Bluebird Cup
Horse race
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bluebird Cup (ブルーバードカップ) is a domestic grade III (JpnIII) flat horse race in Japan.[1]
Funabashi Racecourse Grandstand | |
| Class | Domestic Grade III (Jpn III) |
|---|---|
| Location | Funabashi Racecourse |
| Inaugurated | February 15, 1956 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1800 metres |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | 3-y-o |
| Weight | 56 kg (54 kg for fillies) |
| Purse | ¥ 40,800,000 (as of 2026) 1st: ¥ 24,000,000 2nd: ¥ 8,400,000 3rd: ¥ 4,800,000 |
Background
The Bluebird Cup is a JpnIII (Dirt Grade) stakes race in Japan’s NAR (National Association of Racing) system, organized by the Chiba Prefecture Racing Association and held at Funabashi Racecourse.[2] Since 2024, it is run annually in mid-January over 1,800 meters on dirt, exclusively for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds.[2] The race serves as an official trial for the Haneda Hai, with the winning locally trained horse earning priority entry into the race.[3]
Eligibility includes both NAR-selected and JRA-selected horses, with up to four JRA-trained runners permitted.[4] Weight is set at 56 kg (54 kg for fillies).[1] Additional weight penalties apply based on prior earnings: JRA horses with over ¥5 million in prize money, or NAR horses with over ¥12 million, carry an extra 1 kg.[3] The first-place prize in 2026 is ¥24 million.[2] The race’s official title is the “Nikkan Gendai Sho Bluebird Cup”, named after the newspaper Nikkan Gendai, which provides the winner’s trophy.[5] Multiple subsidiary prizes are awarded, including honors from the JRA Chairman, the National Association of Racing, and regional breeding associations.[6]
History
The Bluebird Cup was first run on February 15, 1956, as a restricted race for 4-year-old (by East Asian age reckoning) Arabian-bred horses, a common format in early Japanese racing. It remained an Arabian-only event in 1997.[6] A change occurred in 1998, when the race was opened to Thoroughbreds under an “All-Comer” format.[6] From 1999 onward, it became Thoroughbred-exclusive.[2] The race maintained graded status until 2005, after which it was downgraded to a non-graded special race from 2006 to 2016.[2] In 2017, it was elevated to quasi-graded (jun-jusho) status.[2] During this period (2006–2022), it also served as a trial for the Tokyo Bay Cup, granting top finishers priority entry.[7]
A major restructuring came in 2024, as part of Japan’s nationwide dirt racing system reform.[2] The Bluebird Cup was reinstated as a formal Dirt Grade race, designated JpnIII, and repositioned as a key prep for the Haneda Hai.[1] The distance was extended from 1,600m to 1,800m, aligning it with modern dirt classic standards.[2] Despite the long hiatus from graded status, the race retained its original numbering, thus the 2024 edition was officially the 50th Bluebird Cup.[2]
Past winners
