Soul Stirring ( ja, ソウルスターリング, link=no, foaled 13 February 2014) 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. As a two-year-old in 2016 she won 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 ...

after winning all three of her races including 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 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 took 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 ran third 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 taking 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 i ...

and was again rated the best of her age and sex in Japan, winning the

JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly The JRA Award for Best Three-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 Keib ...

. She remained in training for two more seasons but failed to win again.

Background

Soul Stirring is a brown mare with a white blaze and a white

sock 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 left hind leg 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 the Yoshida family's Shadai Group. She was sent into training with Kazuo Fujisawa. She was from the first crop of foals sired by

Frankel Frankel is the surname of: * Benjamin Frankel (1906–1973), British composer * Bethenny Frankel (born 1970), American chef and reality television personality * Charles Frankel (1917–1975), American philosopher, known for Charles Frankel Prize * ...

, an undefeated racehorse whose other progeny have included Cracksman and Without Parole. Soul Stirring was the second foal of

Stacelita Stacelita (foaled 17 April 2006) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who was a Classic winner while based in France and became an Eclipse Award winner when relocated to the United States. Background Stacelita is a dark bay or black mare who was bred in ...

, a multiple

Group 1 Group 1 may refer to: * Alkali metal, a chemical element classification for Alkali metal * Group 1 (racing), a historic (until 1981) classification for Touring car racing, applied to standard touring cars. Comparable to modern FIA Group N * Group On ...

winner in both Europe and the United States. As a descendant of the German mare Schonbrunn (foaled 1966) she was closely related to many other major winners including

Sagace Sagace (1980–1989) was a French Thoroughbred champion racehorse. His sire Luthier had been the Leading sire in France in 1976. Trained by Patrick Biancone and ridden by Yves St. Martin for prominent owner/breeder Daniel Wildenstein, at age t ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

and Steinlen.

Racing career

2016: two-year-old season

Soul Stirring began her racing career by winning a race for newcomers over 1800 metres 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 cou ...

on 31 July 2016. On 22 October the filly returned for the Ivy Stakes 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 ...

and won from Persian Knight, a colt who went on to win the

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 ...

. The filly was then stepped up to Group 1 class for the

over 1600 metres 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 ...

in which she was ridden by

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 ...

started the 1.8/1 favourite against eighteen opponents. Soul Stirring tracked the leaders before going to the front in the straight and won by one and a quarter

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 the Artemis Stakes winner

Lys Gracieux Lys Gracieux ( ja, 'リスグラシュー, link=no, foaled 18 January 2014) is a champion Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2016 she showed top-class form, winning two of her four starts (including the Artemis Stakes) and fin ...

. Lemaire commented "I’m ecstatic. It's so special because I used to also ride her dam Stacelita... I was confident from the beginning and we were in a good position and she was relaxed. She easily hit the front at the stretch and with her big strides and stamina; I think she can go a little bit further in distance". Soul Stirring won the

, taking 290 of the 291 votes.

2017: three-year-old season

Soul Stirring began her second season in the Tulip Sho at Hanshin on 4 March when she started odds-on favourite and won by two lengths from the 52/1 outsider Miss Panthere with Lys Gracieux in third. On 9 April, Soul Stirring was made 2/5 favourite for the Grade 1

over the same course and distance. Racing on soft ground she raced in mid division, but despite making progress in the straight she was beaten into third place behind Reine Minoru and Lys Gracieux. Lemaire explained "The track condition was against her and she kept changing leads. She wasn’t able to show her true form in this race". In the Yushun Himba over 2400 metre at Tokyo Soul Stirring was partnered by Lemaire and started the 1.4/1 favourite in an 18-runner field which included Lys Gracieux, Reine Minoru, Admire Miyabi (Queen Cup), Mozu Katchan (Flora Stakes) and

Deirdre Deirdre ( , Irish: ; sga, Derdriu ) is the foremost tragic heroine in Irish legend and probably its best-known figure in modern times. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows" (). Her story is part of the Ulster Cycle, the best-know ...

. Soul Stirring raced just behind the leaders along the inside rail before switching to the right to make her challenge in the straight. She gained the advantage in the straight and won comfortably by one and three quarter lengths from Mozu Katchan. After the race Lemaire said "Soul Stirring certainly has inherited the power both from her sire (Frankel) and her dam. I was quite confident coming into this race. I wasn't sure yet about the distance as it was her first time (at 2,400m) so I wanted her in a good position which I did because she is quick out of the gate. She also has a good lasting speed so I was able to give her the go from early at the stretch and sustain our bid right up to the finish". After a summer break Soul Stirring returned in autumn for three races in which she was matched against older hores and male opposition. In October she ran eighth behind

Real Steel ''Real Steel'' is a 2011 American science fiction sports drama film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Mathe ...

when favourite for the Mainichi Okan and then came home sixth to Kitasan Black in the autumn edition of 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 ...

. On her final run of the season Soul Stirring came home seventh of the seventeen runners behind

Cheval Grand Cheval Grand (in Japanese: シュヴァルグラン) (foaled March 14, 2012) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2016 Copa Republica Argentina and the 2017 Japan Cup Career Cheval Grand's first race was on September 21, 2014, wher ...

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 ...

at Tokyo on 26 November. In January 2018, Soul Stirring won the

, beating Mozu Katchan by 162 votes to 120.

2018 & 2019: four- and five-year-old seasons

Soul Stirring remained in training as a four-year-old in 2018. She began her campaign by running unplaced behind Miss Panthere in the Hanhin Himba Stakes over 1600 metres on 7 April and then came home seventh to Jour Polaire 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 ...

over the same distance at Tokyo on 13 May. The Queen Stakes over 1800 metres at Sapporo on 29 July saw Soul Stirring earn her first prize money of the year as she finished third to Deirdre and Frontier Queen. She returned after the summer break for the Fuchu Himba at Tokyo on 13 October but ran poorly and finished tenth of the thirteen runners behind Deirdre. On her first and only run as a five-year-old Soul Stirring ran unplaced behind Normcore in the Victoria Mile on 12 May.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2014 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 16-c