was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 1993 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. She was badly injured in a fall during the 1997 Dubai World Cup at what was her retirement race and had to be euthanized. She was famous by having an early great career on turf before successfully switching to dirt on the later half.

Career

Hokuto Vega's first race was on January 5, 1993, at Nakayama, where she came in first. She picked up her next win at the 1993 Cattleya Sho on February 20. She competed in her first graded race on March 20, 1993, when she won the 1993 Flower Cup. This win helped her gain entry into the 1993 Oka Sho, where she came in 5th place. On May 23, 1993, she competed in the Grade-1 Yushun Himba, where she came in 6th. She came in 2nd place at the October 3, 1993, Grade-3 Queen Stakes. On November 14, 1993, she scored a major upset by winning the 1993 Grade-1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the biggest win of her career.

In 1994, she faced a winless season except for victories at the June 12th Sapporo Nikkei Open and the Grade-3 Sapporo Kinen. It wasn't until June 13th, 1995, that she secured her sole victory of the year, winning the 1995 Empress Hai.

She had her most successful racing season in 1996. She won 8 of the 10 races she competed in during the 1996 season. Her wins in 1996 included victories at the Kawasaki Kinen, the February Stakes, the Diolite Kinen, the Gunma Kinen, the Grade-1 Teio Sho, the Grade-1 Mile Championship Nambu Hai and the Urawa Kinen. In November, she attempted to repeat her win in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, with the race newly being open to fillies and mares of all ages 3 and over, but came up short behind three younger mares, with the first place being Dance Partner. At the end of the year, she was awarded the JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse.

Hokuto Vega's 8 year old season in 1997 started off strong. She repeated her win in the Kawasaki Kinen on February 5, becoming the only filly or mare to win the race twice. A couple months later, Hokuto Vega was invited to the second running of the Dubai World Cup, which was scheduled to be her retirement race. She broke well from the gates and settled in the back of the pack, but rounding the corner into the final straight, she suddenly fell, colliding with Bijou d'Inde. She had a poor prognosis, and was euthanized shortly after as a result. Due to quarantine regulations, her body was never repatriated to Japan. As she died before she could become a broodmare, she produced no foals. Shortly after her death, Kawasaki Racecourse established the Sparking Lady Cup, also called the Hokuto Vega Memorial in her honor, which is run over a 1600 meter dirt track.

Racing form Hokuto Vega raced in 42 races and achieved 16 wins with nine more placed finish. The data available is based on JBIS and netkeiba.com.

