was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. After winning both of his races as a two-year-old, he established himself as the best colt of his generation in Japan in 2004 with a five-race winning streak including the Mainichi Hai, NHK Mile Cup, Tokyo Yushun and Kobe Shimbun Hai. After sustaining a tendon injury he was retired from racing with a record of seven wins and one third place from eight starts. He became one of the most successful breeding stallions in Japan winning two sires' championships.

Background King Kamehameha was a bay horse with no white markings bred in Japan by Northern Farm. His sire, Kingmambo was a highly successful breeding stallion. His progeny included the British Classic winners Russian Rhythm, King's Best, Henrythenavigator, Virginia Waters and Rule of Law as well as major winners in Japan (El Condor Pasa), France (Divine Proportions) and the United States (Lemon Drop Kid). King Kamehameha's dam Manfath, showed no discernible racing ability, failing to win in seven races in England in 1993 and 1994. Manfath did come from a successful female line: her great-great-grandmother Aimee was the ancestor of many major winners including Blushing Groom, Shareta and Encke.

Before foaling King Kamehameha, Manfath had produced The Deputy, a colt who won the Santa Anita Derby in 2000. Manfath was in foal to Kingmambo when she was offered for sale at Keeneland and sold for $600,000. She was exported to Japan where she produced King Kamehameha in the following spring. During his racing career the colt raced in the colours of Makoto Kaneko and was trained by Kunihide Matsuda. The colt was named after a 19th-century Hawaiian monarchy.

Racing career

2003: two-year-old season King Kamehameha began his racing career in a maiden race at Kyoto Racecourse on 16 November and won from eleven opponents over 1800 metres. He then won the Erica Sho at over 2000 metres at Hanshin Racecourse in December.

2004: three-year-old season King Kamehameha began his second season by sustaining his only defeat when finishing third to Focal Point and Meiner Makros in the Grade 3 Keisei Hei over 2000 metres at Nakayama Racecourse on 17 January. He was moved up in distance to win the Sumire Stakes over 2200 metres at Hanshin in February and then recorded his first important success at the same course in March when he defeated Shell Game and Meiner Makros in the Grade 3 Mainichi Hai over 2000 metres. On 9 May the colt started favourite in an eighteen-runner field for the Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup over 1600 metres at Tokyo Racecourse. His closest rival in the betting was Seeking The Dia, colt who had won his last three races including the Arlington Cup and the New Zealand Trophy. Ridden by the veteran jockey Katsumi Ando he won by five lengths from Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes winner Cosmo Sunbeam with Meisho Bowler in third and Seeking The Dia seventh.

Three weeks after his win in the NHK Mile Cup King Kamehameha returned to Tokyo Racecourse and was stepped up in trip for the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) over 2400 metres in front of a crowd of 122,000. The colt's preparation for the race, moving up, down and up again in distance were described as being "in defiance of conventional training methods". Focal Point, Meiner Makros and Cosmo Sunbeam were again in opposition whilst other contenders in the eighteen-runner field included Heart's Cry, Daiwa Major and the popular Cosmo Bulk. With Ando again in the saddle, King Kamehameha was restrained in the early stages as Meiner Makros set a very fast pace and went ten lengths clear. King Kamehameha moved up on the final turn, took the lead 300 metres from the finish and won by one and a half lengths from Heart's Cry in a race record time of 2:23.3. After the race Ando said "It wasn't an easy race, but winning it was almost a given. This horse is something else".

On his only subsequent appearance, King Kamehameha ran in the Kobe Shimbun Hai over 2000 metres at Hanshin on 26 September. He won by one and a quarter lengths from Keiai Guard, with Heart's Cry the same distance away in third place. He was retired from racing after sustaining a tendon injury.

Racing form King Kamehameha won seven races and finished third once out of eight starts. This data is available based on JBIS and netkeiba. DateRacecourseRaceGradeDistance(Condition)EntryHNOdds (Favored)FinishTimeMarginsJockeyWinner (Runner-up)2003 – two-year-old seasonNov 16Kyoto2yo Newcomer1,800 m (Firm)12122.6 (1)1st1:50.5–0.1Katsumi Ando(Universal)Dec 13HanshinErica ShoALW (1W)2,000 m (Firm)1252.2 (1)1st2:02.6–0.1Yutaka Take(Great Basin)2004 – three-year-old seasonJan 18NakayamaKeisei Hai32,000 m (Firm)1042.3 (1)3rd2:00.00.8Dario VargiuFocal PointFeb 29HanshinSumire StakesOP2,200 m (Soft)771.7 (1)1st2:16.4–0.4Katsumi Ando(Stratagem)Mar 27HanshinMainichi Hai32,000 m (Firm)882.7 (2)1st2:01.2–0.4Yuichi Fukunaga(Shell Game)May 9TokyoNHK Mile Cup11,600 m (Firm)18133.6 (1)1st1:32.5–0.8Katsumi Ando(Cosmo Sunbeam)May 30TokyoTokyo Yushun12,400 m (Firm)18122.6 (1)1st–0.2Katsumi Ando(Heart's Cry)Sep 26HanshinKobe Shimbun Hai22,000 m (Firm)871.5 (1)1st1:59.0–0.2Katsumi Ando(Keiai Guard) Legend:

on the time indicates that this was a record time

Awards In January 2005 King Kamehameha was voted champion Japanese three-year-old colt at the JRA Awards.

On June 4, 2024, he was inducted into the Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame.

Stud record King Kamehameha was retired from racing to become a breeding stallion at the Shadai Stallion Station after being syndicated at a value of $19 million, a record for a Japanese-trained horse. He achieved great success as a sire of winners and was twice the leading sire in Japan in 2010 and 2011. In early 2019 the stallion began to suffer from ill-health and in August his condition deteriorated. He died on 10 August at the age of 18.

Major winners c = colt, f = filly

Foaled Name Sex Major wins 2007 Rose Kingdom c Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, Japan Cup 2007 Rulership c Queen Elizabeth II Cup 2007 Apapane f Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, Oka Shō, Yushun Himba, Shūka Shō, Victoria Mile 2008 Belshazzar c Japan Cup Dirt 2008 Lord Kanaloa c Sprinters Stakes (twice), Hong Kong Sprint (twice), Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Yasuda Kinen 2009 Hokko Tarumae c Champions Cup, Tokyo Daishōten (twice), Kawasaki Kinen (3 times), Teio Sho (twice) 2010 Lovely Day c Takarazuka Kinen, Tennō Shō (Autumn) 2012 Duramente c Satsuki Shō, Tōkyō Yūshun 2012 Let's Go Donki f Oka Shō 2013 Leontes c Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes 2013 Mikki Rocket c Takarazuka Kinen 2014 Rey de Oro c Tōkyō Yūshun, Tennō Shō (Autumn) 2015 Chuwa Wizard c Champions Cup 2017 Jun Light Bolt c Champions Cup 2018 Diktaean g Tokyo Daishōten 2018 Peptide Nile c February Stakes 2019 Stunning Rose f Shūka Shō, Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Pedigree

King Kamehameha was inbred 4 × 4 to Northern Dancer, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

See also List of racehorses

References