Tap Dance City (Japanese: タップダンスシチー, Hepburn: Tappu Dansu Shichii, foaled March 16, 1997) is a retired American-bred Japanese-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He showed promising form in his early racing career, winning the Asahi Challenge Cup in 2002. He reached his peak as a six-year-old in 2003 when he won the Kinko Sho and the Kyoto Daishoten before defeating a strong international field in the Japan Cup by 9 lengths, setting the record for the largest margin of victory achieved in a Japanese Grade 1 race. In the following year he won a second Kinko Sho and then took the Takarazuka Kinen. He won a third Kinko Sho as an eight-year-old in 2005. Tap Dance City performed consistently well throughout his career, placing in over half his races, and is the only foreign-bred horse to earn over one billion yen in Japan.

Background Tap Dance City is a bay horse bred in Kentucky by Echo Valley Horse Farm & Swettenham Stud. He was sired by the Eclipse Award winning stallion Pleasant Tap, whose other progeny included the Champion Stakes winner David Junior. His dam, All Dance, was a sister of the Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors and produced several good winners including the leading British hurdler Ruling.

Racing career

2000–2002: early career Tap Dance City won two of his nine races a three-year-old in 2000, but failed to win in six races in 2001. He emerged as a top-class performer in 2002 when he won the Grade 3 Asahi Challenge Cup. In December 2002, as an 85/1 outsider, he produced his best performance up to that point when he finished second to Symboli Kris S in the Grade 1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama Racecourse.

2003: six-year-old season Tap Dance City began his six-year-old season by winning a handicap race at Tokyo Racecourse and then won the Grade 2 Kinko Sho at Chukyo Racecourse in May. In June he finished third to Hishi Miracle in the Takarazuka Kinen, with the unplaced horses including Neo Universe, Symboli Kris S and Agnes Digital. On his return from the summer break, Tap Dance City won the Grade 2 Kyoto Daishoten, beating Hishi Miracle by one and a quarter lengths after leading from the start.

On November 30, 2003, Tap Dance City, ridden by Tetsuzo Sato, started at odds of 12.8/1 for the 22nd running of the Japan Cup at Tokyo. Apart from the Japanese contenders such as Symboli Kris S and Neo Universe, the race attracted international challengers including Islington from England, Johar from the United States and Fields of Omagh from Australia. Tap Dance City went into the lead from the start and opened up a seven length advantage with five furlongs left to run. He was never challenged and won by a record margin of nine lengths from the Kikuka Sho winner That's The Plenty, with Symboli Kris S and Neo Universe in third and fourth places.

2004–2005: later career

In 2004, Tap Dance City won the Kinko Sho for a second time before starting 5/2 favourite for the Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse on June 27. Sato tracked the leaders before sending the seven-year-old into the lead half a mile from the finish. Tap Dance City won by two lengths and three quarters of a length from Silk Famous and Lincoln, with Zenno Rob Roy taking fourth ahead of That's The Plenty. In autumn, Tap Dance City was sent to Europe to contest the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp Racecourse on October 3. Starting at odds of 10/1 he disputed the lead until the turn into the straight, but faded in the closing stages and finished seventeenth of the nineteen runners behind Bago. Tap Dance City returned to Japan, and in December he finished second in the Arima Kinen, beaten half a length by Zenno Rob Roy, with Delta Blues, Hishi Miracle and Heart's Cry among the unplaced finishers.

As an eight-year-old, Tap Dance City won the Kinko Sho for a third time but finished unplaced in his remaining four races.

