Still in Love (Japanese: スティルインラブ, Hepburn: Sutiru in Rabu; 2 May 2000 – 2 August 2007) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. After winning her only race as a juvenile, she became the best filly of her generation in Japan by winning the Oka Sho, Yushun Himba, and Shuka Sho, becoming the second filly to win the Japanese Triple Tiara in 2003. She remained in training for two more years but failed to win again and was retired in 2005. She produced only one foal before dying at the age of seven in 2007.

Background Still in Love was a chestnut mare bred in Japan by Shimokobe Farm. She was sired by Sunday Silence, who won the 1989 Kentucky Derby, before retiring to stud in Japan where he was champion sire on thirteen consecutive occasions. His other major winners included Deep Impact, Stay Gold, Heart's Cry, Manhattan Cafe, Zenno Rob Roy and Neo Universe. Still in Love's dam Bradamente was an unraced, Kentucky-bred daughter of Roberto. She was a half-sister to Color of Gold, who produced the Yushun Himba winner Robe Decollete.

During her racing career, Still in Love was owned by North Hills Management Co Ltd and trained by Shoichi Matsumoto. She was ridden by Hideaki Miyuki throughout her career.

Racing career

2002 and 2003: two and three-year-old seasons On her only appearance as a two-year-old Still in Love won a maiden race over 1400 metres at Hanshin Racecourse on 30 November 2002.

Still in Love began her second season by winning the Kobai Stakes over 1400 metres at Kyoto Racecourse in January and was then moved up in class for the Grade III Tulip Sho at Hanshin in which she finished second of the sixteen runners behind Osumi Haruka. On 13 April Still in Love was one of seventeen fillies to contest the Grade I Oka Sho (the first leg of the Japanese Fillies Triple Crown) over 1600 metres at the same track. She started the 5/2 joint favourite alongside Admire Groove with the best fancied of the other runners being Yamakatsu Lily and Meine Nouvelle. Still in Love won by one and a half lengths from the 50/1 outsider She Is Tosho with Admire Groove half a length away in third. Her winning time of 1:33.9 was a record for the race. The filly was then moved up in distance for the Yushun Himba over 2400 metres at Tokyo Racecourse on 25 May. She added the second leg of the Triple Crown as she won by one and a quarter lengths from Chunyi, with Shinko Ruby coming third ahead of Yamakatsu Lily.

After a break of almost four months Still in Love returned in the Grade II Rose Stakes at Hanshin on 21 September and finished fifth of the twelve runners behind Admire Groove. On 19 October the filly attempted to complete the Triple Crown in the Shuka Sho over 2000 metres at Kyoto Racecourse in which her opponents included Admire Groove, Peace of World (Hanshin Juvenile Fillies), Osumi Haruka, Chunyi, and Yamakatsu Lily. She won by three quarters of a length from Admire Groove with Yamakatsu Lily, Peace of World and Meine Samantha close behind in third, fourth and fifth. On her final appearance of the season, Still in Love was matched against older fillies and mares in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup over 2200 metres at Kyoto in November and finished second, beaten a nose by her old rival Admire Groove.

2004 and 2005: later career In 2004 Still in Love failed to win in five races. In the first part of the season she was unplaced behind Tap Dance City in the Kinko Sho and the Takarazuka Kinen and then finished twelfth of thirteen in the Grade III Kitakyushu Kinen. In the autumn she finished third to Osumi Haruka in the Grade III Fuchu Himba Stakes and ended the year by running ninth behind Admire Groove in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup.

Still in Love remained in training as a five-year-old but made no impact in three starts, finishing unplaced in the Kinko Sho, Takarazuka Kinen and Fuchu Himba Stakes.

