Kumohata (, ; 4 March 1936 – 10 September 1953) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won the 8th Tōkyō Yūshun (Japanese Derby) in 1939, nine days after his racecourse debut. He was the Leading Sire in Japan for six consecutive years from 1952 to 1957, the first domestically-bred stallion to achieve this. He was inducted into the JRA Hall of Fame in 1984.

Background Kumohata was a chestnut colt bred at the government-operated Shimofusa Imperial Stud in Narita, Chiba Prefecture. He was sired by Tournesol, a British-bred stallion by Gainsborough, and his dam was Fairy Maiden (), an American-bred mare by Gnome. His half-sister Cleopatra Thomas () won the Teishitsu Goshoten. He was sold at auction for ¥37,600, the highest price at the sale, to owner Yusaku Kato. He was trained by Waiichiro Tanaka at Tokyo Racecourse.

Racing career

1939: three-year-old season Kumohata did not debut until 20 May 1939, having been delayed by thrush in all four hooves. He finished second in a newcomer race at Tokyo Racecourse over 2300 metres. Six days later, he won a newcomer race over 1800 metres on heavy ground.

Two days after that, on 28 May, he contested the 8th Tōkyō Yūshun (Japanese Derby) over 2400 metres on heavy ground in a field of twenty. Ridden by Shōtarō Abe, he was the 8th choice in the betting. He raced at the rear before advancing on the inside rail on the final turn and overtook Richmond in the final 50 metres to win by 0.5 seconds. His debut-to-Derby interval of nine days remains the shortest in the race's history.

After the Derby, Kumohata finished seventh in a handicap at Yokohama in October, third in a four-year-old handicap, and third in the Yokohama Nōrinshō Shōten behind Sugenuma. He won two open races at Tokyo in November, finished second at Nakayama Racecourse, and won again at Nakayama. He finished the season with five wins from eleven starts.

1940: four-year-old season Kumohata won a handicap at Hanshin Racecourse on 10 May and finished third in the Teishitsu Goshoten (Spring) over 3200 metres on dirt on 19 May. He won the Tokyo Five-Year-Old Special on 27 May and an open race at Tokyo on 9 June. In autumn, he won an open race at Yokohama on 14 October but finished second in the Yokohama Nōrinshō Shōten and second in the Teishitsu Goshoten (Autumn) over 3200 metres at Tokyo on 17 November. He was retired after the autumn race.

Statistics The following table details all 21 starts of Kumohata's racing career. Times and margins were not officially recorded for all races in this era; unrecorded entries are shown as –.

Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref1939 – three-year-old season Turf 2300 m (Good) Newcomer Maiden Tokyo – (1st) 7 – Shōtarō Abe 2.0 Shijiridake Turf 1800 m (Heavy) Newcomer Maiden Tokyo – (3rd) 7 1:59.3 Shōtarō Abe –0.4 (Heinera) Turf 2400 m (Heavy) Tōkyō Yūshun Classic Tokyo – (8th) 20 2:36.1 Shōtarō Abe –0.5 (Richmond) Turf 2200 m (Good) Open Handicap Open Yokohama – (2nd) 8 7th – Shōtarō Abe – Sugenuma Turf 2000 m (Yielding) 4-Y-O Handicap Open Yokohama – (4th) 4 – Shōtarō Abe – Rocky More Turf 2800 m (Soft) Yokohama Nōrinshō Shōten Stakes Yokohama – (2nd) 5 – Shōtarō Abe – Sugenuma Turf 2300 m (Good) Open Handicap Open Tokyo – (2nd) 8 2:27.0 Shōtarō Abe –0.7 (Kumokiku) Turf 2600 m (Good) Open Winners Open Tokyo – (1st) 8 2:48.3 Shōtarō Abe –0.5 (Tate) Turf 2600 m (Soft) Open Open Nakayama – (1st) 10 – Shōtarō Abe 0.1 Rocky More Turf 2400 m (Good) Open Open Nakayama – (1st) 7 2:35.1 Shōtarō Abe –0.1 (Tate) Turf 2600 m (Good) Open Winners Open Nakayama – (1st) 8 4th – Shōtarō Abe – Happy Might1940 – four-year-old season Dirt 2200 m (Good) Open Handicap Open Hanshin – (1st) 4 2:24.1 Shōtarō Abe –0.4 (Goford) Dirt 3200 m (Good) Teishitsu Goshoten (Spring) Imperial Prize Hanshin – (3rd) 7 – Shōtarō Abe – Toki no Chikara Turf 2600 m (Good) Tokyo Five-Year-Old Special Stakes Tokyo – (1st) 8 2:49.2 Shōtarō Abe –1.5 (Tamasakura) Turf 2600 m (Yielding) Open Winners Open Tokyo – (1st) 5 2:50.1 Shōtarō Abe –0.2 (Waldmine) Turf 2200 m (Good) Open Handicap Open Yokohama – (2nd) 7 5th – Shōtarō Abe – Rocky More Turf 2800 m (Good) Open Open Yokohama – (2nd) 6 3:08.1 Shōtarō Abe –0.7 (Kumokiku) Turf 2800 m (Good) Yokohama Nōrinshō Shōten Stakes Yokohama – (3rd) 4 – Shōtarō Abe 0.7 Rocky Mor Turf 2300 m (Yielding) Open Handicap Open Tokyo – (1st) 6 5th – Shōtarō Abe – Rocky More Turf 2600 m (Good) Tokyo Five-Year-Old Special Stakes Tokyo – (1st) 5 – Shōtarō Abe 1.5 Marutake Turf 3200 m (Good) Teishitsu Goshoten (Autumn) Imperial Prize Tokyo – (2nd) 7 – Shōtarō Abe 0.2 Rocky Mor

