BRINGING ASIAN RACING TO THE WORLD
The Shuka Sho is a relatively new race having been introduced in 1996 to replace the Queen Elizabeth II Cup as the last stop in the ‘fillies’ triple crown’, which is known in Japan as the Triple Tiara.
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Whereas the actual Triple Crown, open to colts and fillies, features three Classics, the Satsuki Sho (2,000 Guineas), Tokyo Yushun (Derby) and Kikuka Sho (St Leger), the fillies-only version includes only two classics, the Oka Sho (1,000 Guineas) and the Yushun Himba (Oaks), with the Shuka Sho not actually a classic race.
And, while the Kikuka Sho brings a step up to 3000m to wrap up the Triple Crown, the fillies go back in trip for the Triple Tiara finale, with the Shuka Sho being a 2000m race. Six fillies have collected the Triple Tiara and five of those wrapped it up in the Shuka Sho: Still In Love (2003), Apapane (2010), Gentildonna (2012), Almond Eye (2018) and Daring Tact (2020). The race’s home is Kyoto but construction work at the course meant that it was moved to Hanshin in 2021 and 2022.
A nail-biting victory over the mighty Orfevre in the 2012 Japan Cup capped a stunning three-year-old season for Gentildonna. But just as important to her legacy was her Shuka Sho success one month prior, which enabled her to join a select group of Japanese fillies to have won the Triple Tiara. Her wins in the two fillies-only Classics, the Oka Sho and Yushun Himba, and the Triple Tiara third leg, the Shuka Sho, were among a tally of six successes during that season from seven starts.
The Sei Ishizaka-trained mare bagged a second Japan Cup in 2013, while in 2014 she earned a glittering victory in the Dubai Sheema Classic and ended her career with a famous grand prix score in the Arima Kinen. Gentildonna retired with ten wins and five placings from 19 races
| Year | Winner | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Akaitorino Musume | Keita Tosaki | Sakae Kunieda | Kaneko Makoto Holdings | 2:01.2 |
| 2020 | Daring Tact | Kohei Matsuyama | Haruki Sugiyama | Normandy Thoroughbred Racing | 2:00.6 |
| 2019 | Chrono Genesis | Yuichi Kitamura | Takashi Saito | Sunday Racing | 1:59.9 |
| 2018 | Almond Eye | Christophe Lemaire | Sakae Kunieda | Silk Racing | 1:58.5 |
| 2017 | Deirdre | Christophe Lemaire | Mitsuru Hashida | Toji Morita | 2:00.2 |
| 2016 | Vivlos | Yuichi Fukunaga | Yasuo Tomomichi | Kazuhiro Sasaki | 1:58.6 |
| 2015 | Mikki Queen | Suguru Hamanaka | Yasutoshi Ikee | Mizuki Noda | 1:56.9 |
| 2014 | Shonan Pandora | Suguru Hamanaka | Tomokazu Takano | Tetsuhide Kunimoto | 1:57.0 |
| 2013 | Meisho Mambo | Koshiro Take | Akihiro Iida | Yoshio Matsumoto | 1:58.6 |
| 2012 | Gentildonna | Yasunari Iwata | Sei Ishizaka | Sunday Racing | 2:00.4 |
| 2011 | Aventura | Yasunari Iwata | Katsuhiko Sumii | U Carrot Farm | 1:58.2 |
| 2010 | Apapane | Masayoshi Ebina | Sakae Kunieda | Kaneko Makoto Holdings | 1:58.4 |
| 2009 | Red Desire | Hirofumi Shii | Mikio Matsunaga | Tokyo Horse Racing Co Ltd | 1:58.2 |
| 2008 | Black Emblem | Yasanuri Iwata | Shigeyuki Kojima | Kunio Tahara | 1:58.4 |
| 2007 | Daiwa Scarlet | Katsumi Ando | Kunihide Matsuda | Keizo Oshiro | 1:59.1 |
| 2006 | Kawakami Princess | Masaru Honda | Katsuichi Nishiura | Mitsuishi Kawakami Bokujo | 1:58.2 |
| 2005 | Air Messiah | Yutaka Take | Yuji Ito | Lucky Field Co Ltd | 1:59.2 |
| 2004 | Sweep Tosho | Kenichi Ikezoe | Akio Tsurudome | Tosho Sangyo | 1:58.4 |
| 2003 | Still In Love | Hideakai Miyuki | Shoichi Matsumoto | North Hills Management Co Ltd | 1:59.1 |
| 2002 | Fine Motion | Yutaka Take | Yuji Ito | Tatsuo Fushikida | 1:58.1 |
| 2001 | T M Ocean | Masaru Honda | Katsuichi Nishiura | Masatsugu Takezono | 1:58.5 |
| 2000 | Tico Tico Tac | Koshiro Take | Masahiro Matsuda | Bamboo Bokujo | 1:59.9 |
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