Sweep Tosho (
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 ...
: スイープトウショウ, foaled 9 May 2001) 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
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 competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
and
broodmare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...
. Bred and owned by Tosho Sangyo and trained throughout her racing career by Akio Tsurudome she won eight of her twenty-four races between October 2003 and November 2007 including
Grade I
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
victories in the
Shuka Sho
Shuka ( sa, शुक , also Shukadeva ) is a rishi (sage) in Hinduism. He is the son of the sage Vyasa and the main narrator of the scripture ''Bhagavata Purana''. Most of the ''Bhagavata Purana'' consists of Shuka reciting the story to the k ...
,
Takarazuka Kinen
The Takarazuka Kinen (宝塚記念) is a Conditions races, Grade I Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds where they run over a distance of 2,200 metres (approximately miles) at Hanshin Race ...
and
Queen Elizabeth II Cup
The Queen Elizabeth II Cup is a Group One Thoroughbred horse race at Sha Tin Racecourse in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1975 by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, it is run annually in April at a distance of 2,000 metres (ten ...
.
In 2003 Sweep Tosho won two of her three races including the Grade III Fantasy Stakes. In the following year she won 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 finished second 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 i ...
before winning the Shuka Sho. The mare reached her peak as a four-year-old in 2005 when she finished second in the
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 ...
before defeating top-class male opposition in the Takarazuka Kinen and winning the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at her second attempt. She remained in training for two more years, winning the
Kyoto Daishoten
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 ...
in 2006 and being placed in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in 2006 and 2007.
After her retirement from racing she became a broodmare and has had some success as a dam of winners.
Background
Sweep Tosho is a bay mare bred in Japan by her owner Tosho Sangyo Corporation. She was sired by End Sweep an American horse who won six races in the United States including the
Grade III Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes {{Infobox horseraces
, class = Ungraded
, horse race = Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes
, image =
, caption =
, location = Monmouth Park RacetrackOceanport, New Jersey, United States
, inaugurated = 1992
, r ...
in 1994 and was later imported to Japan to become a breeding stallion. His other progeny have included
Admire Moon
; born February 23, 2003) is a Japanese racehorse who won the 2007 Dubai Duty Free Stakes, Takarazuka Kinen and Japan Cup.
Background
Admire Moon was foaled on February 23rd, 2003 at Northern Farm in Abira, Hokkaido, Japan. He was bred by Kats ...
, Swept Overboard (
Metropolitan Handicap
The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...
) and Rhein Kraft (
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 ...
). Sweep Tosho's dam Tabatha Tosho showed modest racing ability, winning one minor race in 1997 from five starts. She was a distant, female-line descendant of the influential British broodmare Ballantrae.
During her racing career Sweep Tosho was trained by Sadao Watanabe before moving to the stable of Akio Tsurudome in 2004. She was ridden in most of her races by Kenichi Ikezoe.
Racing career
2003: two-year-old season
Sweep Tosho made a successful track debut in a contest for previously unraced 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 18 October. Three weeks later she was moved up in class for the
Grade III 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 ...
over the same course and distance and won again, beating Royal Selangor and ten other fillies. She was stepped up in class again in December for the Grade I
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 ...
over 1600 metres. In a blanket finish, she finished fifth behind Yamanin Sucre, Yamanin Alcyon, Concordia and Royal Selangor, beaten less than one 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 ...
by the winner.
2004: three-year-old season
On her first appearance as a three-year-old Sweep Tosho won the Hobai Stakes over 1400 metres in January before contesting the Grade III
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 ...
(a trial race for 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 ...
) over 1600 metres at Hanshin in March. She won from Azuma Sanders with Yamanin Sucre in third place. In the Oka Sho, over the same course and distance on 11 April she finished fifth of the eighteen runners behind
Dance In The Mood, Azuma Sanders, Yamanin Sucre and Move of Sunday. On 23 May the filly was moved up in distance for 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 ...
over 2400 metres 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 finished three-quarters of a length second to
Daiwa El Cielo with a gap of three lengths back to the others who were headed by Yamanin Alabaster, Dance In The Mood and Yamanin Sucre.