DateTrackRaceGradeDistance(Condition)EntryHNOdds(Favored)FinishTimeMarginsJockeyWinner(Runner-up)1993 – three-year-old seasonJan 5Nakayama3YO debut1400m（Fast）1623.7（2）1:12.5–1.5Kazuhiro Kato(Izumi Blue)Jan 16NakayamaShuchiku ShoALW (1W)1800m（Muddy）991.5（1）1:52.40.1Kazuhiro KatoSaikyo HozanFeb 20TokyoCattleya ShoALW (1W)1600m（Fast）16121.9（1）1:37.8–0.5Kazuhiro Kato(Sanei Record)Mar 20NakayamaFlower Cup31800m（Firm）1432.9（2）1:49.7–0.1Kazuhiro Kato(Tai Juliet)Apr 11HanshinOka Sho11600m（Firm）181616.2（6）1:37.70.5Kazuhiro KatoVegaMay 23TokyoYushun Himba12400m（Firm）181410.2（5）2:28.20.9Kazuhiro KatoVegaOct 3NakayamaQueen Stakes32000m（Firm）14103.3（2）2:02.60.3Kazuhiro KatoYukino BijinOct 24KyotoRose Stakes22000m（Firm）1435.5（3）2:00.70.5Kazuhiro KatoStar BallerinaNov 14KyotoQE II Cup12400m（Firm）18130.4（9）2:24.9–0.2Kazuhiro Kato(North Flight)Dec 18NakayamaTurquoise StakesOP1800m（Firm）923.7（2）1:49.80.4Kazuhiro KatoYukino Bijin1994 – four-year-old seasonJan 15HanshinHeian Stakes31800m（Fast）16125.3（2）1:54.31.5Kazuhiro KatoToyo LyphardFeb 27NakayamaNakayama Himba Stakes31800m（Firm）1193.6（2）1:48.30.7Kazuhiro KatoHokkai SeresApr 23TokyoKeio Hai Spring Cup21400m（Firm）16912.1（5）1:21.90.5Kazuhiro KatoSki ParadiseJun 12SapporoSapporo Nikkei OpenOP1800m（Firm）1252.3（1）–0.3Kazuhiro Kato(Mogami Saruno)Jul 3SapporoSapporo Kinen32000m（Firm）13102.0（1）2:00.9–0.1Kazuhiro Kato(A. P. Grand Prix)Aug 21SapporoHakodate Kinen32000m（Firm）1432.9（1）2:02.10.5Kazuhiro KatoWako ChikakoOct 9TokyoMainichi Okan21800m（Firm）11826.5（11）1:45.40.8Kazuhiro KatoNehai CaesarNov 13TokyoFuji StakesOP1800m（Firm）1136.6（2）1:47.60.7Kazuhiro KatoSakura Chitose ODec 18HanshinHanshin Himba Stakes22000m（Firm）13616.3（6）2:01.20.6Kazuhiro KatoMemory Jasper1995 – five-year-old seasonJan 22NakayamaAmerican Jockey Club Cup22200m（Firm）10157.1（6）2:14.50.1Kazuhiro KatoSakura Chitose OFeb 26NakayamaNakayama Himba Stakes31800m（Good）1063.2（1）1:49.50.1Kazuhiro KatoAlpha CuteMar 12NakayamaNakayama Kinen21800m（Good）12810.3（2）1:50.80.5Kazuhiro KatoFujiyama KenzanApr 22TokyoKeio Hai Spring Cup21400m（Firm）181625.6（11）1:21.50.2Norihiro YokoyamaDumaaniMay 14TokyoYasuda Kinen11600m（Firm）181010.1（3）1:33.50.3Norihiro YokoyamaHeart LakeJun 13KawasakiEmpress HaiGrade-12000m（Muddy）770.0（1）2:06.5–3.6Norihiro Yokoyama(Aqua Raiden)Aug 20SapporoHakodate Kinen32000m（Soft）1638.5（5）2:03.51.1Hitoshi MatobaInter My WayOct 8TokyoMainichi Okan21800m（Soft）14521.6（8）1:49.20.8Eizaburo OtsukaSugano OjiOct 29TokyoTenno Sho (Autumn)12000m（Firm）171877.0（15）2:00.21.4Norihiro YokoyamaSakura Chitose ONov 19NiigataFukushima Kinen32000m（Firm）161213.7（8）2:01.90.0Eiji NakadateMeiner BridgeDec 17HanshinHanshin Himba Stakes22000m（Firm）12412.8（5）2:00.80.5Eiji NakadateSamani Beppin1996 – six-year-old seasonJan 24KawasakiKawasaki KinenGrade-12000m（Fast）1290.0（2）2:07.5–1.0Norihiro Yokoyama(Life Asahi)Feb 17TokyoFebruary Stakes21600m（Fast）1554.6（3）1:36.5–0.6Norihiro Yokoyama(I Owe You)Mar 20FunabashiDiolite KinenGrade-12400m（Fast）880.0（1）2:31.3–0.5Norihiro Yokoyama(Spectacle)May 5TakasakiGunma KinenGrade-11500m（Muddy）1220.0（1）–0.5Norihiro Yokoyama(Hikari Rufas)Jun 19OhiTeio ShoGrade-12000m（Fast）15100.0（1）2:04.2–0.4Norihiro Yokoyama(I Owe You)Jul 15KawasakiEmpress HaiGrade-12000m（Fast）620.0（1）2:06.7–1.5Norihiro Yokoyama(Speed Iris)Oct 10MoriokaMile Championship Nambu HaiGrade-11600m（Fast）1220.0（1）1:38.3–1.3Hitoshi Matoba(Heisei Silver)Nov 10KyotoQE II Cup12200m（Firm）1628.5（4）2:14.40.1Hitoshi MatobaDance PartnerDec 4UrawaUrawa KinenGrade-12000m（Fast）980.0（1）2:05.5–0.2Norihiro Yokoyama(Kyoto City)Dec 22NakayamaArima Kinen12500m（Firm）14931.3（9）2:36.02.2Shinji FujitaSakura Laurel1997 – seven-year-old seasonJan 24KawasakiKawasaki KinenGrade-12000m（Good）1170.0（1）2:06.7–0.6Norihiro Yokoyama(Kyoto City)Apr 3Nad Al ShebaDubai World CupL2000m（Fast）128–DNF––Norihiro YokoyamaSingspiel

Legend:

means it was a record time finish All "Grade-1" ranked race was labeled as listed in international level

Pedigree

References