Racing form Tap Dance City won 12 races and placed in another 13 out of 42 starts. This data is available in JBIS, netkeiba and racingpost. DateTrackRaceGradeDistance(Condition)EntryHNOdds(Favored)FinishTimeMarginsJockeyWinner(Runner-up)2000 – three-year-old seasonMar 4Hanshin3yo Newcomer2,000 m (Good)131111.8 (6)9th2:10.52.2Hirofumi ShiiMiradaMar 19Hanshin3yo Newcomer2,200 m (Firm)9715.6 (4)1st2:18.40.0Hirofumi Shii(Kagami Paradise)Apr 15HanshinWakakusa StakesOP2,200 m (Firm)121119.2 (7)5th2:18.70.3Hirofumi ShiiAgnes FlightMay 6KyotoKyoto Shimbun Hai32,000 m (Firm)14513.7 (5)3rd2:00.30.5Hirofumi ShiiAgnes FlightJun 4ChukyoShirayuri Stakes1,800 m (Firm)1394.0 (2)7th1:49.20.9Shigefumi KumazawaJin WarabeutaJun 18HanshinNoichigo ShoALW (1W)2,200 m (Firm)1374.5 (2)5th2:17.20.2Shigefumi KumazawaWhite HappinessOct 29Kyoto3yo+ Allowance1W2,400 m (Soft)1458.6 (5)4th2:27.30.4Hirofumi ShiiHeartland HiryuNov 18KyotoYase Tokubetsu2,400 m (Firm)876.9 (4)2nd2:28.40.2Hideaki MiyukiWhite HappinessDec 9ChukyoTenryugawa Tokubetsu2,500 m (Firm)10103.0 (2)1st–0.3Daisaku Matsuda(Bohemian Cherry)2001 – four-year-old seasonJan 8KyotoManyo StakesOP3,000 m (Good)1025.2 (3)5th3:09.30.6Hirofumi ShiiToshi the V.Feb 18KokuraKammonkyo StakesALW (3W)2,000 m (Firm)12104.1 (2)3rd2:02.80.2Eiji NakadateFight CommanderMar 25HanshinTajima StakesALW (3W)2,000 m (Firm)1174.6 (3)2nd2:00.00.4Katsumi AndoFight CommanderApr 7HanshinOsaka-Hamburg CupOP2,500 m (Firm)1194.7 (2)5th2:33.80.5Hirofumi ShiiMejiro SandraDec 8Hanshin3yo+ Allowance2W2,000 m (Firm)959.7 (4)4th2:01.30.6Hirofumi ShiiDaitaku BertramDec 23HanshinEsaka TokubetsuALW (2W)2,500 m (Firm)1675.1 (3)2nd2:33.50.2Hirofumi ShiiSharp Kick2002 – five-year-old seasonJan 13KyotoNikkei Shinshun Hai22,400 m (Firm)12316.1 (6)3rd2:26.60.2Shoichi KawaharaTop CommanderFeb 9KyotoKasuga TokubetsuALW (2W)1,800 m (Firm)1211.9 (1)1st1:46.9–0.2Yutaka Take(Asuka Tsuyoshi)Mar 2HanshinMidosuji StakesALW (3W)2,200 m (Firm)1141.8 (1)1st2:12.3–0.6Olivier Peslier(Active Bio)Mar 23NakayamaNikkei Sho22,500 m (Firm)859.6 (3)2nd2:37.00.0Masaki KatsuuraActive BioApr 21TokyoMetropolitan StakesOP2,300 m (Good)11113.7 (1)3rd2:21.20.5Masaki KatsuuraTsurumaru BoyMay 18TokyoMeguro Kinen22,500 m (Soft)18118.4 (8)5th2:32.40.6Masaki KatsuuraToshi the V.Jul 21HakodateHakodate Kinen32,000 m (Firm)161011.9 (7)8th2:06.21.1Hirofumi ShiiYamanin RespectSep 7HanshinAsahi Challenge Cup32,000 m (Firm)1029.6 (5)1st0.0Tetsuzo Sato(Ibuki Government)Oct 6KyotoKyoto Daishoten22,400 m (Firm)858.9 (3)3rd2:24.00.4Tetsuzo SatoNarita Top RoadNov 3NakayamaCopa Republica Argentina22,500 m (Firm)1153.5 (2)3rd2:31.40.8Tetsuzo SatoSunrise JaegerNov 23KyotoKeihan Hai31,800 m (Firm)151413.6 (6)5th1:45.70.4Tetsuzo SatoSidewinderDec 22NakayamaArima Kinen12,500 m (Good)14886.3 (13)2nd2:32.70.1Tetsuzo SatoSymboli Kris S2003 – six-year-old seasonApr 26TokyoCommemoration of Renewalof the Tokyo RacecourseOP2,400 m (Firm)131011.3 (7)1st2:23.7–0.3Tetsuzo Sato(Lady Pastel)May 31ChukyoKinko Sho22,000 m (Good)14115.8 (4)1st1:58.9–0.1Tetsuzo Sato(Tsurumaru Boy)Jun 29HanshinTakarazuka Kinen12,200 m (Firm)17169.3 (4)3rd2:12.20.2Tetsuzo SatoHishi MiracleOct 12KyotoKyoto Daishoten22,400 m (Firm)9102.2 (1)1st2:26.6–0.2Tetsuzo Sato(Hishi Miracle)Nov 30TokyoJapan Cup12,400 m (Soft)18113.8 (4)1st2:28.7–1.5Tetsuzo Sato(That's the Plenty)Dec 28NakayamaArima Kinen12,500 m (Firm)1263.9 (2)8th2:32.8–2.3Tetsuzo SatoSymboli Kris S2004 – seven-year-old seasonMay 29ChukyoKinko Sho22,000 m (Firm)12112.3 (1)1st0.0Tetsuzo Sato(Blue Eleven)Jun 27HanshinTakarazuka Kinen12,200 m (Firm)15153.5 (1)1st2:11.1–0.3Tetsuzo Sato(Silk Famous)Oct 3LongchampPrix de l'Arc de Triomphe12,400 m (Good)19610/1 (6)17th2:27.82.8Tetsuzo SatoBagoDec 26NakayamaArima Kinen12,500 m (Firm)1598.8 (3)2nd2:29.60.1Tetsuzo SatoZenno Rob Roy2005 – eight-year-old seasonMay 28ChukyoKinko Sho22,000 m (Firm)10101.4 (1)1st1:58.9–0.4Tetsuzo Sato(Vita Rosa)Jun 26HanshinTakarazuka Kinen12,200 m (Firm)15151.9 (1)7th2:12.71.2Tetsuzo SatoSweep ToshoOct 30TokyoTenno Sho (Autumn)12,000 m (Firm)18614.1 (6)9th2:00.60.5Tetsuzo SatoHeavenly RomanceNov 27TokyoJapan Cup12,400 m (Firm)18217.2 (7)10th2:23.11.0Tetsuzo SatoAlkaasedDec 25NakayamaArima Kinen12,500 m (Firm)16919.7 (5)12th2:33.31.4Tetsuzo SatoHeart's Cry Legend:

indicated that it was a record time finish

Stud record Tap Dance City was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion at the Breeders' Stallion Station. To date he had made no impact as a sire of winners. He was "put out of stud" in Japan on May 12, 2011.

In popular culture An anthropomorphized version of Tap Dance City appears as a character in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Minami Shinoda.

Pedigree

Notes

References