Racing form Still in Love won five races out of 16 starts. This data is available in JBIS and netkeiba. DateRacecourseRaceGradeDistance(Condition)EntryHNOdds (Favored)FinishTimeMarginsJockeyWinner (Runner-up)2002 – two-year-old seasonNov 30Hanshin2yo Newcomer1,400 m (Firm)16151.7 (1)1st1:22.2–0.6Hideaki Miyuki(Kitano Suzaku)2003 – three-year-old seasonJan 19KyotoKobai StakesOP1,400 m (Firm)1554.1 (2)1st1:22.1–0.1Hideaki Miyuki(Montparnasse)Mar 8HanshinTulip Sho31,600 m (Good)1661.7 (1)2nd1:36.00.1Hideaki MiyukiOsumi HarukaApr 13HanshinOka Sho11,600 m (Firm)1793.5 (2)1st1:33.9–0.2Hideaki Miyuki(She is Tosho)May 25TokyoYushun Himba12,400 m (Firm)1735.6 (2)1st2:27.5–0.2Hideaki Miyuki(Chunyi)Sep 21HanshinRose Stakes22,000 m (Firm)12111.9 (1)5th2:02.00.5Hideaki MiyukiAdmire GrooveOct 19KyotoShuka Sho12,000 m (Firm)18173.2 (2)1st1:59.1–0.1Hideaki Miyuki(Admire Groove)Nov 16KyotoQEII Cup12,200 m (Firm)1553.0 (1)2nd2:11.80.0Hideaki MiyukiAdmire Groove2004 – four-year-old seasonMay 29ChukyoKinko Sho22,000 m (Firm)12109.2 (5)8th1:59.11.6Hideaki MiyukiTap Dance CityJun 27HanshinTakarazuka Kinen12,200 m (Firm)151142.3 (10)8th2:12.61.5Hideaki MiyukiTap Dance CityJul 18KokuraKitakyushu Kinen31,800 m (Firm)1366.8 (4)12th1:45.31.2Hideaki MiyukiDaitaku BertramOct 17TokyoFuchu Himba Stakes31,800 m (Firm)1652.9 (1)3rd1:46.40.2Hideaki MiyukiOsumi HarukaNov 14KyotoQEII Cup12,200 m (Firm)18155.1 (3)9th2:14.30.7Hideaki MiyukiAdmire Groove2005 – five-year-old seasonMay 28ChukyoKinko Sho22,000 m (Firm)10628.6 (4)6th1:59.50.6Hideaki MiyukiTap Dance CityJun 26HanshinTakarazuka Kinen12,200 m (Firm)1514160.0 (14)9th2:12.71.2Hideaki MiyukiSweep ToshoOct 16TokyoFuchu Himba Stakes31,800 m (Good)17510.0 (5)17th1:48.21.5Hideaki MiyukiYamanin Alabaster Legend:

Assessment and awards In January 2004, Still in Love was voted the Best Three-Year-Old Filly of 2003 at the JRA Awards.

Breeding record Still in Love was retired from racing to become a broodmare. She produced only one foal:

Judah, a chestnut colt, foaled in 2007, sired by King Kamehameha. Won two races. He was later sent to be a participating horse at the .

Still in Love became ill in July 2007 from an abdominal complaint. She underwent surgery but failed to recover and died on 2 August 2007 at the age of seven at Shimokobe Farm.

In popular culture An anthropomorphized version of Still in Love appears as a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Saki Miyashita. She is usually depicted as gentle, quiet, and has a faint presence that leaves her unrecognized by other students except for the player trainer and her roommate, Neo Universe. However, she possesses a single-minded love and devotion to the player trainer that manifests during competitions, in which she seems to undergo a personality shift, becoming sadistic and deriving a pleasure in "devouring" the strong — a side she normally suppresses with her rationality. This sense of contrast is fully revealed during her career mode, in which the player has the option to play with a glitching interface that gradually intensifies. As the story progresses, the game screen occasionally flickers, the color palette shifts into a blurred, dark red mist, and dialogue options turn into corrupted code (mojibake) or large blank spaces. This provides a psychological horror experience that some players have even compared to Doki Doki Literature Club!.

Pedigree

Still in Love was inbred 3 × 3 to Hail To Reason, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the third generation of her pedigree.

See also List of racehorses

References