Resistencia ( ja, レシステンシア, link=no, foaled 15 March 2017) 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. She was the leading juvenile filly in Japan in 2019 when she was unbeaten in three starts including the

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 ...

and 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 2020 she ran second in both 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 ...

and the

NHK Mile Cup The NHK Mile Cup () is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies, run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately one mile) on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse in May. The NHK Mile Cup is sponsored by ...

Background

Resistencia is a bay filly with a white blaze bred in Japan by Northern Farm. During her racing career she was trained by Takeshi Matsushita and raced in the green, white and red colours of the Northern Farm affiliate U Carrot Farm. She was from the ninth crop of foals sired by

Daiwa Major Daiwa Major ( ja, ダイワメジャー, link=no) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire (horse), sire. A horse who excelled at distances of , he won the Satsuki Shō, the first leg of the Japanese Triple Crown in 2004. His ...

, an outstanding miler whose wins included the

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 ...

Mile Championship The Mile Championship is an Graded stakes race, International Grade I Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) on the turf at Kyoto Ra ...

and

Yasuda Kinen The Yasuda Kinen (English: Yasuda Memorial, Japanese and Chinese language: 安田記念) is a Japanese International Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at the Tokyo Racecourse in Tokyo. Raced annually each June, the Yasuda Kinen is run at a dis ...

. As a breeding stallion he has also sired

Major Emblem Major Emblem ( ja, メジャーエンブレム, link=no, foaled 26 March 2013) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. As a juvenile in 2015 she was the best filly of her generation in Japan, winning three of her four races including ...

, Curren Black Hill (

), Reine Minoru (

) and

Admire Mars Admire Mars ( ja, アドマイヤマーズ, link=no, foaled 16 March 2016) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. As a juvenile in 2018 he was undefeated in four races including the Daily Hai Nisai Stakes and the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes and wo ...

. Resistencia's dam Malacostumbrada was a successful racehorse in her native Argentina, winning the Group 1 Gran Premio Gilberto Lerena in 2014. She came from a female-line family which had produced numerous major winners in South America as well as

Hawk Wing Hawk Wing (foaled 1999 in Kentucky) is an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned by the Magnier family and trained by Aidan O'Brien, the horse won three Group 1 races and was the leading horse in the world in 2003. 2001: Two ...

La Lorgnette {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = La Lorgnette , image = , caption = , sire = Val de l'Orne , grandsire = Val de Loir , dam = The Temptress , damsire = Nijinsky , sex = Filly , foaled = 1982 , country = Canada , colour = Bay , breed ...

Bayakoa Bayakoa (October 10, 1984 – June 14, 1997) was a Thoroughbred Champion racehorse bred in Argentina. After racing successfully in that country, Bayakoa was sold to Janis and Frank Whitham and subsequently raced in the United States, mainly in C ...

and Kitasan Black.

Racing career

2019: two-year-old season

Resistencia was ridden in all of 2019 starts by Yuichi Kitamura. Resistencia made her track debut in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1400 metres 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 ...

on 14 October and won from Key Dia and sixteen others. On 2 November, over the same course and distance, the filly was stepped up in class for the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes and started at odds of 12.6/1 in a fifteen-runner field. After racing in second place for most of the way she took the lead early in the straight and kept on well to win by a

length 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 Interna ...

from the favourite Dream Castle with Clear Sound a neck away in third place. On 8 December 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 ...

Resistencia was moved up to the highest level for the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies over 1600 metres and was made the 10.2/1 fourth choice in the betting behind Ria Amelia ( Artemis Stakes), Woman's Heart (

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 Cravache d'Or (runner-up in the

Saudi Arabia Royal Cup The Saudi Arabia Royal Cup (Japanese サウジアラビアロイヤルカップ) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in October over a distance of 1600 metres at Tokyo Racecourse. The race was first run as an open class r ...

). Of the other twelve runners only Christie, Maltese Diosa, Yamakatsu Mermaid and Lotus Land started at odds of less than 160/1. Resistencia took the lead from the start and was never challenged, drawing away from her opponents in the straight to win by five lengths and a nose from Maltese Diosa and Cravache d'Or. Her winning time of 1:32.7 was a new record for the race, beating the 1:33.1 set by

Vodka Vodka ( pl, wódka , russian: водка , sv, vodka ) is a clear distilled alcoholic beverage. Different varieties originated in Poland, Russia, and Sweden. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impuritie ...

in 2006. After the race Kitamura commented "I knew she had the necessary speed as long as she broke well so I concentrated on keeping her relaxed in the middle stages. We were hoping she would mature mentally and I'm happy to see that she was calm and relaxed today. She was so strong and has so much potential. Her future is definitely something to look forward to". In January 2020, 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 2019, Resistencia was unanimously named Best Two-Year-Old Filly, taking all 274 votes. In the official Japanese rankings Resistencia was rated the best two-year-old filly of 2019, six pounds ahead of Ria Amelia and Woman's Heart.

