is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and an active sire. His major feat in racing was his win at the 2014 Tenno Sho (Autumn) as the fifth favourite for the race, upsetting the likes of Gentildonna, Epiphaneia and Isla Bonita.
Background Spielberg was foaled out of Princess Olivia, an imported mare from America who won three races out of 24 starts and sired by the eleven time leading sire in Japan, Deep Impact. He is a full blooded sibling to Tosen Ra, the 2013 Mile Championship winner.
He was named after a common person name – Spielberg.
Racing career 2011: two-year-old season He made his debut on 15 October at the 2000 metre race held at the Tokyo Racecourse. He started from the back of the pack but moved up to fourth place during the race, and finally overtook the front-running Blind Side to win just by a neck. He was rested for the rest of the year.
2012: three-year-old season Spielberg second race would be held at the Tokyo, in which he fell short at the ending phase and finished in second two lengths behind Fenomeno. In February, he would run in his first graded stakes race, the Kyodo News Service Hai. He ran well into the final straight and finished in third behind Gold Ship and Deep Brillante on the line. One month later, he entered an allowance race in which his late surge only enough for a fourth place finish. At the end of March, he ran well in the Mainichi Hai as he moved outward in the final phase and came home third on the line. Two months later, he ran in the Principal Stakes, an open grade race. Hiroyuki Uchida, who was his jockey in that race, managed to recover from the slow start and keep on the inside track leading up to the final straight. Then, he moved outside for his finishing kick and pulled away to win by one and three quarters lengths over the second place finisher, Laurel Bullet. Since this was a trial for the Tokyo Yushun, he qualified as a winner to compete in that race. Unfortunately he did not featured well on the day as he stuck at the last place mostly before slightly improving at the final stint to finish in 14th, his first off-prize finish. There were plan to race him in the autumn leg but it did not happen and he was written off for the rest of the season.
2013: four-year-old season After a classic year with only two wins, he returned to the allowance races. He resumed his season with slow progress at the Hidaka Tokubetsu in August, where he fell two places from fourth position at the final straight to finish sixth at the line. His second race for the season would be the Kanagawa Shimbun Hai in October. His main jockey, Hiroshi Kitamura, rode him with a good rhythm and cued him successfully to accelerate in the final straight, and he won by two lengths. Spielberg's great form continued on in his final race of the season at the November Stakes, as he raced competitively and won the race by a neck. This win promoted him into the open class once again.
2014: five-year-old season
This year, he started the season at the May Stakes in May. As the race began, he started to slow down as the race went but Kitamura, rallied him as they approached the fourth corner, moved out wide, overtook the rest of the pack and pulled away to win his third race in a row. He was scheduled to run in the Epsom Cup next, but he was diagnosed with a bruised bone at the last minute, which sidelined him over the summer. Spielberg only returned again in the autumn at the Mainichi Okan. Kitamura spoke about his three-win streak: "He's been getting stronger lately. He won two races last fall, then won again after a break, and now we've finally made it this far. He used to have a very weak constitution, and it was difficult to put him through training, so we had to try to correct his weaknesses while racing him. I think that's where he's getting stronger. I rode him in training in between, and he's become much tougher now (compared to when he first debuted). He's always been obedient and easy to ride, but I think his inner self has improved." On the race day, he had an intense fight against Air Saumur and Sanrei Laser in the final straight but lost out and ended up in third place. He entered the premier autumn G1, Tenno Sho (Autumn) with three wins and one third place in his last four starts, weighing 508 kilogram and drawn into gate 4 at the start. When the gates opened, Kitamura controlled Spielberg's pace at the back pack whilst Curren Black Hill dictated the pack from the front. Reaching the homestretch, Kitamura propelled the horse from the outside and swooped across Fenomeno, Isla Bonita and Gentildonna at the final furlong pole to win the race by three quarters of a length. Speaking about his first ever graded race and G1 win, Kitamura thought the horse was getting stronger as his career goes and trainer, Kazuo Fujisawa thought the horse stretched out well in the straight and praised his physical ability and energy. The horse would finish his season at the Japan Cup in the end of November. In the race, he struggled to get going from the outside track, but he got better as the race went on. Trading Leather who broke down near the end affected his rhythm but he recovered in the final straight and finished third on the day behind Epiphaneia and Just A Way.
