Shinzan Kinen
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.jpg) Guanciale wins the 2015 Shinzan Kinen | |
| Class | Grade 3 |
|---|---|
| Location | Kyoto Racecourse |
| Inaugurated | January 15, 1967 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred - Flat racing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1,600 meters |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Right-handed |
| Qualification | 3-y-o |
| Weight | 57 kg |
| Purse | ¥ 87,960,000 (as of 2026)
|
The Shinzan Kinen (シンザン記念) is a Grade 3 (GIII) flat horse race in Japan.[1][2]
The race was named in honor of Shinzan, Japan’s second Triple Crown winner (1964), who also won the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and Arima Kinen in 1965, earning the title “Five-Crown Horse.”[2]
Background
The Shinzan Kinen is a Grade III Thoroughbred race in Japan open to 3-year-old horses of either sex.[3] It is held annually in early January at Kyoto Racecourse over a distance of 1,600 meters on turf (outer course).[3] Eligible entrants include JRA-trained horses, up to two certified NAR (local) horses, and foreign-trained horses with priority entry.[3] The race is run under weight-for-age conditions: colts and geldings carry 57 kg, while fillies receive a 2 kg allowance (55 kg).[3] The first-place prize in 2026 is ¥41 million.[3] The race is officially titled the “Nikkan Sports Sho Shinzan Kinen”, sponsored by Nikkan Sports Nishi-Nihon (Osaka-based), and the winner receives the Nikkan Sports Newspaper Prize.[4]
History
The Shinzan Kinen was inaugurated on January 15, 1967, as a 4-year-old (now 3-year-old) restricted stakes race to commemorate the legendary horse Shinzan.[3] Although the Chukyo Owners’ Association, where Shinzan’s owner, Kosaku Hashimoto, was a member, had lobbied for the race to be held at Chukyo Racecourse, the JRA chose Kyoto, leading instead to the creation of the Chukyo Daishoten as a compromise.[5] The race has been held almost exclusively at Kyoto over 1,600m since its inception, with only a few exceptions: it was run at Hanshin in 1980 and 1994, and temporarily relocated to Chukyo from 2021 to 2023 and again in 2025 due to Kyoto Racecourse renovations and Hanshin stand refurbishment.[6]
It was elevated to Grade III status in 1984 under JRA’s grading system.[3] International participation expanded gradually: foreign-bred horses were allowed from 1995, NAR horses from 1996, and foreign-trained horses from 2009, when it became an international GIII event with up to 9 foreign runners permitted. In 2024, the race formally adopted fixed weight-for-age (57 kg / 55 kg), replacing earlier variable systems.[4]
Although several descendants of Shinzan have competed, including Shinzan Homare (1967), Shingun (1971), and Reigning Land (2015), none have ever won the race named in his honor.[3]
Past winners
| Year | Winner | Age | Length (in m) | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Taigyo | 3 | T1600 | Kunihiko Take | Heizo Take | Yoshio Nakayama | 1:39.0 |
