Hokuto Vega (in Japanese: ホクトベガ, March 26, 1990 – April 3, 1997) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 1993 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

Career

Hokuto Vega's first race was on January 5, 1993, at Nakayama, where he came in first. She picked up her next win at the 1993

Cattleya Sho The Cattleya Sho is a flat horse race in Japan open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Tokyo Racecourse over a distance of 1600 metres. The race was first run in 2003 and then discontinued between 2008 and 2014. The race was reintroduced in 2015. ...

on February 20. She competed in her first graded race on March 20, 1993, when she won the 1993

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 run in March over a distance of 1800 metres at Nakayama Racecourse. The race was first run in 1987 and has been run at Grade 3 level ...

. This win helped her gain entry into the 1993

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 ...

, where she came in 5th place. On May 23, 1993, she competed in the Grade-1

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 i ...

, where she came in 6th. She came in 2nd place at the October 3, 1993, Grade-3 Queen Stakes. On November 14, 1993, she scored a major upset by winning the 1993 Grade-1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the biggest win of her career. She went winless in 1994 except for picking up wins at the June 12th, Sapporo Nikkei Open and a win at the Grade-3

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. Th ...

. She did not see victory again until June 13th, 1995, when she captured the 1995 Empress Hai. This was her only win of the year. She has one of the most successful racing seasons ever in 1996. She won 8 of the 10 races she competed in during the 1996 season. Her wins in 1996 included victories at the

Kawasaki Kinen The Kawasaki Kinen (Kawasaki Memorial) (川崎記念) is a Japanese thoroughbred horse race on dirt track for horses aged four years or older. It was graded as a domestic grade 1 race in 1998. It is held in January, so it is the first (domestic) g ...

, the

February Stakes The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 8 furlongs) at Tokyo Racecourse in late February. It was first run in 1984 as February Handicap, and wa ...

, the

Diolite Kinen The Diolite Kinen (in Japanese: ダイオライト記念), is a Domestic Grade 2 horse race for four-year-olds at Funabashi Racecourse. Race details The first edition of the race took place on March 15, 1956. The race has been held in March sin ...

, the Gunma Kinen, the Grade-1

Teio Sho The Teio Sho (帝王賞) is a Japanese domestic Grade 1 race. This race began in 1978 as a spring championship race of southern Kanto region horseracing. It was later opened to JRA horses in 1986. Then, there were few opportunities for JRA and NA ...

, the Grade-1 Mile Championship Nambu Hai and the Urawa Kinen. Hokuto Vega's career fatally ended during the 1997 season. She won the 1997

on February 5, 1997, but during the 1997

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wher ...

, she fell and collided with

Bijou d'Inde Bijou d'Inde (9 March 1993 – 19 June 2010) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred in Hampshire and trained in Yorkshire he was a natural front-runner who was best at distances of around one mile. As a two-year-old he showed v ...

. She was euthanized shortly after as a result. Due to quarantine regulations, her body was never repatriated to Japan. As she died before she could stand for stud, she produced no foals.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1990 racehorse births 1997 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 9-c