.

References

{{reflist 2011 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 9-f