is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won the NAR Grand Prix Dirt Grade Race Special Prize for the 2013-2015 season, and won the JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse in 2014. After receiving this award, the Tomakomai Tourism Association made him into the tourism ambassador of Tomakomai.
Background Hokko Tarumae was put up for auction at the Hokkaido Selection Sale for yearlings in 2010 and was sold to for 15,750,000 Japanese yen.
The horse is named after Mount Tarumae, a volcano located within the city of Tomakomai, where the owner (who uses the eponym Hokko) is from.
Racing career 2012: three-year-old season Hokko Tarumae debuted on January 14 at Kyoto Racecourse with as his jockey but finished at 11th. He won his first race at the next race, a maiden race held at Kokura Racecourse, with as his jockey. He won his second race after two unremarkable starts at an allowance race at Hanshin Racecourse, which was the first race the horse was ridden by ; who would become his main jockey. He then won his third race victory at the Oume Tokubetsu on June 3 at Tokyo Racecourse.
Hokko Tarumae was then entered on to the Japan Dirt Derby on July 11 but finished 5th behind . Miyuki stated that the horse lost not because he was a weaker horse but was because the horse was distracted and had to place him in a position further behind than what he had hoped for. On August 5, Hokko Tarumae was entered in to his second graded race, the Leopard Stakes, of which he won; marking his first graded race victory. While Hokko Tarumae did not win a single race for the rest of the season, he still managed to finish 3rd in the Japan Cup Dirt despite being the 9th favored to win.
2013: four-year-old season Hokko Tarumae started the season with the Tokai Stakes. For the first time in his career, he was the most favored to win a race but ultimately finished third behind , he won the next three races, the , the , and the Antares Stakes, consecutively. He would then go on to win his first JpnI race, the Kashiwa Kinen, after beating Espoir City in that race. He would also win the next race, the JpnI Teio Sho, after beating .
After a three-and-a-half months long break, Hokko Tarumae was entered in to the Mile Championship Nambu Hai, but his winning streak was broken in that race as he failed to catch up to the front-runner Espoir City. Hokko Tarumae became the front runner in his next race, the Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Classic, where he held on to the lead and finished the race in record time for the course. On his next race, the Japan Cup Dirt, Hokko Tarumae managed to take the lead from the front running Espoir City, but finished third after he was passed by both and Wonder Acute after the final 100 meter mark. On his next and final race of the season, the Tokyo Daishōten, Hokko Tarumae won the race by beating Wonder Acute by a length and a half; marking his fourth JpnI/GI race wins of his career.
For the horse's accomplishment of this season, the National Association of Racing awarded the NAR Grand Prix Dirt Grade Race Special Prize for that year.
2014: five-year-old season
Hokko Tarumae's first race of the season was the Kawasaki Kinen, where he was the most favored to win by far, and won his 5th GI/JpnI race. He finished second on his next race, the February Stakes, as he was unable to catch up to Copano Rickey, who was the underdog of the race that scored an upset victory after he took the lead relatively early on.
Hokko Tarumae was then entered in to his first race abroad, which was the Dubai World Cup, but finished last. Following the race, the horse fell ill and was diagnosed as stress induced enterocolitis by the veterinarians, which led to his return to Japan being delayed a week. Following his return, it was announced that the horse would rest until Autumn.
After recuperating, he ran the Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Classic where he finished fourth. Later, he was entered in to the Champions' Cup, where he ran second for most of the race before taking over front runner and winning the race, scoring his first ever JRA GI win and a total of his 6th GI/JpnI win, although his jockey Miyuki was fined 50,000 yen for poor use of his whip on the final stretch. He was then entered in to the Tokyo Daishōten where he took the lead from Copano Rickey at the third corner and beating him with a four length lead, becoming the third horse ever to win the race two years in a row.
For his feats of the season, the horse was awarded the JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse that year.
2015: six-year-old season
Hokko Tarumae started the season with the Kawasaki Kinen, of which he won. He was then sent to Dubai to once again contest the Dubai World Cup, this time finishing 5th. He was then entered in to the Teio Sho which he won, winning his 9th Grade I title, tying him with Espoir City and Vermilion in being the Japanese-trained horse with the most Grade I wins.