| Year | Winner | Age | Length (in m) | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Organization | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Fureccha | 3 | D1600 | Motonobu Torikai | Motonobu Torikai | Matsuo Hata | Kawasaki | 1:47.4 |
| 1957 | Ichikiyo Takara | 3 | D1600 | Akira Taniguchi | Genso Taniguchi | Kinya Kawamata | Funabashi | 1:45.2 |
| 1958 | Moaner | 3 | D1600 | Shigeru Suda | Manji Kimura | Tsune Oshita | Funabashi | 1:43.4 |
| 1959 | Asiantha | 3 | D1600 | Tokichi Arayama | Kaiji Satake | Shinpei Shirai | Funabashi | 1:46.3 |
| 1960 | Shimauta | 3 | D1600 | Mamoru Katsumata | Kinshu Sato | Takako Ueda | Kawasaki | 1:49.4 |
| 1961 | Daigo Wilson | 3 | D1600 | Takehisa Sasaki | Shunkichi Suzuki | Shuichi Sato | Kawasaki | 1:45.3 |
| 1962 | Dai Ryu | 3 | D1600 | Yasuhiro Fujita | Sanji Sekiguchi | Fusae Anzai | Funabashi | 1:44.1 |
| 1963 | Fukutomi Homare | 3 | D1600 | Masaru Kobude | Shoichi Morita | Tadashi Kobayashi | Ohi | 1:45.5 |
| 1964 | Adel Bauer | 3 | D1600 | Shigeru Suda | Shota Yamamoto | Shuji Mogi | Ohi | 1:43.5 |
| 1965 | Bingo | 3 | D1600 | Shigeru Suda | Toshie Tanaka | Shigeru Tokutake | Ohi | 1:44.4 |
| 1966 | Hanano Kinen | 3 | D1600 | Tadao Atsumi | Mitsuo Moriya | Toshie Moritani | Ohi | 1:42.8 |
| 1967 | Hojitsu | 3 | D1600 | Tsuneo Takayanagi | Tatsuki Musashi | Yuzo Kato | Ohi | 1:43.5 |
| 1968 | Bio | 3 | D1600 | Norihiko Miyashita | Hitoshi Miyashita | Chube Suwa | Funabashi | 1:42.7 |
| 1969 | Morisei Yuu | 3 | D1600 | Sakae Monoi | Harumatsu Yamashita | Seiichiro Moriya | Ohi | 1:42.8 |
| 1970 | Speed Matsuku | 3 | D1600 | Norihiko Miyashita | Mutsuo Hamizuki | Kiichi Yamamoto | Funabashi | 1:42.9 |
| 1971 | Bourgeon | 3 | D1600 | Kenji Uchiyama | Mankichi Kimura | Teru Kimura | Funabashi | 1:43.3 |
| (No race in 1972 due to an outbreak of Equine influenza)[6] | ||||||||
| 1973 | Dalai Lama | 3 | D1600 | Kazuhiro Tabeta | Kazuo Kimura | Kimura Farm Co. Ltd. | Funabashi | 1:41.3 |
| 1974 | Miss Dairin | 3 | D1600 | Tsugio Kakimoto | Isamu Sato | Yoshikatsu Yamagiwa | Funabashi | 1:39.8 |
| 1975 | Hokuto Raiden | 3 | D1600 | Fujiro Kogo | Kosuke Hirashima | Chube Suzuki | Funabashi | 1:41.8 |
| 1976 | Marutoku Chidori | 3 | D1600 | Saburo Takahashi | Akira Kumazawa | Tokuharu Yoshino | Funabashi | 1:40.5 |
| 1977 | Sodeno Boy | 3 | D1600 | Kazuya Ushijima | Tadashi Ito | Rii Fukushi | Funabashi | 1:42.6 |
| 1978 | Hachino Win | 3 | D1600 | Makoto Matsushiro | Shunosuke Senkiri | Nobuyasu Kawada | Funabashi | 1:43.6 |
| 1979 | Saryu Musashi | 3 | D1600 | Takaharu Kuwajima | Hiroyuki Takamatsu | Kyuzo Ushimaru | Funabashi | 1:41.7 |
| 1980 | Ike Aretsu Po | 3 | D1600 | Ichiro Watanabe | Tetsuro Miyashita | Toyoharu Ikeda | Funabashi | 1:41.7 |
| 1981 | Sanriki Yuu | 3 | D1600 | Shigeru Honma | Katsuhisa Adachi | Taneaki Takahashi | Kawasaki | 1:42.5 |
| 1982 | Keiwei Homare | 3 | D1600 | Saburo Takahashi | Masaru Kobude | Keiji Kameda | Ohi | 1:41.5 |
| 1983 | Hayano Lancer | 3 | D1600 | Saburo Takahashi | Sanchiro Fukushima | Suminori Yoshinaga | Kawasaki | 1:42.6 |
| 1984 | Kaneyama Kazan | 3 | D1600 | Chiaki Hori | Mitsuyuki Tomiwaki | Yoshikatsu Yamagiwa | Ohi | 1:42.7 |