2020: three-year-old season

On her first run as a three-year-old Resistencia started 2/5 favourite for the Grade 2

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 ...

over 1600 metres at Hanshin on 7 March but after leading for most of the way she sustained her first defeat as she was overtaken in the closing stages and finished third, beaten a nose and one and a quarter lengths by Maltese Diosa and Cravache d'Or. Despite her defeat in the Tulip Sho the filly started favourite for the

over the same course and distance five weeks later. With

Yutaka Take (born March 15, 1969 in Kyoto, Kyoto) is a Japanese jockey. A legend in Japan, Yutaka Take made his riding debut in 1987 and currently holds seven all-time records in his native country. Take has won at least one Grade 1 races for 23 straight ...

taking over the ride from Kitamura she settled in second place behind the front-running Smile Kana before taking the lead in the straight but was run down in the final strides and beaten into second place by

Daring Tact Daring Tact ( ja, デアリングタクト, link=no, foaled 15 April 2017) is a champion Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing#Japan, Japanese Fillies Triple Crown in 2020. After winning her only race as ...

Christophe Lemaire Christophe Patrice Lemaire (Japanese:, born 20 May 1979) is a French-born jockey. He has enjoyed much of his success on the Japanese flat racing circuit, with the most wins at Japan Racing Association racetracks for five consecutive years sinc ...

took the ride when Resistencia was matched against colts in 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 ...

on 10 May and started the 2/1 favourite in an eighteen-runner field. The race was dominated from the start by Resistencia and the colt

Lauda Sion "Lauda Sion" is a sequence prescribed for the Roman Catholic Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi. It was written by St. Thomas Aquinas around 1264, at the request of Pope Urban IV for the new Mass of this feast, along with Pange lingua, Sacris ...

, with the filly getting the better of an early struggle for the lead before succumbing in the closing stages and finishing second, beaten one and a half lengths by her male rival. Resistencia sustained a leg fracture in the race and was off the track for six months. Resistencia returned to the track for the Grade 1

over 1600 metres at Hanshin on 22 November in which she was ridden by Kitamura and went off the 8.9/1 fourth choice in a seventeen-runner field. She took the lead from the start and maintained her advantage until the last 200 metres when she was overtaken and faded to finish eighth behind

Gran Alegria Gran Alegria ( ja, グランアレグリア, link=no, foaled 24 January 2016) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning a minor race on her debut in 2018 she won the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup before running third in the Asahi Hai Futurity ...

2021: four-year-old season

Resistencia started her four-year-old season with the

Hankyu Hai The Hankyu Hai (Japanese language, Japanese 阪急杯) is a Graded stakes race, Grade 3 Horse racing, horse race for Thoroughbreds aged four and over, run in February over a distance of 1400 metres on turf at Hanshin Racecourse. The race serves as ...

as the most favored and went on to mark her 3rd graded win, setting the course record for the 1400m of Hanshin Racecourse at 1:19.2. She then went on to run in the

Takamatsunomiya Kinen The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) at Chukyo Racecourse in late March. The forerunner of this race was the . It was started a ...

and was the most favored there also, but lost by a neck to Danon Smash. She went on to run 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 ...

(of which she finished at sixth place) before taking a 4-month-long break from racing. Resistencia returned to racing by running and winning the Centaur Stakes, marking her 4th graded win. She then went on to run in the

Sprinters Stakes The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan open to thoroughbreds which are three-years-old or above. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) at Nakayama Racecourse, and it takes place annually in late September or early ...

with Lemaire once again riding her, only to come in second place. After this, she made her first trip abroad to compete in the

Hong Kong Sprint The Hong Kong Sprint is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres (about 6 furlongs) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in mid De ...

, with

Christophe Soumillon Christophe Soumillon (born 4 June 1981) is a Belgian jockey based in France. Career Coming from a racing background, Soumillon is the son of jump jockey Jean-Marc Soumillon. He rode in pony races and left Belgium aged fifteen to go to the racing ...

as her jockey. She finished second in that race with 3/4 lengths behind the winner Sky Field.

2022 and 2023

Recistencia went on to run in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen for the 2nd year in a row at the start of her five-year-old season, this time with Takeshi Yokoyama as her jockey. She was the favored horse of the race, but finished 6th to

Naran Huleg Naran Huleg ( ja, ナランフレグ, link=no foaled 5 April 2016) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter he showed good, but unremarkable form in his early career, winning a race on dirt as a two-year-old in 2018 and three ...

. She then competed in the Victoria Mile and came in third behind

Sodashi Sodashi ( ja, ソダシ, link=no foaled 8 March 2018) is a pure white Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2021 Japanese 1000 Guineas. She was also one of the best two-year-olds in Japan in 2020 when she was unbeaten in four races incl ...

and Fine Rouge. After the Vicotira Mile, Resistencia ran in the Yasuda Kinen but came in 11th place, and soon after it was announced that Resistencia sustained a leg fracture once more and was off the track for several months. She returned to racing to compete in the Hong Kong Sprint for the second time, but finished in 13th place. Resistencia made her final run at the 1351 Turf Sprint at the

King Abdulaziz Racetrack King Abdulaziz Racetrack, officially named King Abdul Aziz Equestrian Square () is a horse racing venue in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk ...

on February 25, 2023, where she finished at 5th place behind . After her final race, it was announced by her owner, Carrot Racing, that she will become a broodmare at the Northern Farm.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2017 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 9-g