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 The Yūshun Himba was first contested in 1938 as at in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, and it is regarded as the Japanese equivalent of the English Epsom Oaks.
Race distance was first set to 2,700 metres and shortened to 2,450 metres in 1940, then again shortened to 2,400 metres in 1943 at Kyoto Racecourse. After a two-year hiatus, the race was renamed to the Yūshun Himba in 1946 and it was staged at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo over a distance of 2,400 metres.
It was held in October or November in early years, then moved to mid-to-late May since 1953.
It is one of Japan's five Classic races, and the second of two restricted to fillies. It can also serve as the second leg of the Japanese Triple Tiara, preceded by the Ōka Shō (the Japanese equivalent of the English 1,000 Guineas) in early April, and followed by the Shuka Sho in mid October.
Since 2010, the Yūshun Himba (along with several other JRA Japanese domestic Grade 1 races, including other Japanese classics such as the Ōka Shō, the Satsuki Shō, the Tōkyō Yūshun and the Kikuka Shō) is open to international competition due to Japan's inclusion in the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities' ICS Part I category, in which all graded black-type races in the JRA calendar are open to international competition.
On May 23, 2010, in the 71st running of the Yushun Himba, Apapane and Saint Emilion hit the finish at the same time in the race, marking the first time that a Grade 1 race in Japan resulted in a dead heat for the win.
On May 20, 2018, Almond Eye won the 2,400-meter Yushun Himba over Lily Noble by two lengths.
On May 24, 2026, jockey Seina Imamura made history by becoming the first Japanese female rider to win a flat Grade 1 race in Japan, by winning the Yushun Himba on board Juryoku Pierrot.
Trial races Trial races provide automatic berths to the winning horses or placed horses as specified. RaceGradeRacecourseDistanceConditionOka ShoGIHanshin1,600 metersTop 5 horsesFlora StakesGIITokyo2,000 metersTop 2 horsesSweetpea StakesListedTokyo1,800 metersWinner
Other step races Races listed below does not provide automatic berths, but still important steps for this race. RaceGradeRacecourseDistanceWasurenagusa ShoListedHanshin2,000 meters
Winners since 1990 Year Winner Jockey Trainer Owner Time 1990 Eishin Sunny Shigehiko Kishi Masanori Sakaguchi Toyomitsu Hirai 2:26.1 1991 Isono Roubles Mikio Matsunaga Hisao Shimizu Toshio Isono 2:27.8 1992 Adorable Yoshiyuki Muramoto Minoru Kobayashi Haruo Negishi 2:28.9 1993 Vega Yutaka Take Hiroyoshi Matsuda Kazuko Yoshida 2:27.3 1994 Chokai Carol Sadahiro Kojima Akio Tsurudome Kaichi Nitta 2:27.5 1995 Dance Partner Yutaka Take Toshiaki Shirai Katsumi Yoshida 2:26.7 1996 Air Groove Yutaka Take Yuji Ito Satoshi Yoshihara 2:29.1 1997 Mejiro Dober Yutaka Yoshida Yokichi Okubo Mejiro Shoji 2:27.7 1998 Erimo Excel Hitoshi Matoba Keiji Kato Shinichi Yamamoto 2:28.1 1999 Umeno Fiber Masayoshi Ebina Ikuo Aizawa T Umezaki 