After a break of almost four months Sweep Tosho returned in September for the Grade II
Rose Stakes
The Rose Stakes (Japanese language, Japanese ローズステークス) is a Japanese Group races, Grade 2 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Hyōgo Prefecture for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 1800 m ...
(a trial for the
Shuka Sho
Shuka ( sa, शुक , also Shukadeva ) is a rishi (sage) in Hinduism. He is the son of the sage Vyasa and the main narrator of the scripture ''Bhagavata Purana''. Most of the ''Bhagavata Purana'' consists of Shuka reciting the story to the k ...
) over 200 metres at Hanshin and finished third behind Les Clefs d'Or and Glorious Days. In the Shuka Sho over the same distance on 17 October she faced seventeen opponents including Les Clefs d'Or, Glorious Days, Dance In The Mood, Yamanin Sucre, Yamanin Alabaster and Azuma Sanders. Sweep Tosho recorded her first Grade I success as she won by half a length from Yamanin Sucre with the pair finishing five lengths clear of Winglet in third place. On her final appearance of the season the filly was matched against older fillies and mares in the
Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup
The Queen Elizabeth II Cup (''Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup'' until 2012) is an International Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbred fillies and mares run over a distance of 2,200 metres (approximately ...
at Kyoto in November and finished fifth behind the four-year-old
Admire Groove
Admire Groove (in Japanese: アドマイヤグルーヴ, foaled April 30th, 2000) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2003 and 2004 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
Career
Admire Groove's first race was on November 10th, 2002 at ...
.
2005: four-year-old season
Sweep Tosho did not appear in 2005 until 8 May when she took on male opposition in the Listed Miyakooji Stakes at Kyoto and finished fifth behind the colt Keisi Guard. On 5 June at Tokyo she started a 16.6/1 outsider in the Grade I
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 ...
over 1600 metres. In a closely contested finish she produced a strong late run to take second place behind Asakusa Den'En with the Hong Kong challengers
Silent Witness
''Silent Witness'' is a British crime drama television series produced by the BBC, which focuses on a team of forensic pathology experts and their investigations into various crimes. First broadcast in 1996, the series was created by Nigel McC ...
and
Bullish Luck
Bullish Luck ({{zh, c=牛精福星) (foaled 1999) is a Hong Kong based Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, he is the son of the 1990 Breeders' Cup Mile winner Royal Academy and out of the Alysheba mare Wild Vintage. He was sold by his b ...
in third and fourth. Three weeks later she was stepped up in distance for the Grade I
Takarazuka Kinen
The Takarazuka Kinen (宝塚記念) is a Conditions races, Grade I Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds where they run over a distance of 2,200 metres (approximately miles) at Hanshin Race ...
over 2200 metres at Hanshinn in which she faced a field which included
Zenno Rob Roy
(27 March 2000 – 2 September 2022) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. In a racing career which lasted from February 2003 until December 2005, he ran twenty times, winning seven races and being placed on ten further occasi ...
,
Tap Dance City
Tap Dance City ( ja, タップダンスシチー, link=no) is a retired American-bred Japanese-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He showed promising form in his early racing career, winning the Asahi Challenge Cup in 2002. He rea ...
,
Heart's Cry,
Still in Love,
Admire Groove
Admire Groove (in Japanese: アドマイヤグルーヴ, foaled April 30th, 2000) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2003 and 2004 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
Career
Admire Groove's first race was on November 10th, 2002 at ...
and the
NAR champion Cosmo Bulk. She recorded her second win at the highest level as she held off the late challenge of Heart's Cry to win by a neck with Zenno Rob Roy a length and a quarter back in third.
After a three-month summer break, Sweep Tosho returned for the
Mainichi Okan
The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by
In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English language news website called ''The Mainichi'' (previ ...
(a trial race for 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 ...