| 1985 (dh) | Nomura Daio | 3 | D1600 | Saburo Takahashi | Harumatsu Yamashita | Akio Nomura | Ohi | 1:42.2 |
| Dark Lua | Masami Yoshida | Nobuo Mukai | Sumiko Mogushi | Urawa | ||||
| 1986 | Toyokura Teio | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Ishizaki | Yozosuke Idezukuri | Toyokura Shoji Co. Ltd. | Funabashi | 1:43.8 |
| 1987 | Hokuto Light O | 3 | D1600 | Shigeru Honda | Hisashi Matsuda | Hokuto Farm Co. Ltd. | Kawasaki | 1:43.6 |
| 1988 | Otaru Homer | 3 | D1600 | Saburo Takahashi | Sakae Monoi | Ritsuko Yoneda | Ohi | 1:42.9 |
| 1989 | Hokuto Emperor | 3 | D1600 | Takaharu Kuwajima | Minoru Goto | Hokuto Farm Co. Ltd. | Funabashi | 1:42.2 |
| 1990 | Mister Tomikawa | 3 | D1600 | Junichi Yuasa | Toshikazu Nakai | Eiji Fujimoto | Funabashi | 1:44.3 |
| 1991 | Nyuto Mos | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Sato | Tatsuo Hirose | Shigemi Kawasaki | Urawa | 1:45.5 |
| 1992 | Hitachi Tozai | 3 | D1600 | Takehisa Sasaki | Katsuhisa Adachi | Masatoshi Kanda | Kawasaki | 1:44.9 |
| 1993 | Gate Walking | 3 | D1600 | Satoshi Saito | Hayato Saito | Kokichi Kidoguchi | Funabashi | 1:44.8 |
| 1994 | Grand Site | 3 | D1600 | Takaharu Kuwajima | Yasuo Niwa | Eiko Umezaki | Funabashi | 1:43.5 |
| 1995 | Homare Shouhai | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Ishizaki | Hiroshi Degawa | Akitsugu Ito | Funabashi | 1:44.1 |
| 1996 | Maruzen Mao | 3 | D1600 | Takeshi Nozaki | Goro Ota | Kiyomi Tanaka | Kawasaki | 1:43.7 |
| 1997 | Maruzen Ichiban | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Ishizaki | Shozo Ebara | Akitsugu Ito | Funabashi | 1:46.8 |
| 1998 | S.K. Tiger | 3 | D1600 | Yuki Sato | Takatsugu Hatano | Sukenori Ito | Funabashi | 1:42.3 |
| 1999 | Shinsei Raiden | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Ishizaki | Masayuki Kawashima | Tatsuhiko Kimura | Funabashi | 1:42.7 |
| 2000 | Hinode Coating | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Sato | Masayuki Kawashima | Asabiru Real Estate Co. Ltd. | Funabashi | 1:40.3 |
| 2001 | Tomiken Phantom | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Ishizaki | Katsushi Degawa | Tomiken Co. Ltd. | Funabashi | 1:43.0 |
| 2002 | Back Gear | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Ishizaki | Masayuki Kawashima | Tatsuhiko Kimura | Funabashi | 1:42.6 |
| 2003 | Nike a Delight | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Ishizaki | Ryuichi Degawa | Sumi Ono | Funabashi | 1:42.1 |
| 2004 | Tomiken Winner | 3 | D1600 | Seiji Sago | Michihiko Okahara | Tomiken Co. Ltd. | Funabashi | 1:42.6 |
| 2005 | Time Ryan | 3 | D1600 | Takashi Ishizaki | Masatoshi Kawashima | Tatsuhiko Kimura | Funabashi | 1:39.9 |
| (Special and quasi-graded race from 2006 to 2022) | ||||||||
| (No race in 2023) | ||||||||
| 2024 | Ammothyella | 3 | D1800 | Ryusei Sakai | Mikio Matsunaga | Hiroo Race Co. Ltd. | JRA | 1:55.9 |
| 2025 | Melchior | 3 | D1800 | Yuga Kawada | Mikio Matsunaga | Katsumi Yoshida | JRA | 1:53.3 |
| 2026 | Finger | 3 | D1800 | Keita Tosaki | Hiroyasu Tanaka | M's Racing | JRA | 1:55:4 |
See also
Netkeiba
Source:[8]