2:26.9 2000 Silk Prima Donna Shinja Fujita Kenji Yamauchi Silk Racing 2:30.2 2001 Lady Pastel Kent Desormeaux Kiyotaka Tanaka Lord Horse Club 2:26.3 2002 Smile Tomorrow Yutaka Yoshida Kazuhiro Seishi Masatake Iida 2:27.7 2003 Still in Love Hideaki Miyuki Shoichi Matsumoto North Hills Management Co. 2:27.5 2004 Daiwa El Cielo Yuichi Fukunaga Kunihide Matsuda Daiwa Shoji 2:27.2 2005 Cesario Yuichi Fukunaga Katsuhiko Sumii Carrot Farm Co. 2:28.8 2006 Kawakami Princess Masaru Honda Katsuichi Nishiura Mitsuishi Kawakami Bokujo 2:26.2 2007 Robe Decollete Yuichi Fukunaga Shigeki Matsumoto Koji Maeda 2:25.3 2008 Tall Poppy Kenichi Ikezoe Katsuhiko Sumii Carrot Farm 2:28.8 2009 Buena Vista Katsumi Ando Hiroyoshi Matsuda Sunday Racing 2:26.12010 Apapane (DH) Masayoshi Ebina Sakae Kunieda Kaneko Makoto Holdings 2:29.9 Saint Emilion (DH) Norihiro Yokoyama Masaaki Koga Teruya Yoshida 2011 Erin Court Hiroki Goto Kazuhide Sasada Teruya Yoshida 2:25.7 2012 Gentildonna Yuga Kawada Sei Ishziaka Sunday Racing 2:23.6 2013 Meisho Mambo Koshiro Take Akihiro Iida Yoshio Matsumoto 2:25.2 2014 Nuovo Record Yasunari Iwata Makoto Saito Reiko Hara 2:25.8 2015 Mikki Queen Suguru Hamanaka Yasuo Ikee Mizuki Noda 2:25.0 2016 Sinhalite Kenichi Ikezoe Sei Ishizaka U Carrot Farm 2:25.0 2017 Soul Stirring Christophe Lemaire Kazuo Fujisawa Shadai Horse Race Co 2:24.1 2018 Almond Eye Christophe Lemaire Sakae Kunieda Silk Racing 2:23.8 2019 Loves Only You Mirco Demuro Yoshito Yahagi DMM Dream Club 2:22.8 2020 Daring Tact Kohei Matsuyama Haruki Sugiyama Normandy Thoroughbred Racing 2:24.4 2021 Uberleben Mirco Demuro Takahisa Tezuka K.Thoroughbred Club Ruffian 2:24.5 2022 Stars On Earth Christophe Lemaire Mizuki Takayanagi Shadai Horse Race Co 2:23.9 2023 Liberty Island Yuga Kawada Mitsumasa Nakauchida Sunday Racing 2:23.12024CerviniaChristophe LemaireTetsuya KimuraSunday Racing2:24.02025KamunyakAndrasch StarkeYasuo TomomichiKaneko Makoto Holdings2:25.72026Juryoku PierrotSeina ImamuraRyo TerashimaKensuke Kondo2:25.6
Earlier winners
1938 - Asteri Mor 1939 - Hoshi Homare 1940 - Rounella 1941 - Tetsu Banzai 1942 - Rock States 1943 - Kurifuji 1944 - no race 1945 - no race 1946 - Mitsumasa 1947 - Tokitsukaze 1948 - Yashima Hime 1949 - King Night 1950 - Koma Minoru 1951 - Kiyo Fuji 1952 - Swee Sue 1953 - Jitsu Homare 1954 - Yamaichi 1955 - Hiroichi 1956 - Fair Manna 1957 - Miss Onward 1958 - Miss Marusa 1959 - Okan 1960 - Star Roch 1961 - Chitose Hope 1962 - O Hayabusa 1963 - I.T.O. 1964 - Kane Keyaki 1965 - Verona 1966 - Hiro Yoshi 1967 - Yama Pit 1968 - Lupinus 1969 - Shadai Tarquin 1970 - Jupique 1971 - Kane Himuro 1972 - Take Fubuki 1973 - Nasuno Chigusa 1974 - Toko Elsa 1975 - Tesco Gaby 1976 - Titania 1977 - Linear Queen 1978 - Five Hope 1979 - Agnes Lady 1980 - Kei Kiroku 1981 - Temmon 1982 - Shadai Ivor 1983 - Dyna Carle 1984 - Tokai Roman 1985 - Noah no Hakobune 1986 - Mejiro Ramonu 1987 - Max Beauty 1988 - Cosmo Dream 1989 - Light Color
See also Horse racing in Japan List of Japanese flat horse races
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