After taking a break for the summer, he was entered in to the Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Classic, Champions' Cup, and Tokyo Daishōten, but he was unable to win any of them, with his best race being the final race where he came in second.
2016: seven-year-old season Hokko Tarumae once again started the season off and won the Kawasaki Kinen, held on January 27. This made the horse the first horse in Japan ever to have won 10 GI/JpnI races in their career. This also made Hokko Tarumae the second horse ever (since from 1985 to 1987) to win the Kawasaki Kinen for three years in a row. Hokko Tarumae was then once again entered in to the Dubai World Cup, where he finished at 9th place. He was then entered in to the Teio Sho where he finished fourth.
After taking the summer off, the horse placed 3rd in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai and 2nd in the Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Classic, and was slated to run the Champions' Cup and Tokyo Daishōten. However, in preparation for the race the horse was found to show lameness on his left forearm, leading to the horse to be retired from racing. This resulted in plans for a retirement ceremony that was scheduled to be held after running the Tokyo Daishōten at Ohi Racecourse (a first for any horse affiliated with the JRA) to be scrapped as well.
Racing statistics The following is based on the racing form available on netkeiba.com and JBIS. DateTrackRaceGradeEntryOdds FinishJockeyDistance (Condition)TimeMarginsWinner (2nd place)2012 – three-year-old seasonJan 14Kyoto3YO Debut16107.711thKodai Hasegawa1400m (Fast)1:28.83.1GangesJan 29Kokura3YO Maiden1449.1Issei Murata1700m (Good)1:46.7 -0.1(Namura Conquer)Feb 19Kyoto3YO Allowance1 win1657.34thIssei Murata1800m (Good)1:53.40.3Laughing in MayMar 11ChukyoJinchoge Sho1 win167.16thIssei Murata1800m (Good)1:56.40.8Sanmaru DukeApr 7Hanshin3YO Allowance1 win1610.1Hideaki Miyuki1800m (Fast)1:53.5 -1.0(Special the Dia)Apr 29KyotoTango StakesOP1423.2Hideaki Miyuki1800m (Fast)1:50.90.0Hatano VainqueurJun 3TokyoOume Tokubetsu2 win133.1Hideaki Miyuki1600m (Fast)1:37.3 -0.1(Air Khalifa)Jul 11OhiJapan Dirt ClassicJpnI1110.85thHideaki Miyuki2000m (Fast)2:06.31.0Hatano VainqueurAug 5NiigataLeopard StakesGIII154.6Hideaki Miyuki1800m (Fast)1:51.80.0(Namura Victor)Nov 4KyotoMiyako StakesGIII1618.9Hideaki Miyuki1800m (Fast)1:49.70.1Roman LegendDec 2HanshinJapan Cup DirtGI1631.6Hideaki Miyuki1800m (Fast)1:49.50.7Nihonpiro OursDec 24NakayamaFarewell StakesOP161.8Hideaki Miyuki1800m (Good)1:51.90.4Grand City2013 – four-year-old seasonJan 20ChukyoTokai StakesGII162.8Hideaki Miyuki1800m (Fast)1:51.60.6Grape BrandyFeb 11SagaSaga KinenJpnIII121.5Hideaki Miyuki2000m (Good)2:05.7 -0.6(A Shin Moreover)Mar 20NagoyaNagoya DaishotenJpnIII121.2Hideaki Miyuki1900m (Sloppy)1:59.8 -0.7(A Shin Moreover)Apr 13HanshinAntares StakesGIII162.8Yasunari Iwata1800m (Fast)1:49.7 -0.1(Nihonpiro Ours)May 6FunabashiKashiwa KinenJpnI112.4Hideaki Miyuki1600m (Fast)1:37.8 -0.3(Espoir City)Jun 26OhiTeio ShoJpnI124.1Hideaki