The is a Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) at Hanshin Racecourse in September.
It was first run in 1987 and takes its name from a statue at the racecourse in the form of centaur, a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Prior to 2000 the race was run over a distance of 1,400 metres (7 furlongs), and having originally been classed as a Domestic Grade 3 race, it was promoted to Domestic Grade 2 status in 2006 and was promoted to International Grade 2 status in 2007.
From 2005 to 2010 it was a leg of the Global Sprint Challenge series. It has now been replaced as a Japanese leg of the series by the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
Weight 55 kg for three-year-olds, 57 kg for four-year-olds and above.
Allowances:
2 kg for fillies / mares 1 kg for southern hemisphere bred three-year-olds
Penalties (excluding two-year-old race performance):
If a graded stakes race has been won within a year: 2 kg for a grade 1 win (1 kg for fillies / mares) 1 kg for a grade 2 win If a graded stakes race has been won for more than a year: 1 kg for a grade 1 win
Winners Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Owner Time 1987 Mr Boy 5 Hiroshi Kawachi Tadashi Nakao Iwao Obara 1:22.5 1988 Sankin Hayate 4 Hiroshi Kawachi Kōjirō Hashiguchi Sakino Kawahara 1:21.7 1989 Hoei Sovereign 5 Yoshiyuki Muramoto Tetsuya Meno Suetsugu Kitagawa 1:20.9 1990 Eiko Caesar 5 Nobuyuki Tajima Isao Yasuda Ken'ichi Ikeuchi 1:08.5 1991 Nifty Niece 4 Keiji Takehara Yasuhisa Matsuyama Zenya Yoshida 1:07.9 1992 My Superman 6 Katsumi Minai Yukiharu Shikato Goichi Sugawara 1:07.6 1993 Elizabeth Rose 4 Hiroshi Kawachi Sakae Watanabe Katsumi Yoshida 1:22.1 1994 Eishin Washington 3 Shigefumi Kumazawa Shigeharu Naitō Toyomitsu Hirai 1:08.7 1995 Biko Pegasus 4 Yutaka Take Tsugio Yanagida Legend 1:21.2 1996 Fujino Makken O 5 Yutaka Take Yoshio Nakamura Hirotoshi Nakamura 1:21.0 1997 Osumi Tycoon 6 Kōshirō Take Kunihiko Take Hidenori Yamaji 1:21.0 1998 Meiner Love 3 Yutaka Take Ryūichi Inaba Thoroughbred Club Ruffian 1:21.3 1999 Eishin Guymon 6 Jun'ichi Serizawa Tadashi Kayō Toyomitsu Hirai 1:20.7 2000 Behind the Mask 4 Yūichi Fukunaga Shūji Kitahashi Sunday Racing Co; Ltd. 1:07.6 2001 Tennessee Girl 4 Kazuhiro Yamada Masanao Tsubo Toyomitsu Hirai 1:08.1 2002 Believe 4 Yasunari Iwata Shigeki Matsumoto Kōji Maeda 1:07.1 2003 Tenshino Kiseki 5 Norihiro Yokoyama Kōjirō Hashiguchi Masuo Sugitani 1:07.8 2004 Golden Cast 4 Yutaka Take Kōjirō Hashiguchi Kōji Maeda 1:08.2 2005 Golden Cast 5 Futoshi Komaki Kōjirō Hashiguchi Kōji Maeda 1:08.3 2006 She Is Tosho 6 Kenichi Ikezoe Akio Tsurudome Tōshō Sangyō Corporation 1:08.6 2007 Sans Adieu 5 Yuga Kawada Hidetaka Otonashi Takao Matuoka 1:07.1 2008 Kanoya Zakura 4 Futoshi Komaki Kōjirō Hashiguchi Kaoru Kanda 1:07.3 2009 Ultima Thule 5 Masami Matsuoka Masashi Okuhira Shadai Race Horse 1:07.8 2010 Dasher Go Go 3 Yūga Kawada Takayuki Yasuda Shin Ashida 1:08.0 2011 A Shin Virgo 4 Hironobu Tanabe Ken Kozaki Eishindō Co Ltd 1:08.5 2012 Epice Arome 3 Yutaka Take Sei Ishizaka Katsumi Yoshida 1:07.3 2013 Hakusan Moon 3 Manabu Sakai Masato Nishizono Goichi Kawasaki 1:07.5 2014 Little Gerda 5 Kyosuke Maruta Ippo Sameshima Yoshiko Kuriyama 1:07.4 2015 Active Minoru 3 Kota Fujioka Yoshihito Kitade Minoru Yoshioka 1:07.8 2016 Big Arthur 5 Yuichi Fukunaga Kenichi Fujioka Akira Nakatsuji 1:07.6 2017 Fine Needle 4 Mirco Demuro Yoshitada Takahashi Godolphin 1:07.5 2018 Fine Needle 5 Yuga Kawada Yoshitada Takahashi Godolphin 1:08.8 2019 Tower of London 4 Christophe Lemaire Kazuo Fujisawa Godolphin 1:06.7 2020 Danon Smash 5 Kousei Miura Takayuki Yasuda Danox Co Ltd 1:07.9 2021 Resistencia 4 Christophe Lemaire Takeshi Matsushita Carrot Farm 1:07.2 2022 Meikei Yell 4 Kenichi Ikezoe Hidenori Take Nagoya Keiba Co Ltd 1:06.2 2023 T M Spada 4 Akatsuki Tomita Kazuyoshi Kihara Masatsugu Takezono 1:07.22024Toshin Macau5Akira SugawaraMizuki TakayanagiSato Co. Ltd.1:07.72025Kangchenjunga5Yuga KawadaYasushi ShonoMasanobu Habata1:07.42026Flicker Jab4Kohei MatsuyamaShota NishizonoWest.Forest.Stable Co. Ltd.1:06.9
See also Horse racing in Japan List of Japanese flat horse races
References Netkeiba: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,