Joie de Vivre (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

ジョワドヴィーヴル, May 13, 2009 – May 29, 2013) was 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. As a two-year-old in 2011 she was rated the best filly of her generation in Japan, after winning both of her races including 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-o ...

. In the following spring she ran third in the

Tulip Sho The Tulip Sho Japanese チューリップ賞} is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 1,600 metres at Hanshin Racecourse, Takarazuka, Hyogo. The race is run in March and serve ...

and sixth in 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 her season was curtailed by injury. She returned in 2013 but failed to win, with her best effort coming on her final start when she finished a close fourth in the

Victoria Mile The Victoria Mile () is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbred fillies and mares run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse in May. Winners See also * Horse ra ...

. She died later that year.

Background

Joie de Vivre was a bay mare bred in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

by Northern Farm. During her racing career she carried the black, yellow, pink and red colours of Sunday Racing and was trained by Hiroyoshi Matsuda. She was ridden in most of her races by

Yuichi Fukunaga is a Japanese jockey who has won 29 Grade 1 races in Japan and abroad. He is affiliated with the Japan Racing Association (JRA) in Rittō. His father is former jockey Yoichi Fukunaga who was said to be a "genius" during his active career, and his ...

. She was a small mare, weighing no more than 436 kg during her racing career. She was from the second 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 p ...

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 Gr ...

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

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 Saxon Warrior (foaled 26 January 2015) is a Japanese-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2017 he was one of the best colts of his generation in Europe, winning all three of his races including the Beresford Stakes ...

. Joie de Vivre's dam Biwa Heidi showed top class form as a juvenile, winning the

in 1995. As a broodmare she also produced the outstanding racemare

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

. Her dam, the Irish mare Aghsan, was a half-sister to the dam of

Manhattan Cafe Manhattan Cafe, ( ja, マンハッタンカフェ, link=no, 5 March 1998 – August 2015) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Unraced as a juvenile he began his racing career as a three-year-old in 2001. He improved throughout the sea ...

Racing career

2011: two-year-old season

On 12 November at

Kyoto Racecourse is located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 120,000. It was built in 1999. History Kyoto Race Course opened on December 1, 1925. In preparation for the track's 100th anniversary ...

, Joie de Vivre made her track debut in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1600 metres and won from the

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

Temujin and sixteen others. The filly was then stepped 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 re ...

Hanshin Juvenile Fillies over the same distance at

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. After the World War II, GH ...

four weeks later. She started the 5.8/1 fourth choice in the betting behind Sound of Heart (unbeaten in four races), Epice Arome ( Kokura Nisai Stakes) and La Scintillante while the other fourteen runners included Fine Choice (

Hakodate Nisai Stakes The Hakodate Nisai Stakes (Japanese 函館2歳ステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in late July over a distance of 1200 metres at Hakodate Racecourse. The race was first run in 1968 and was promoted to Gra ...

) and I'm Yours (

Fantasy Stakes The Fantasy Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually usually in early April at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The ...

). After racing in mid-division Joie de Vivre produced a strong run on the outside in the straight to take the lead and drew away in the last 100 metres to win by two and a half

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 I'm Yours. In the official ratings for Japanese two-year-olds Joie de Vivre was rated the best juvenile filly of the year, five pounds ahead of I'm Yours and Sound of Heart and three pounds below the top-rated colt

Alfredo Alfredo (, ) is a cognate of the Anglo-Saxon name Alfred and a common Italian, Galician, Portuguese and Spanish language personal name. People with the given name include: *Alfredo (born 1946), Brazilian footballer born as Alfredo Mostarda Filho ...

. In January 2012 Joie de Vivre was awarded the

JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Filly The JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Filly is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association The Japan Racing Association ( ja, 日本中央競馬会 Nippon Chūō Keiba Kai, or JRA) is a public company established to operate Chūō Keiba ...

at the

JRA Award The is given annually since 1987 by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) to the outstanding horses and people in Japanese Thoroughbred horse racing. The awards originally started as the in 1954 and since 1972 the {{Nihongo, Yūshun Awards, 優駿賞 ...

s for 2011, receiving 283 of the 285 votes.

2012: three-year-old season

Joie de Vivre made her first appearance of 2012 on 3 March at Hanshin when she started the 0.3/1 favourite for the 1600 metre

, a race which serves as a trial for the

. After racing in mid-division she made progress on the wide outside in the straight but sustained her first defeat as she came home third, beaten two and a half lengths and a neck by Hana's Goal and Epice Arome. Despite her defeat, the filly started favourite in an eighteen-runner field for the Oka Sho five weeks later. She raced towards the rear of the field and although she made progress in the closing stages she was unable to catch the leaders and finished sixth, just under three lengths behind the winner

2013: four-year-old season

After a ten-month absence, Joie de Vivre returned in February at Kyoto when he finished seventh behind Tosen Ra in the Grade 2

Kyoto Kinen Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the city ...

over 2200 metres. She was dropped to Grade 3 class for the

Chunichi Shimbun Hai The Chunichi Shimbun Hai (Japanese 中日新聞杯) is a Grade 3 horse race for Thoroughbreds aged three and over, run in December over a distance of 2000 metres on turf at Chukyo Racecourse. It was first run in 1965 and has held Grade 3 status ...

Chukyo Racecourse is located in Toyoake, Aichi, Japan. It is used for horse racing 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 com ...

on 9 March but came home sixth, three lengths behind the winner Satono Apollo. On 12 May Joie de Vivre was dropped back to 1600 metres for the Grade 1

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 ...

and started at odds of 12.7/1 in an eighteen-runner field. Ridden by

Yuga Kawada A ''yuga'', in Hinduism, is generally used to indicate an age of time. In the ''Rigveda'', a ''yuga'' refers to generations, a long period, a very brief period, or a yoke (joining of two things). In the ''Mahabharata'', the words ''yuga'' and ...

she came from the rear of the field with a strong late run to finish fourth behind Verxina, Whale Capture and Meine Isabel, beaten a length by the winner. She died later that month at the age of four at the Ritto Training Center while preparing for the

Naruo Kinen The Naruo Kinen (in Japanese: 鳴尾記念) is a Grade 3 middle-distance race for three-year-olds and older horses in the JRA. It is run over 2000 metres at Hanshin Racecourse in June. The race often serves as a trial race for the Takarazuka K ...

as she broke her leg.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2009 racehorse births 2013 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 16-c