Kizuna ( ja, キズナ, link=no) (foaled 5 March 2010) 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 ...

racehorse.

Background

Kizuna is a brown horse with a small white star and white

socks 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 his hind legs, bred in Japan by the North Hills Co Ltd. He was sired by the outstanding Japanese racehorse Deep Impact out of the Canadian-bred mare Catequil. Deep Impact 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 pa ...

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 Gra ...

, Arima Kinen 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 ...

. Catequil had previously produced the Japanese champion filly

Phalaenopsis ''Phalaenopsis'' (), also known as moth orchids, is a genus of about seventy species of plants in the family Orchidaceae. Orchids in this genus are monopodial epiphytes or lithophytes with long, coarse roots, short, leafy stems and long-lasti ...

. She was also a half-sister of Pacificus, the dam of

Narita Brian Narita Brian ( ja, ナリタブライアン, Hepburn: ; May 3, 1991 – September 27, 1998) was a Japanese racehorse. Until T M Opera O surpassed him in 2000, Narita Brian was the world's top money earner. Background Narita Brian was a bay h ...

and Biwa Hayahide, both of whom were named

. Koji Maeda, head of North Hills, named the horse Kizuna, which is a Japanese word meaning "bond", after he was touched by the warm words he was given by others around him when he was visiting

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

for the 2011

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wh ...

that was held two weeks after the

2011 Tohoku Earthquake Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *'' ...

, which coincided with Kizuna just turning 1 year old.運命の馬で“夢”を叶えた名物馬主。キズナ産駒と武豊でダービーを。（1/5）
https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/840258?page=2 （2/5�
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https://number.bunshun.jp/articles/-/840258?page=4 （4/5�
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- Sports Graphic Number Web (Japanese). Visited 2022-12-17.

Racing career

2012: two-year-old season

Kizuna began his racing career on 7 October 2012 when he won a race for newcomers over 1800

metres The metre (British spelling Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable va ...

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, ...

. He won another race over the same course and distance on 11 November. The colt was then moved up in class for the Grade 3 Radio Nikkei Hai Nisai Stake over 2000 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 World War I ...

, where he finished third, beaten half a length and a neck by Epiphaneia and Bad Boy.

2013: three-year-old season

Kizuna made his three-year-old debut in the Grade 2 Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho 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 184 ...

on 3 March. In a blanket finish, he took fifth place in a field of twelve runners, less than three-quarters of a length behind the winner Camino Tassajara. Three weeks later, Kizuna started the 1/2 favourite for the Grade 3 Mainichi Hai at Hanshin. Ridden by

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 ...

, he won by three lengths from Geyersworth, with Bad Boy three and a half lengths back in third. Despite being eligible 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: ...

, the first leg of Japanese Triple Crown, Kizuna's connection decided not to field him in the race, but to focus on the Tokyo Yūshun, the Japanese derby. On 4 May Kizuna entered one of the preparation races, the Kyoto Shimbun Hai over 2200 metres at Kyoto. He started the 2/5 favourite and won by one and a half lengths from Peptide Amazon. Kizuna was one of eighteen colts to contest the 80th running of the Tokyo Yūshun 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 started the 19/10 favourite ahead of the

winner Logotype. Take produced the colt with a strong late run on the outside to take the lead in the final strides and win by half a length from Epiphaneia in a time of 2:24.6. Kizuna was sent to Europe in the autumn of 2013 to be prepared for a run the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

. On 15 September he contested the Prix Niel at

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced ...

in Paris where he faced a strong field of European colts including The Derby winner

Ruler of the World Ruler of the World (foaled 17 March 2010) is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who won The Derby in 2013. He was unraced as a two-year-old. In 2013, he won a maiden race at the Curragh and the Group Three Chester Vase before winning the Derby ...

and the

Grand Prix de Paris The Grand Prix de Paris is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles), and i ...

winner

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. Take restrained the colt towards the back of the field before making his challenge on the outside in the straight. He took the lead inside the last 100 metres and held off the late challenge of Ruler of the World to win by a head. After the race Kizuna's trainer Shozo Sasaki said "This was his first run abroad so I'm very pleased. He was about 80% compared with the Japanese Derby, so we will work hard to get the final 20% before the Arc." On 6 October started the third favourite in a field of seventeen runners in the Arc de Triomphe. Date held the colt up at the back of the field before moving up on the outside approaching the turn into the straight. He stayed on well in the closing stages to finish fourth behind Treve,

Orfevre Orfevre ( ja, オルフェーヴル, link=no, foaled May 14, 2008) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active breeding stallion. In 2011 he won the Japanese Triple Crown and was voted Japanese Horse of the Year. In 2012 he added vic ...

and

Intello Intello (foaled 14 April 2010) is a German-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and stallion. After winning two minor races as a two-year-old he has won the Feilden Stakes, Prix du Jockey Club and Prix Messidor in 2013. During his racin ...

. In January 2014 Kizuna won the

JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt The JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt 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 ...

taking 238 of the 280 votes.

2014: four-year-old season

Kizuna began his third season with an easy win in the Grade 2 Sankei Osaka Hai at Hanshin on 6 April. On 4 May Kizuna started 7/10 favourite for the two-mile

at Kyoto. He was held up at the back of the eighteen runner field before switching to the wide outside in the straight. He finished strongly, but was unable to catch the leaders and finished fourth behind Fenomeno, Win Variation and Hokko Brave. Shortly after the race, it was announced that Kizuna had sustained a small fracture to his left hind leg and would be off the track for most of the year. Sasaki suggested that his next run might be the Arima Kinen in December.

2015: five-year-old season

After a nine-month absence, Kizuna returned in the Grade 2 Kyoto Kinen on 15 February 2015 and finished third, beaten a nose and a neck by Lovely Day and Suzuka Devious with Harp Star in fifth. In April he started odds-on favourite for the Sankei Osaka Hai but was beaten into second place by the five-year-old mare Lachesis. On 3 May Kizuna was made the 2.3/1 favourite for the Tennō Shō but finished seventh of the seventeen runners behind Gold Ship. He was retired from racing after sustaining a training injury in September 2015.

Stud career

Kizuna was retired to the

Shadai Stallion Station is a thoroughbred breeding facility located in Abira on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. The farm was begun in the late 1970s to early 1980s by the late Zenya Yoshida, and is now run jointly by his sons (Katsumi, Haruya, and Teruya Yoshida), know ...

and has a service fee of ¥12,000,000.

Notable progeny

''c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding''

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2010 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 13-a