Stud career Kumohata stood as a government stallion at the Hidaka Stud Farm in Hokkaido. He was the Leading Sire in Japan for six consecutive years from 1952 to 1957, the first domestically-bred stallion to top the sire list. He sired seven Tennō Shō winners. He was also the Leading Broodmare Sire in Japan in 1964.

Kumohata contracted equine infectious anemia during an outbreak in the Hidaka region in the summer of 1953. He was euthanised on 10 September 1953 under the Livestock Infectious Disease Control Law. He was buried beneath the merit-horse memorial at Hidaka Stud Farm.

The Kumohata Kinen () was established at Nakayama Racecourse in 1951 in his honour and was run until 1980.

Notable progeny Progeny Major wins Newford () Kikuka Shō, Tennō Shō (Autumn) Meiji Hikari () Kikuka Shō, Tennō Shō (Spring), Nakayama Grand Prix, Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes; Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame (1990) Katsufuji () Tennō Shō (Autumn) Yashima Daughter () Oka Shō, Tennō Shō (Autumn) Hatakaze () Tennō Shō (Autumn) Kiyofuji () Yūshun Himba Mitsu Hata () Tennō Shō (Spring) Quin Narbee () Tennō Shō (Autumn) Wakakusa () Hanshin 3-Y-O Stakes, Kobe Cup Takahata () Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, Diamond Stakes, Meguro Kinen (Spring), Nihon Keizai Shō Kiyo Strong () Nakayama Kinen, Kabutoyama Kinen, Kyoto Kinen (Spring), Nippon TV Hai Koran () Hanshin Daishoten Hiyaki Ogan () Hanshin Daishoten, Nikkei Shinshun Hai, Chukyo Kinen Meiji Homare () Chukyo Kinen Takahagi () St. Lite Kinen Masahata () Kumohata Kinen Tokino O () Hanshin Tokubetsu Fukuryu () Nihon Keizai Shō Toshiwaka () Diamond Stakes Hata Ryu () Kyoto 4-Y-O Tokubetsu Yodo Sakura () Kyoto Cup Yamakabuto () Nakayama Daishogai (Autumn), Tokyo Shōgai Tokubetsu (Autumn) Kenii More () Nakayama Daishogai (×2) Kunihaya () Nakayama Daishogai (Spring) Yoshiminori () Kyoto Daishōgai (Autumn, Spring) Kanehata () Kyoto Daishōgai (Spring)

Pedigree

Kumohata is inbred 5 × 5 to Hampton (sire side) and 5 × 5 to St. Simon (sire side). His sire Tournesol was imported from Britain and was one of the dominant stallions in Japan in the 1930s. His dam Fairy Maiden was imported from the United States. His half-sister Cleopatra Thomas won the Teishitsu Goshoten.

See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan Tōkyō Yūshun Leading sire in Japan

References