Star Anise ( foaled 4 February 2023) is an active Japanese filly thoroughbred racehorse. She was awarded the JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Filly in 2025.
She is named after the spice of the same name.
Background Star Anise is a filly foaled by , who won the Kokura Nisai Stakes in 2011 and the 2012 Centaur Stakes, who was covered by Drefong, who won the 2016 Breeders' Cup Sprint. She was bred in Japan by Northern Farm.
She is owned by Katsumi Yoshida and trained by .
Racing Career 2025: Two-year-old season
Jockeyed by Kohei Matsuyama, she made her debut at a debut race for 2 year olds in 29 June held at Kokura Racecourse. She ran in the rear of the pack for most of the race before trying to push up in the home stretch, but finished fifth. She then won her next race, a maiden race held at Kokura Racecourse on 12 July, where she quickly overtook the likes of Tamamo Icarus and and won by 7 lengths.
On 31 August, she ran in her first graded race, the Chukyo Nisai Stakes at Chukyo racecourse, where she entered the race as the favourite but finished 2nd behind after Candide passed her just before the wire.
She raced her final race in 2025, the Grade I Hanshin Juvenile Fillies for two year old fillies. During the race the horse showed signs of being rushed early on, but Matsuyama managed to calm her down before placing themselves in the middle of the pack. On the final stretch, Star Anise surged forward and took the lead, winning her first graded race.
Having won 2 races, most notably the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, Star Anise was named the Best Two-Year-Old Filly in the 2025 JRA Award.
2026: Three-year-old season
Star Anise started her classic season by heading straight to the Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas). She was the favourite to win the race. After leaving the gate, she was placed in middle pack until the last corner, and on the home straight she found a clear opening and made her move to overtake the pack, winning her second Grade I race and the first leg of the Japanese Triple Tiara. This was the second Oka Sho win for jockey Kohei Matsuyama, the first being his ride on Daring Tact in 2020, who said after the race, "I'm absolutely thrilled. It was a very competitive field, but as the champion two-year-old, I knew she couldn't lose. I went into the race determined to win, and right now, I just feel relieved."
On 15 April, Star Anise's owner announced that she will aim for the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), the second leg of the Japanese Triple Tiara. In spite of concerns over whether she can make the distance, owing to how both her sire and dam were winners of sprint graded races, she was nonetheless the most favored to win. During the Yushun Himba, she ran among the pack for the majority of the race, but she was unable to take the lead and finished at 12th place. Trainer Takano reflected that "it was a pace she's never experienced before. The jockey tried to relax her, but she was far too rushed to do anything about it".
She was rested for the whole summer and it was decided that she would return to racing in the Sprinters Stakes in the end of September. On 30th of August, it was decided that she would be assigned to Christophe Lemaire as her normal jockey, Kohei Matsuyama opted to ride on Panja Tower. One week before race day, Takano claimed that she gained some power and improved her movement during the workouts. When the race began, she broke out of the gate smoothly, moved outward, and ran in tenth at the back. She met traffic at the top lane but successfully found a gap 200 meters out and displayed a powerful turn of foot, recording the second fastest closing speed to close in on the top three, but finished one and a quarter lengths behind in fourth. Lemaire realised that the track conditions become a hindrance for the horse as she did not turn well on the third and fourth corner but acknowledged that she recovered well in the end.
Racing statistics The following racing form is based on information available on netkeiba.com and JBIS-Search. DateTrackRaceGradeDistanceEntryOdds(Favored)FinishTimeJockeyWinner(Runner-up)2025 – two-year-old season29 JuneKokura2-yo debut1.200 meters105.7 (3rd)5th1:10.2Kohei MatsuyamaCoral Reef12 JulyKokura2-yo maiden1.200 meters106.2 (4th)1:08.0Kohei Matsuyama(Tamamo Icarus)31 AugChukyoChukyo Nisai StakesG31.400 meters131.7 (1st)1:19.4Kohei MatsuyamaCandide29 JuneHanshinHanshin Juvenile FilliesG11.600 meters185.0 (2nd)1:32.6Kohei Matsuyama(Garavogue)2026 – three-year-old season12 AprHanshinOka ShoG11.600 meters182.9 (1st)1:31.5Kohei Matsuyama(Garavogue)24 MayTokyoYushun HimbaG12.400 meters183.0 (1st)2:26.4Kohei MatsuyamaJuryoku Pierrot27 SepNakayamaSprinters StakesG11.200 meters163.7 (1st)4th1:09.4Christophe LemairePuro Magic
Pedigree
References