Meisho Tabaru

2023: two-year old season

Meisho Tabaru ran his first race at Kyoto Racecourse where, ridden by Taiga Tsunoda [ja] he ran a 2,000 meter debut race for two year olds.^[5] Meisho Tabaru would win his first race on his third race, when he won a 2,000 meter maiden race held at Hanshin Racecourse.

2024: three-year old season

Meisho Tabaru was to start the season with the Wakagoma Stakes [ja] on January 20 but was scratched at the last moment due to a lameness in the right forearm.^[6][7] Meisho Tabaru was later sent to the Tsubaki Sho held on February 17 where he scored his second victory after taking the lead early on and holding on to it for the rest of the race.^[7] The horse was initially planned to run the Spring Stakes after that, but instead entered in to the Mainichi Hai on March 23 after the horse had to briefly recuperate from a phlegmon on his left forearm.^[6] In the Mainichi Hai the horse took the lead right from the start and was the frontrunner of the entire race, winning his first graded race victory with a 6 length lead.^[6][8] Following this victory, it was announced that the horse's next race would be the Satsuki Shō.

At the Satsuki Shō, Meisho Tabaru ran very fast as the front runner, having covered the first 1,000 meters of the race in 57.5 seconds. While this led to the winner, Justin Milano, breaking the record of the race, Meisho Tabaru himself burnt through his stamina and lost momentum on the final stretch, finishing last.^[9] He was also entered in to the Tōkyō Yūshun but was scratched on May 24 after it was discovered the horse suffered a stone bruise on his left hind.^[10]

After taking the summer off, the horse was entered in to the Kobe Shimbun Hai held on September 22. After making a good start and taking the lead, the horse held on to the lead for the rest of the race, beating June Take [ja] by half a length despite the horse trying to catch up.^[11][12]

On October 20, Meisho Tabaru was entered in to the Kikuka-shō, where he briefly took the lead at the first corner of the second lap, but as the leader of the pack kept changing rapidly the horse lost the will to continue racing, dropping out of the lead early on and finishing 16th and over 5 seconds behind the winner, Urban Chic.^[13][14]

In spite of this defeat, it was announced that the horse was planned to race the Arima Kinen.^[15] However, as the race drew near, the number of horses registered to run the race grew more than the maximum number of horses allowed to run the race, and was also short of prize money for that race, the horse was barred from entering the race, necessitating the horse's next race to be the following month's Nikkei Shinshun Hai.^[16][17]

2025: four-year old season

The horse was entered in to the Nikkei Shinshun Hai as previously announced. The horse had been a front-runner since his Mainichi Hai, largely due to his temperament issues.^[18] After taking the lead early on the horse sped up and covered the first 1,000 meters in 57.7 seconds. However, much like in the Satsuki Shō, the horse lost momentum and lost the lead at the final 400 meter mark. As a result, while the race finished with a relatively fast time of 2 minutes 9 seconds, he finished 11th, with a 2.1 second gap behind the winner Lord del Rey [ja].^[19][20] Following the race, the horse was sent to pasture to recuperate, and it was announced that his next race would either be the Ōsaka Hai or the Dubai Turf.^[21] On March 6, it was officially announced that the horse would be entered in to the Dubai Turf, with Yutaka Take as his new jockey.^[22]

On April 5, the horse ran in the Dubai Turf.^[23] In that race, while he did not have the best start, the horse managed to take the lead. The horse held on to the lead until the final stretch, before Romantic Warrior overtook him at the last 300 meter point and finished fifth.^[24][25]

On June 15, after returning to Japan, the horse was entered in to the Takarazuka Kinen with Take once again riding the horse. After taking the lead at the start, the horse lead the pack, running the first 1,000 meters of the race in 59.1 seconds. At the fourth corner Bellagio Opera contested the lead, but once they entered the final stretch, Meisho Tabaru gained more distance against the rest of the pack, winning his first Grade I race with a three lengths lead. This marked a father-son victory for the horse, as his sire, Gold Ship, won the same race in 2013 and 2014. This also marked Yutaka Take's fifth victory for the race, the most wins by a jockey for this race, with his last being with Deep Impact in 2006. This was the first Grade I victory for trainer Mamoru Ishibashi [ja] also, and this race was the first time since Eishin Deputy [ja] in 2008 for a front-runner to win the Takarazuka Kinen.^[26][27]

Following the victory at Takarazuka, the horse was sent out to pasture. It was later announced that Meisho Tabaru's next race will be the Autumn Tenno Sho where he would later finish by a nose at sixth.^[28][29]

On December 28, Meisho Tabaru ran in the Arima Kinen with Take as his jockey. He overtook Mystery Way by the beginning of the backstretch but lost the lead at the end of the final corner. He lacked the stamina to stay in the front and ultimately finished thirteenth, one neck behind Elton Barrows.^[30][31]

2026: five-year-old season

Meisho Tabaru started this season with an attempt at the Osaka Hai, which would be held at the Hanshin racecourse, the place where he never lost prior to this race and won his first G1 race last season. His trainer Ishibashi said that the horse was lighter and not being pushed so much in training whilst his normal jockey, Take admitted that the Arima Kinen run was botched due to the tough race flow and stated that 2000 metres distance was more suitable for him.^[32] At the start, he was a bit a late from the gate but he gunned for the lead to set the pace as expected, distancing himself with the rest of the field by more than three lengths in the backstretch. He held on to that lead until the final 100 metres when Croix du Nord, ridden by Yuichi Kitamura surged from the back on the middle track and overtook him before the line. He lost the race by three-quarters of a length over Croix du Nord.^[33] Despite losing the race, Take was proud on his ride that day because the horse gave it all and credited him for not stopping until the very end.^[34]

After the Osaka Hai, Meisho Tabaru's connection announced that they intended to have Meisho Tabaru run in the French G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe,^[35] and on May 21 officially became one of seven JRA horses, among them Forever Young, Shin Emperor, and Juryoku Pierrot, that registered to run in the French race.^[36][37]

In his second entry to the Takarazuka Kinen, he would face the victors from his two previous races, Croix du Nord and Museum Mile, with the further addition of top mare Regaleira, who had finished ahead of him in the 2025 Arima Kinen. Croix du Nord entered the race as the first favorite having won the first two legs of the Spring Triple Crown: the Osaka Hai and Tenno Sho (Spring), and was aiming to become the first Spring Triple Crown in JRA history.^[38] Meisho Tabaru would start as second favorite, in the 16th post under Yutaka Take. Breaking from the gate well, he would run second throughout the race, before overtaking Cosmo Kuranda on the stretch, and then holding off Croix du Nord's final charge, to take his second win in the Takarazuka Kinen.^[39] This matched him with his sire's record of two back to back wins in the Takarazuka Kinen, with Chrono Genesis being the only other two-time winner. Take would remark after the race about how similar the final stretch had been to the Osaka Hai, with Croix du Nord giving chase on the final stretch.^[40]