Tosho Boy

Three-year-old season

Tosho Boy's first race was a maiden race at Tokyo Racecourse on the 31 January 1976. Tosho Boy was the favorite entering the race, and lived up to expectations by leading almost the entirely race and taking victory.^[7] The race was sometimes referred to as the "legendary maiden race," as the race also featured Tosho Boy's future rival Green Grass and also C.B. Queen, who would later be the dam of Mr. C. B..^[8]

Tosho Boy's next races were the Tsukushi Sho in February and the Renge Sho in March, both of which he won with commanding margins of 4-5 lengths.^[7] Tosho Boy had become one of the favorites to win the Triple Crown races. The favorite as the classic races approached, however, was Ten Point, who had won in all five of his starts to that point, including already having a major win in the Hanshin Sansai Stakes.^[9] In his last races before the classics, Ten Point one, but only by narrow margins, leading some rivals to claim that he was not unbeatable.^[10]

Tosho Boy's next race was to be the Satsuki Shō, where he would race against Ten Point for the first time. The race was scheduled for its traditional slot in April at Nakayama Racecourse, but a labor dispute broke out between the Nakayama stable-worker's union and the trainer's association. The union went on strike three days before the scheduled date of the Satsuki Shō, forcing the race to both be delayed to the following week and to be run at Tokyo Racecourse.^[11] The delay caused some disruption to both Tosho Boy's and Ten Point's training schedules, but both arrived at Tokyo Racecourse in good shape. On race day, Ten Point was considered the favorite to win, while Tosho Boy was second favorite. In the race, Tosho Boy broke out from the field entering the straight and was uncontested for the run to the finish, ultimately winning by five lengths over Ten Point.^[12] With a time of 2:01.1, Tosho Boy set a new race record, surpassing the record set by Kitano Kachidoki in 1974. After Tosho Boy's dominating victory, media outlets quickly began to a potential Triple Crown winner.^[13]

Tosho Boy's next race was the Tōkyō Yūshun, where he entered as the favorite.^[14] In the race, Tosho Boy led much of the way, but in the final straight was challenged by Climb Kaiser. Tosho Boy was startled, possibly from contact from Climb Kaiser's jockey Takemi Kaga's whip, and feel fourth lengths back at 200 meters to go. He recovered, but too late to catch back up, and finished second by 2+1⁄2 lengths.^[15] Kaga was investigated post-race for potentially obstructing Tosho Boy, but was cleared and Climb Kaiser retained the win.^[16] Tosho Boy was rested for roughly a month after the race before being entered in to the Sapporo Kinen. He finished second again. In response, Tosho Boy's owner fired jockey Masahiro Ikegami, and for the fall races hired Yoichi Fukunaga.^[17]

Tosho Boy ran the Kobe Shimbun Hai in fall in preparation for the Kikuka-shō. He took victory in the Kobe Shimbun Hai, and entered the Kikuka-shō as the favorite, although there were some doubts about his ability to race the 3000 meter distance.^[15] On race day, the track was wet from rain the night before, which cause Tosho Boy to struggle. Tosho Boy took the lead early in the final straight, but was passed almost immediately by Green Grass and Ten Point. Tosho Boy would finish third, five lengths behind winner Green Grass.^[18] After the race, jocket Yoichi Fukunaga stated that he believed Tosho Boy may have already reached his peak as a racehorse at the Kobe Shimbun Hai and was now in decline.^[19] One month later, Tosho Boy was entered in to the Arima Kinen. Fukunaga had already committed to riding a different horse for this race, and so Kunihiko Take was hired to ride Tosho Boy. ^[20] Despite the recent losses, Tosho Boy was once again the favorite to win. In the race, Tosho Boy held a good position for the entire race and took victory over Ten Point. The result marked the first time in the history of the Arima Kinen that 3-year-old horses took first and second.^[21] With a time of 2:34.0, Tosho Boy set a new record for fastest 2500 meter race in Japan.

At the end of the year, Tosho Boy was selected as both Japanese Horse of the Year and as the best three-year-old colt.^[22]

Four-year-old season

Injuries prevented Tosho Boy from racing for much of the first half of 1977. The heavy race load at the end of 1976 caused fatigue injuries, and he was forced to rest. Once recovered, training began in preparation to race the Spring Tenno Sho, but a shoulder injury forced him to miss more time.^[23] At one point, he was scheduled to race against the undefeated Maruzensky in a shorter race at Sapporo Racecourse, but continued leg injuries prevented his entry in to this race as well.^[24]

Tosho Boy made his racing return at the Takarazuka Kinen at the beginning on June. Having not raced in over five months, he was only the second favorite, and some observers described his pre-race form as poor.^[25] These concerns over Tosho Boys' form were dispelled during the race. Tosho Boy ran the last 1000 meters in 57.6 seconds – the fastest 1000 meters in Japan at that point – and beat his rival Ten Point by 3⁄4 lengths.^[23] His next race was the Takamatsunomiya Hai three weeks later, where he won again despite poor track conditions.^[25] During the summer, he was rested and did not race again until October. He returned at an open race at Nakayama Racecourse to prepare for the Autumn Tenno Sho - Tosho Boy won by seven lengths.^[26]

Tosho Boy was next entered in to the Autumn Tenno Sho. Expectations were high and he was the favorite entering the race again. This race, however, went poorly. Tosho Boy was unable to keep up on the final straight, and fell to seventh at the finish.^[27] After the race, Tosho Boy's owner announced that the Arima Kinen would be his final race before he would be retired to stud. The Arima Kinen was initially set to be a showdown between Tosho Boy, Ten Point, and Maruzensky, but Maruzensky was forced to withdraw due to leg injuries.^[27] Ten Point entered as the favorite, having had a strong 1977 season that would lead to him being voted Japanese Horse of the Year. Tosho Boy was second favorite. In the race, Tosho Boy led for much of the distance, but with 200 meters remaining was passed by Ten Point. Tosho Boy began to catch up again at 100 meters remaining, but ran out of time and finished by 3⁄4 lengths.^[28] At the time, the battle between Ten Point and Tosho Boy in this race was regarded as one of the greatest races in the history of Japanese horse racing.^[29][30][31]

As planned, the Arima Kinen was Tosho Boy's final race, and a retirement ceremony was held on 8 January 1978 at Tokyo Racecourse.^[32]

Racing record

Tosho Boy competed in 15 career races, winning 10.^[33][34]

Notable progeny

Tosho Boy's major stakes winners include:^[42]

c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding; horses in bold won at least one Grade 1 event.

Tosho Boy has also had some success as a broodmare sire, with many of his children also producing graded stakes winners. Most notably, Tosho Boy is the damsire of 1995 Oka Sho winner Wonder Perfume, 1997 Kikuka-shō winner Matikanefukukitaru, and 2006 Singapore Airlines International Cup winner Cosmo Bulk.^[43]