2015: six-year-old season
Spielberg was going on an overseas trip this season, but he would run in the preparation race at the Sankei Osaka Hai in April. Fujisawa said the horse completed his workout well and everything was going smoothly. In this race, he stayed at the back mostly and accelerated forward in the end phase. He finished in fourth place on the day. Right after this race, he, alongside stablemate Lelouch and Supermoon, travelled to England. Spielberg would be competing in the Prince of Wales's Stakes in June. In this race, he steadied in the midfield for the most part, started to get into pace two furlongs from the line, but was never able to improve his position as he finished sixth. Then, he returned to Japan and had two more starts at the Mainichi Okan and Tenno Sho Autumn, in which he tanked in both races and finished tenth. Due to this poor finish in his last two outings, Fujisawa decided to retire him from racing, as he thought his footwork was no longer the same as before. His racehorse registration was terminated on 8 November and he moved to stud at the Shadai Stallion Station in Abira, Hokkaido.
Racing form Spielberg won six races and scored five more podium places out of eighteen starts. This data is available based on JBIS, netkeiba, and the British Horseracing Authority. DateTrackRaceGradeDistance (Condition)EntryHNOdds (Favored)FinishTimeMarginsJockeyWinner (Runner-up)2011 – two-year-old seasonOct 15Tokyo2yo Debut2,000 m (Good)772.1 (1)2:08.20.0Hiroshi Kitamura(Blind Side)2012 – three-year-old seasonJan 29Tokyo3yo Allowance1W2,000 m (Firm)1467.4 (4)2:01.20.3Hiroshi KitamuraFenomenoFeb 12TokyoKyodo News Service HaiGIII1,800 m (Firm)11813.7 (3)1:48.60.3Hiroshi KitamuraGold ShipMar 11Nakayama3yo Allowance1W2,000 m (Soft)1161.7 (1)2:09.40.7Hiroyuki UchidaMeiner KarminMar 24HanshinMainichi HaiGIII1,800 m (Soft)13414.4 (7)1:49.80.2Hirofumi ShiiHistoricalMay 5TokyoPrincipal StakesOP2,000 m (Firm)1781.7 (1)2:00.9–0.3Hiroyuki UchidaLaurel BulletMay 27TokyoTokyo YushunGI2,400 m (Firm)18138.7 (9)2:25.41.6Norihiro YokoyamaDeep Brillante2013 – four-year-old seasonAug 11HakodateHidaka Tokubetsu (ALW)2W2,000 m (Firm)1339.6 (4)2:03.20.7Genki MaruyamaDecipherOct 13TokyoKanagawa Shimbun Hai (ALW)2W1,800 m (Firm)1132.8 (1)1:45.8–0.3Hiroshi Kitamura(Festive Taro)Nov 10TokyoNovember Stakes (ALW)3W1,800 m (Firm)1561.4 (1)1:47.40.0Hiroshi Kitamura(Queen Olive)2014 – five-year-old seasonMay 24TokyoMay StakesOP1,800 m (Firm)18132.7 (1)1:45.4–0.1Hiroshi Kitamura(Aroma Cafe)Oct 12TokyoMainichi OkanGII1,800 m (Firm)1588.3 (5)1:45.30.1Hiroshi KitamuraAir SaumurNov 2TokyoTenno Sho (Autumn)GI2,000 m (Firm)18411.0 (5)1:59.7–0.1Hiroshi Kitamura(Gentildonna)Nov 30TokyoJapan CupGI2,400 m (Firm)181511.3 (6)2:23.90.8Hiroshi KitamuraEpiphaneia2015 – six-year-old seasonApr 5HanshinSankei Osaka HaiGII2,000 m (Heavy)14127.4 (2)2:03.80.9Hiroshi KitamuraLachesisJun 17AscotPrince of Wales's StakesGI10 f (Firm)977/1 (3)2:05.730.66Christophe SoumillonFree EagleOct 11TokyoMainichi OkanGII1,800 m (Firm)13128.6 (5)1:46.40.8Hiroshi KitamuraA Shin HikariNov 1TokyoTenno Sho (Autumn)GI2,000 m (Firm)181723.1 (8)1:59.20.8Hiroshi KitamuraLovely Day Legend:
Stud career He stayed at Shadai Stallion Station from 2016 before moving on to Breeders Stallion Station in 2018, then to the East Stud in 2020. During his stud career, he bred with 294 mares, produced 197 foals, registered 191 of them with earnings of and AEI of 0.67.
Pedigree
Spielberg is an inbred of 4 x 4 to Lyphard, 4 x 5 x 5 to Northern Dancer (Lyphard's sire), and 5 x 5 x 5 to Goofed (Lyphard's and Dumfries's dam)
References