Uberleben, ( ja, ユーバーレーベン, link=no, foaled 27 January 2018) 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 showed promise as a juvenile in 2020 when she won on her racecourse debut and went on to finish second in the

Sapporo Nisai Stakes The Sapporo Nisai Stakes (Japanese 札幌2歳ステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in late August or early September over a distance of 1800 metres at Sapporo Racecourse. The race was first run in 1966 and w ...

and third in 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 year she ran third in both the

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 ...

and the

Flora Stakes The Flora Stakes (Japanese フローラステークス) is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is run over a distance of 2000 metres at Tokyo Racecourse in April. The Flora Stakes was first run ...

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 ...

Background

Uberleben is a brown filly bred in Japan by Big Red Farm. She entered the ownership of K.Thoroughbred Club Ruffian and was sent into training with Takahisa Tezuka. She usually races in a

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. She was from the second crop of foals sired by Gold Ship, an outstanding Japanese racehorse whose wins included the

Satsuki Sho Satsuki is a traditional Japanese name for the month of . It is commonly used as a feminine given name and, more rarely, as a surname or a masculine name. Possible spellings Satsuki can be spelled using different ''kanji'' characters and can mean: ...

, Kikuka Sho,

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

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 ...

. Uberleben's dam Meine Theresia showed modest racing ability, winning one minor contest from three starts as a two-year-old in 2009. She was a daughter of the

winner Meine Nouvelle and a female-line descendant of the British broodmare Inquisitive Rose, the grand-dam of Drum Taps.

Racing career

2020: two-year-old season

Uberleben began her racing career in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1800 metres on soft ground 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 ...

on 14 June when she was ridden by Keita Tosaki. Starting the 9.2/1 fourth choice in the betting she came from fourth place on the final turn to win by a nose 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 ...

Guadeloupe. The filly was again partnered by Tosaki when she was moved up in class for the Grade 3

over the same distance

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 5 September and went off at odds of 9.6/1 in a fourteen-runner field. After being restrained in the early stages she stayed on well in the straight to take second place, beaten a neck by the

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

filly

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 inclu ...

. She was ridden by Daichi Shibata in the Grade 3 Artemis Stakes at Tokyo on 31 October when she came home ninth behind Sodashi after racing at the rear of the fourteen-runner field for most of the way. For her final run of the year Uberleben was stepped up Grade 1 level for the

over 1600 metres

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 ...

on 13 December and started a 30/1 outsider. She raced towards the rear of the field as usual before producing a strong late run on the outside and finishing third, beaten a nose and a neck by Sodashi and Satono Reinas. In the official Japanese rankings Uberleben was rated the third best two-year-old filly of 2020, two pound behind Sodashi and one pound behind Satono Reinas.

2021: three-year-old season

On her three-year-old debut 20 March 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 ...

Uberleben was ridden by Yuji Tannai when she started favourite for the Grade 3

. She produced her customary late run from the rear of the field but was unable to catch the leaders and came home third behind Ho O Ixelles and Enthusiasm, beaten one and a quarter lengths by the winner. Takahisa Tezuka later explained that the filly had been suffering from

colic Colic or cholic () is a form of pain that starts and stops abruptly. It occurs due to muscular contractions of a hollow tube ( small and large intestine, gall bladder, ureter, etc.) in an attempt to relieve an obstruction by forcing content out ...

early in the year and was unsuited by the tight turns of the Nakayama track. The filly was partnered by Demuro when she was stepped up in class and distance for the

(a trial race for the

) over 2000 metres at Tokyo on 25 April. Starting the 2.5/1 second favourite she settled in mid-division before staying on strongly to take third place behind Cool Cat and Slyly. In the 82nd running of the Yushun Himba over 2400 metres at Tokyo on 23 May Uberleben was ridden by Demuro and went off the 7.9/1 third choice in the betting behind Sodashi and Akaitorino Musume (winner of the

Daily Hai Queen Cup The Daily Hai Queen Cup (Japanese language, Japanese クイーンカップ) is a Graded stakes race, Grade 3 Horse racing, horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run in February over a distance of 1600 metres at Tokyo Racecourse. The ...

) in an eighteen-runner field which also included Fine Rouge (

Fairy Stakes The Fairy Stakes (Japanese フェアリーステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run in January over a distance of 1600 metres at Nakayama Racecourse. The race was first run in 1984 and has been run as a ...

), Cool Cat, Enthusiasm and Slyly. She settled in mid-division on the outside as Cool Cat set the pace and turned into the straight in eighth place before making rapid progress down the centre of track. She gained the advantage approaching the last 200 metres and kept on well to win by a length and a nose from Akaitorino Musume and the 214/1 outsider Hagino Pilina. Demuro commented "She responded well when the pace accelerated from the third corner and showed her tenacity in steadily advancing in the straight. She was strong pulling away and holding off the others. The added distance wasn’t a problem for her at all." After the Yushun Himba, Uberleben ran 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 ...

with

Mirco Demuro Mirco is a masculine given name popular in Italy. Mirco is an alternative spelling of the name Mirko. It may refer to: * Mirco Antenucci (born 1984), Italian footballer * Mirco Baldacci (born 1977), rally driver from San Marino * Mirco Bergamasco ...

as her jockey but came in at 13th place. Uberleben also then ran 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 ...

but came in 6th place behind

Contrail Contrails (; short for "condensation trails") or vapor trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several miles above the Earth's surface. Contrails ar ...

and Shahryar. Following the Japan Cup, it was announced that Uberleben's next race would be the

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 ...

the following year.

2022: four-year-old season

Uberleben started the 2022 season by running the Kyoto Kinen, as announced previously, and came in 5th place despite being a 3.1/1 favorite. Uberleben then went on to compete in the 2022

Dubai Sheema Classic The Dubai Sheema Classic is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates open to thoroughbreds which are four-years-old or above. It is run over a distance of 2,400 metres (approximately miles; 2410 metres since 2010) on the turf track at ...

, of which she also came in 5th place behind Shahryar. Uberleben would have little success for the rest of the year, with her finishing the Autumn

at 8th place being the highest for the remaining half of 2022.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2018 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 6-b Yushun Himba winners