Namura Clair (Japanese: ナムラクレア, Hepburn: Namura Kurea; 30 March 2019) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She competed from 2021 to 2026, recording six wins in twenty-five starts, including the Hanshin Cup (GII) in 2024, the Kokura Nisai Stakes (GIII) in 2021, the Hakodate Sprint Stakes (GIII) in 2022, the Silk Road Stakes (GIII) and Keeneland Cup (GIII) in 2023. She finished second in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (GI) in three consecutive years (2023–2025) and third in the Sprinters Stakes (GI) in three consecutive years (2023–2025).

Background Namura Clair is a dark bay mare bred in Urakawa, Hokkaido, by Tanigawa Bokujo. She was sired by Mikki Isle, a son of Deep Impact, and her dam was Sun Queen II, an American-bred mare by Storm Cat. Her racing name combines the "Namura" prefix used by owner Mutsuhiro Namura with "Clair," a female given name. She was sent into training with Kodai Hasegawa at the JRA's Ritto Training Center.

Racing career

2021: Two-year-old season Namura Clair debuted on August 1, 2021, in a maiden race on the turf at Niigata Racecourse, finishing third. She won the Phoenix Sho (Open) at Kokura Racecourse on August 14. On September 5, she won the Kokura Nisai Stakes (GIII) at Kokura, ridden by Suguru Hamanaka, defeating Threeperda by 0.4 seconds. She finished second in the Fantasy Stakes (GIII) at Hanshin Racecourse in November and fifth in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (GI) in December.

2022: Three-year-old season Namura Clair finished second in the Fillies' Revue (GII) at Hanshin in March. She finished third in the Oka Shō (GI) at Hanshin in April. On June 12, she won the Hakodate Sprint Stakes (GIII) at Hakodate Racecourse, carrying 50 kg, in a time of 1:07.2. She finished third in the Kitakyushu Kinen (GIII) at Kokura in August and fifth in the Sprinters Stakes (GI) at Nakayama Racecourse in October.

2023: Four-year-old season On January 29, Namura Clair won the Silk Road Stakes (GIII) at Chukyo Racecourse, defeating Fast Force by a head. She finished second in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (GI) at Chukyo in March, losing by 0.1 seconds to Fast Force on a heavy track. She finished eighth in the Victoria Mile (GI) at Tokyo Racecourse in May.

On August 27, she won the Keeneland Cup (GIII) at Sapporo Racecourse, defeating Cinnamon Stick by 0.2 seconds. She finished third in the Sprinters Stakes (GI) at Nakayama in October, losing by 0.2 seconds to Mama Cocha.

2024: Five-year-old season Namura Clair finished second in the Kyoto Himba Stakes (GIII) at Kyoto Racecourse in February. She finished second in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (GI) at Chukyo in March, losing by a head to Mad Cool. She finished fifth in the Keeneland Cup (GIII) at Sapporo in August. She finished third in the Sprinters Stakes (GI) at Nakayama in September, ridden by Takeshi Yokoyama.

On December 21, she won the Hanshin Cup (GII) at Kyoto, ridden by Christophe Lemaire, defeating Mad Cool by 0.1 seconds.

2025: Six-year-old season Namura Clair finished second in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (GI) at Chukyo on March 30, losing by 0.1 seconds to Satono Reve. She finished eighth in the Hakodate Sprint Stakes (GIII) at Hakodate in June. She finished third in the Sprinters Stakes (GI) at Nakayama in September. She finished second in the Hanshin Cup (GII) at Hanshin in December, losing by a nose to Lugal.

2026: Seven-year-old season and retirement Namura Clair made her final start in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (GI) at Chukyo on March 29, 2026, ridden by Shun Hamanaka, finishing sixth. She was deregistered from JRA competition on April 4, 2026.

Statistics The following table details all 25 starts of Namura Clair's racing career based on official netkeiba and JBIS records.

Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref2021 – two-year-old season Turf 1600 m (Firm) 2-Y-O Newcomer Maiden Niigata 13.1 (5th) 17 1:36.1 Katsuma Sameshima 0.7 Bon Courage Turf 1200 m (Heavy) Phoenix Sho Open Kokura 4.1 (2nd) 10 1:10.8 Kohei Matsuyama –0.1 (T M Spada) Turf 1200 m (Firm) Kokura Nisai Stakes GIII Kokura 6.4 (4th) 10 1:07.9 Suguru Hamanaka –0.4 (Sri Pada) Turf 1400 m (Firm) Fantasy Stakes GIII Hanshin 2.5 (1st) 10 1:21.2 Suguru Hamanaka 0.1 Water Navillera Turf 1600 m (Firm) Hanshin Juvenile Fillies GI Hanshin 11.9 (6th) 18 5th 1:34.3 Suguru Hamanaka 0.5 Circle of Life2022 – three-year-old season Turf 1400 m (Firm) Fillies' Revue GII Hanshin 1.7 (1st) 15 1:19.9 Suguru Hamanaka 0.0 Sublime Anthem Turf 1600 m (Firm) Oka Shō GI Hanshin 14.5 (7th) 18 1:33.0 Suguru Hamanaka 0.1 Stars on Earth Turf 1200 m (Firm) Hakodate Sprint Stakes GIII Hakodate 2.1 (1st) 16 1:07.2 Suguru Hamanaka –0.4 (Jubilee Head) Turf 1200 m (Firm) Kitakyushu Kinen GIII Kokura 2.1 (1st) 18 1:07.1 Suguru Hamanaka 0.2 Bon Voyage Turf 1200 m (Firm) Sprinters Stakes GI Nakayama 2.9 (2nd) 16 5th 1:08.0 Suguru Hamanaka 0.2 Gendarme2023 – four-year-old season Turf 1200 m (Firm) Silk Road Stakes GIII Chukyo 4.8 (2nd) 15 1:07.3 Suguru Hamanaka 0.0 (Fast Force) Turf 1200 m (Heavy) Takamatsunomiya Kinen GI Chukyo 5.4 (2nd) 18 1:11.6 Suguru Hamanaka 0.1 Fast Force Turf 1600 m (Firm) Victoria Mile GI Tokyo 15.7 (5th) 16 8th 1:32.9 Suguru Hamanaka 0.7 Songline Turf 1200 m (Soft) Keeneland Cup GIII Sapporo 2.4 (1st) 16 1:09.9 Suguru Hamanaka –0.2 (Cinnamon Stick) Turf 1200 m (Firm) Sprinters Stakes GI Nakayama 2.9 (1st) 16 1:08.2 Suguru Hamanaka 0.2 Mama Cocha2024 – five-year-old season Turf 1400 m (Firm) Kyoto Himba Stakes GIII Kyoto 2.8 (1st) 18 1:20.3 Suguru Hamanaka 0.0 So Dazzling Turf 1200 m (Soft) Takamatsunomiya Kinen GI Chukyo 5.4 (2nd) 18 1:08.9 Suguru Hamanaka 0.0 Mad Cool Turf 1200 m (Firm) Keeneland Cup GIII Sapporo 2.2 (1st) 16 5th 1:08.3 Suguru Hamanaka 0.4 Satono Reve Turf 1200 m (Firm) Sprinters Stakes GI Nakayama 8.2 (4th) 16 1:07.1 Takeshi Yokoyama 0.1 Lugal Turf 1400 m (Firm) Hanshin Cup GII Kyoto 3.7 (1st) 18 1:20.1 Christophe Lemaire –0.1 (Mad Cool)2025 – six-year-old season Turf 1200 m (Firm) Takamatsunomiya Kinen GI Chukyo 3.5 (1st) 18 1:08.0 Christophe Lemaire 0.1 Satono Reve Turf 1200 m (Firm) Hakodate Sprint Stakes GIII Hakodate 1.7 (1st) 16 8th 1:07.2 Christophe Lemaire 0.6 Ka Pilina Turf 1200 m (Firm) Sprinters Stakes GI Nakayama 5.7 (2nd) 16 1:07.2 Christophe Lemaire 0.3 Win Carnelian Turf 1400 m (Firm) Hanshin Cup GII Hanshin 1.9 (1st) 16 1:19.0 Christophe Lemaire 0.0 Lugal2026 – seven-year-old season Turf 1200 m (Firm) Takamatsunomiya Kinen GI Chukyo 4.0 (2nd) 18 6th 1:07.1 Suguru Hamanaka 0.8 Satono Reve

Post-racing career Following her retirement, Namura Clair returned to Tanigawa Bokujo in Urakawa, Hokkaido, to become a broodmare. Her first mating was planned with Equinox.

Pedigree

Namura Clair is inbred 4 × 5 to Halo, 4 × 5 to Northern Dancer, and 5 × 5 to Hail to Reason. Her half-sister Namura Clara (by Admire Mars) won the 2025 Kōbai Stakes (Listed). Her third dam Coup de Genie won the Prix Morny and Prix de la Salamandre (both GI) in France.

See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan Hanshin Cup Takamatsunomiya Kinen

References