| 1968 | Hikari O | 3 | T1600 | Masazo Ryoke | Yoshio Tanaka | Ichisaburo Matsumoto | 1:41.0 |
| 1969 | Fine Happy | 3 | T1600 | Yoshinori Yanada | Juubee Tsubo | Hisahiro Yoshida | 1:38.8 |
| 1970 | High Prince | 3 | T1600 | Shigetada Takahashi | Isamu Sato | Kazunori Yoshimine | 1:36.9 |
| 1971 | Fi Dor | 3 | T1600 | Yoshito Matsumoto | Bungo Takeda | Obara Kikue | 1:42.3 |
| 1972 | Shinmoedake | 3 | T1600 | Norihito Fujioka | Isao Tanoue | Mitsuyoshi Kubo | 1:38.5 |
| 1973 | Dicta Boy | 3 | T1600 | Masami Shibata | Tadashi Fuse | Shigeo Imai | 1:38.8 |
| 1974 | Naniwa Light | 3 | T1600 | Eiji Shimizu | Mitsuo Ogino | Aya Nishida | 1:37.0 |
| 1975 | Erimo George | 3 | T1600 | Yoichi Fukunaga | Masaaki Okubo | Shinichi Yamamoto | 1:38.4 |
| 1976 | Bambton Shade | 3 | T1600 | Toshifumi Kubo | Shuji Ito | Shozo Higuchi | 1:39.3 |
| 1977 | Tenzan Sakura | 3 | T1600 | Hiroshi Kawachi | Yoshiharu Matsunaga | Saburo Hirano | 1:38.1 |
| 1978 | Lovely Tosho | 3 | T1600 | Hideo Koyauchi | Tameo Toyama | Tosho Sangyo Co. Ltd. | 1:37.0 |
| 1979 | Teruno Eight | 3 | T1600 | Akihiro Iida | Hisao Shimizu | Teruhiko Nakamura | 1:37.2 |
| 1980 | Noto Diver | 3 | T1600 | Tadashi Kayo | Shuji Kitahashi | Noto | 1:38.4 |
| 1981 | Hirono Wakakoma | 3 | T1600 | Hiroshi Kawachi | Shuji Ito | Yuko Ito | 1:35.8 |
| 1982 | Silk Tenzan O | 3 | T1600 | Kiyoaki Ito | Shuji Ito | Shinichi Nakayama | 1:36.8 |
| 1983 | Mejiro Mont Cenis | 3 | T1600 | Eiji Shimizu | Masaaki Okubo | Mejiro Shoji Co. Ltd. | 1:36.7 |
| 1984 | Kitayama Zakura | 3 | T1600 | Sadahiro Kojima | Tameo Toyama | Tatsuya Fujimoto | 1:36.3 |
| 1985 | Life Tateyama | 3 | T1600 | Shigetoshi Saruhashi | Isao Yasuda | Yukio Tsuji | 1:37.5 |
| 1986 | Fresh Voice | 3 | T1600 | Shigeo Koshoji | Naoyuki Sakai | Kazuo Enjo | 1:37.3 |
| 1987 | Yamanin Arden | 3 | T1600 | Nobuyuki Tajima | Yasuo Ikee | Koji Doi | 1:38.4 |
| 1988 | Rugger Black | 3 | T1600 | Yoshiyuki Muramoto | Masaaki Okubo | Keiji Okumura | 1:37.2 |
| 1989 | Foundry Popo | 3 | T1600 | Katsuichi Nishiura | Tatsuo Natsumura | Tomio Mito | 1:37.4 |
| 1990 | Nichido Thunder | 3 | T1600 | Hiroshi Masui | Toshiaki Shirai | Toshio Yamada | 1:36.0 |
| 1991 | Milford Slew | 3 | T1600 | Hiroshi Kawachi | Kotaro Tanaka | Kiyoshi Noritake | 1:35.7 |
| 1992 | Mayano Petrews | 3 | T1600 | Seiki Tabara | Masahiro Sakaguchi | Yu Tadokoro | 1:35.8 |
| 1993 | Amber Lion | 3 | T1600 | Hidetaka Tadokoro | Yukiharu Shikato | Ribot Co. Ltd. | 1:35.9 |
| 1994 | Kokuo Namura | 3 | T1600 | Hiroyuki Uemura | Akihiko Nomura | Nobushige Namura | 1:36.8 |
| 1995 | Meisho Tesoro | 3 | T1600 | Katsuhito Uegomori | Kaoru Hoshikawa | Yoshio Matsumoto | 1:34.5 |
| 1996 | Generalist | 3 | T1600 | Mikio Matsunaga | Shoji Yamamoto | Maeko Farm Ltd. | 1:34.5 |
| 1997 | Seeking the Pearl | 3 | T1600 | Yutaka Take | Shozo Sasaki | Tomoko Uenaka | 1:34.6 |
| 1998 | Dantsu Sirius | 3 | T1600 | Hirofumi Shii | Kenji Yamauchi | Tetsuji Yamamoto | 1:36.8 |