Miyuki2000m (Muddy)2:03.0 -0.2(Nihonpiro Ours)Oct 14Morioka Mile Championship Nambu HaiJpnI131.3Hideaki Miyuki1600m (Fast)1:35.30.2Espoir CityNov 4KanazawaJBC ClassicJpnI121.4Hideaki Miyuki2100m（Muddy） -0.4(Wonder Acute)Dec 1HanshinJapan Cup DirtGI161.9Hideaki Miyuki1800m (Fast)1:50.50.1BelshazzarDec 29OhiTokyo DaishōtenGI101.9Hideaki Miyuki2000m (Fast)2:06.6 -0.3(Wonder Acute)2014 – five-year-old seasonJan 29Kawasaki Kawasaki KinenJpnI111.1Hideaki Miyuki2100m（Fast）2:13.8 -0.1(Mousquetaire)Feb 23TokyoFebruary StakesGI163.6Hideaki Miyuki1600m (Fast)1:36.10.1Copano RickeyMar 29MeydanDubai World CupG116 ---.-16thHideaki MiyukiAW 2000m（St） ----.-African StoryNov 3MoriokaJBC ClassicJpnI165.74thHideaki Miyuki2000m (Sloppy)2:01.60.8Copano RickeyDec 7ChukyoChampions' CupGI165.9Hideaki Miyuki1800m (Fast)1:51.0 -0.1(Namura Victor)Dec 29OhiTokyo DaishōtenGI161.7Hideaki Miyuki2000m (Sloppy)2:03.0 -0.8(Copano Rickey)2015 – six-year-old seasonJan 28Kawasaki Kawasaki KinenJpnI111.0Hideaki Miyuki2100m（Sloppy）2:16.9 -0.1(Kazenoko)Mar 28MeydanDubai World CupG19 ---.-5thHideaki Miyuki2000m（Fs） ----.-Prince BishopJun 24OhiTeio ShoJpnI121.5Hideaki Miyuki2000m (Fast)2:02.7 -0.2(Chrysolite)Nov 3OhiJBC ClassicJpnI161.4Hideaki Miyuki2000m (Muddy)2:05.00.6Copano RickeyDec 6ChukyoChampions' CupGI163.75thHideaki Miyuki1800m (Fast)1:50.70.3SambistaDec 29OhiTokyo DaishōtenGI142.3Hideaki Miyuki2000m (Fast)2:03.30.3Sound True2016 – seven-year-old seasonJan 27Kawasaki Kawasaki KinenJpnI132.1Hideaki Miyuki2100m（Fast）2:14.10.0(Sound True)Mar 26MeydanDubai World CupG112 ---.-9thHideaki Miyuki2000m（Fs） ----.-California ChromeJun 29OhiTeio ShoJpnI124.94thHideaki Miyuki2000m (Sloppy)2:05.92.4Copano RickeyOct 10Morioka Mile Championship Nambu HaiJpnI137.4Hideaki Miyuki1600m（Good）1:34.30.8Copano RickeyNov 3Kawasaki JBC ClassicJpnI146.6Hideaki Miyuki2100m（Sloppy）2:15.40.1Awardee
Breeding career Following his retirement, Hokko Tarumae assumed stud duties at the . He is switched between Yushun Stallion Station and every two years.
On May 15, 2020, Mega Million became the first crop to enter and win a race following his victory at a maiden race at Kawasaki Racecourse. He went on to become the first season champion sire of the NAR.
Notable progenies FoaledNameSexMajor Wins2018LadybugfSparking Lady Cup2018Meisho FunjincSaga Kinen2019Blitz FangcHyogo Championship2020GoraikocJapan Breeding Farms' Cup Nisai Yushun2020Brian SensecMarch Stakes
In popular culture Hokko Tarumae is named the tourism ambassador of Tomakomai by the Tomakomai Tourism Association following him being awarded the JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse of 2014.
An anthropomorphized version of Hokko Tarumae appears as a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Sayaka Kikuchi. Like her real-life counterpart, she assumes the role of a tourism ambassador for the city of her hometown, Tomakomai, by becoming an accomplished racer. She is also the rival of Copano Rickey, who she often clashes with ideologically due to being more of a logic-driven pragmatist.
Pedigree
References