) at Tokyo on 9 October and finished sixth behind Sunrise Pegasus. In the Tenno Sho three weeks later over 2000 metres at the same track she started the 8/1 third favourite and finished fifth of the eighteen runners behind
Heavenly Romance, Zenno Rob Roy, Dance In The Mood and Asakusa Den'En, beaten less than two lengths by the winner. On her final appearance of the year, Sweep Tosho returned to all-female competition to make her second attempt to win the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup and started the 1.8/1 second choice in the betting. Several of her old rivals were in opposition including Admire Groove, Yamanin Alabaster, Yamanin Sucre, Les Clefs d'Or, but her most serious threat appeared to come from the three-year-old Air Messiah, who had won the Shuka Sho in October. She won her second Grade I of the season, and the third of her career, as she prevailed by half a length from Osumi Haruka, with Admire Groove two and a half lengths back in third place. After the race Akio Tsurudome commented "Her form hadn't improved that much since her last run, but she was a lot calmer today. She did a good job of coming out of a jam. She was incredible. I thought we were going to have to settle for second place".
In January 2006 Sweep Tosho won the
JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare The JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA).
Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards.
Records
Most successful horse (2 wins):
* Dyna Actress – ''1987, 1988''
* Mejiro D ...
.
2006: five-year-old season
Sweep Tosho missed the spring and summer of 2006 before making her first appearance as a five-year-old in the Grade II
Kyoto Daishoten
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 2400 metres on 8 October. She the race from the seven-year-old Fast Tateyama and the five-year-old Tosho Knight. She then ran for the second time in the autumn Tenno Sho and finished fifth of the sixteen runners behind
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 ...
. In November she contested her third consecutive Queen Elizabeth II Cup and finished third behind Kawakami Princess and Fusaichi Pandora, although she was promoted to second when the winner was disqualified. In December she was one of fourteen horses invited to contest the
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. over 2500 metres at
Nakayama Racecourse
is located in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 165,676. It was built in 1990.
Physical attributes
Nakayama Race Course has two grass courses, a dirt course, and a jump course.
The turf's measures 1840 ...
. She started a 29/1 outsider and finished tenth behind
Deep Impact.
2007: six-year-old season
Sweep Tosho remained in training as a six-year-old but failed to win in four races. In spring she finished second to Kongo Rikishio in the
Milers Cup at Hanshin and then ran unplaced behind Koiuta in the Grade I
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 ...
. After five months off the track she returned in October and was dropped in distance to finish fourth behind Super Hornet in the Grade II
Swan Stakes
The Swan Stakes (Japanese スワンステークス) is a Grade 2 horse race for Thoroughbreds aged three and over run in October over a distance of 1,400 metres at Kyoto Racecourse.
It was first run in 1958 and was promoted to Grade 2 in 1984 wh ...
over 1400 metres at Kyoto. She ended her racing career by running for the fourth time in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup on 11 November. She finished third of the thirteen runners behind
Daiwa Scarlet
(May 13, 2004 - ) is a retired Japanese racehorse which won the 2007 Oka Sho, Shūka Sho, Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup
The Queen Elizabeth II Cup (''Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup'' until 2012) is an Graded stakes race, Intern ...
and Fusaichi Pandora, beaten two lengths by the winner.
Breeding record
Sweep Tosho was retired from racing to become a broodmare for her owner's stud. She has produced at least three foals, all of whom have won races:
*Jewel Tosho, a bay filly, foaled in 2009, sired by
Agnes Tachyon
Agnes Tachyon (Japanese : アグネスタキオン, April 13, 1998 - June 22, 2009) was an undefeated Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and a Leading sire in Japan.
He was by Sunday Silence, his dam, Agnes Flora (by Royal Ski) won the Oka Sho (Jap ...
. Won three races.
*Bijou Tosho, chestnut filly, 2011, by
Deep Sky
A deep-sky object (DSO) is any astronomical object that is not an individual star or Solar System object (such as Sun, Moon, planet, comet, etc.). The classification is used for the most part by amateur astronomers to denote visually observed fa ...
. Won one race.
*Regatta, bay colt, 2012, by
Deep Impact. Won one race.
*Tosho Victor, brown colt, 2013, by
Stay Gold. Won one race.
Pedigree
*Sweep Tosho was
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 appeared twice in the fourth generation of her pedigree.
References
{{reflist, 2
2001 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Japan
Racehorses trained in Japan
Thoroughbred family 5-j