| 1999 | Fusaichi Airedale | 3 | T1600 | Yutaka Take | Kunihide Matsuda | Fusao Sekiguchi | 1:34.6 |
| 2000 | Daitaku Riva | 3 | T1600 | Ryo Takahashi | Kojiro Hashiguchi | Taiyo Farm Ltd. | 1:35.4 |
| 2001 | Derby Regno | 3 | T1600 | Hideaki Miyuki | Shigetada Takahashi | Derby Co. Ltd. | 1:35.4 |
| 2002 | Tanino Gimlet | 3 | T1600 | Yutaka Take | Kunihide Matsuda | Yuzo Tanimizu | 1:34.8 |
| 2003 | Silent Deal | 3 | T1600 | Yutaka Take | Yasuo Ikee | Makoto Kaneko | 1:34.8 |
| 2004 | Great Journey | 3 | T1600 | Yutaka Take | Yasuo Ikee | North Hills Management Ltd. | 1:35.4 |
| 2005 | Peer Gynt | 3 | T1600 | Yutaka Take | Kojiro Hashiguchi | Sunday Racing Ltd. | 1:35.7 |
| 2006 | Go Go Kirishima | 3 | T1600 | Mamoru Ishibashi | Yasuo Umeda | Shinichiro Nishimura | 1:34.4 |
| 2007 | Admire Aura | 3 | T1600 | Yasunari Iwata | Hiroyoshi Matsuda | Riichi Kondo | 1:35.1 |
| 2008 | Dream Signal | 3 | T1600 | Yasunari Iwata | Masato Nishizono | Saison Race Horse Co. Ltd. | 1:35.4 |
| 2009 | Antonio Barows | 3 | T1600 | Koichi Tsunoda | Hiroshi Takeda | Hiroji Inokuma | 1:35.3 |
| 2010 | Garbo | 3 | T1600 | Kenichi Ikezoe | Hidekatsu Shimizu | Kazuyoshi Ishikawa | 1:34.3 |
| 2011 | Red Davis | 3 | T1600 | Suguru Hamanaka | Hidetaka Otonashi | Tokyo Horse Racing Co. Ltd. | 1:34.0 |
| 2012 | Gentildonna | 3 | T1600 | Christophe Lemaire | Sei Ishizaka | Sunday Racing Ltd. | 1:34.3 |
| 2013 | A Shin Top | 3 | T1600 | Suguru Hamanaka | Masato Nishizono | Eishindo Co. Ltd. | 1:34.3 |
| 2014 | Mikki Isle | 3 | T1600 | Suguru Hamanaka | Hidetaka Otonashi | Mizuki Noda | 1:33.8 |
| 2015 | Guanciale | 3 | T1600 | Yutaka Take | Yoshihito Kidate | Toshihiro Matsumoto | 1:34.8 |
| 2016 | Logi Cry | 3 | T1600 | Suguru Hamanaka | Naosuke Sugai | Masaaki Kumeda | 1:34.1 |
| 2017 | Kyohei | 3 | T1600 | Ryo Takakura | Hiroshi Miyamoto | Takao Seya | 1:37.6 |
| 2018 | Almond Eye | 3 | T1600 | Keita Tosaki | Sakae Kunieda | Silk Racing Ltd. | 1:37.1 |
| 2019 | Val d'Isere | 3 | T1600 | Yuichi Kitamura | Kunihiko Watanabe | G1 Racing Co. Ltd. | 1:35.7 |
| 2020 | Sanctuaire | 3 | T1600 | Christophe Lemaire | Kazuo Fujisawa | Carrot Farm Ltd. | 1:35.9 |
| 2021[a] | Pixie Knight | 3 | T1600 | Yuichi Fukunaga | Hidetaka Otonashi | Silk Racing Ltd. | 1:33.3 |
| 2022[a] | Matenro Orion | 3 | T1600 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Mitsuku Kon | Chiyono Terada | 1:34.1 |
| 2023[a] | Light Quantum | 3 | T1600 | Yutaka Take | Koshiro Take | Shadai Race Horse Ltd. | 1:33.7 |
| 2024 | Noble Roger | 3 | T1600 | Yuga Kawada | Tatsuya Yoshioka | Normandy Thoroughbred Racing Co. Ltd. | 1:34.5 |
| 2025[b] | Lila Emblem | 3 | T1600 | Suguru Hamanaka | Koshiro Take | G Riviere Racing Co. Ltd. | 1:34.6 |
| 2026 | Thunderstruck | 3 | T1600 | Thore Hammer-Hansen | Tetsuya Kimura | Carrot Farm Ltd. | 1:33.4 |
a The Runnings from 2021 to 2023 were held at Chukyo Racecourse due to construction at Kyoto Racecourse.
b The 2025 running was held at Chukyo Racecourse due to construction at Hanshin Racecourse.
