Unicorn Stakes

Unicorn Stakes
ユニコーンステークス
Grade 3 race
I Am Actress wins the 2011 Unicorn Stakes
LocationKyoto Racecourse
Inaugurated1996
Race typeThoroughbred Flat racing
Race information
Distance1,900 meters
SurfaceDirt
TrackRight-handed
Qualification3-y-o
Weight57 kg
Allowance: Fillies 2 kg
Purse¥ 79,920,000 (as of 2024)
1st: ¥ 37,000,000
2nd: ¥ 15,000,000
3rd: ¥ 9,000,000

The Unicorn Stakes (Japanese ユニコーンステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run in April over a distance of 1,900 metres on dirt at Kyoto Racecourse.[1]

The race was first run in 1996 and has held Grade 3 status ever since. The race was run over 1,800 meters at Nakayama Racecourse in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 before being moved to Tokyo Racecourse in 2001 until 2023 and was run over 1,600 meters. The race was permanently moved to Kyoto Racecourse in 2024, and the distance was also increased to 1,900 meters.[2] The schedule was also moved from June to late April, positioned as a preparatory race for the Tokyo Derby in which the winner receives a guaranteed spot for the said race.[3]

Past winners of the race have included Taiki Shuttle, Agnes Digital and Kane Hekili.

Records

Record time:

  • 1:58.6 - Ramjet 2024, at a distance of 1,900 meters
  • 1:34.9 - Cafe Pharoah 2020, at a distance of 1,600 meters

Most wins by a jockey:

Most wins by a trainer:

  • 2 - Sei Ishizaka 2001, 2013
  • 2 - Katsuhiko Sumii 2005, 2019
  • 2 - Noriyuki Hori 2012, 2020

Winners

Year
 Winner
 Jockey
 Trainer
 Time
1996 Shinko Windy Yukio Okabe Kiyotaka Tanaka 1:52.8
1997 Taiki Shuttle Yukio Okabe Kazuo Fujisawa 1:36.8
1998 Wing Arrow Katsumi Minai Yoshimi Kudo 1:52.0
1999 Gold Tiara[a] Katsuharu Tanaka Kunihide Matsuda 1:52.6
2000 Agnes Digital Hitoshi Matoba Toshiaki Shirai 1:50.7
2001 Nasdaq Power Teruo Eda Sei Ishizawa 1:36.4
2002 Himitsu Heiki Seiji Sakai Mitsuhiro Okabayashi 1:36.4
2003 Utopia Katsumi Ando Kojiro Hashiguchi 1:35.8
2004 Top of World Hirofumi Shii Kenichi Fujioka 1:36.0
2005 Kane Hekili Yutaka Take Katsuhiko Sumii 1:36.5
2006 Nike Earthwork Norihiro Yokoyama Masayuki Kawashima 1:37.2
2007 Long Pride Yutaka Take Yukiharu Ono 1:36.9
2008 Ubiquitous Katsumi Ando Nobuhiro Suzuki 1:35.1
2009 Silk Mobius Hiroyasu Tanaka Masazo Ryoke 1:35.5
2010 Birdie Birdie Masami Matsuoka Yasutoshi Ikee 1:36.6
2011 I Am Actress[a] Shinichiro Akiyama Hiroshi Nagahama 1:36.2
2012 Straw Hat Yuichi Fukunaga Noriyuki Hori 1:36.5
2013 Best Warrior Keita Tosaki Sei Ishizaka 1:36.0
2014 Red Alvis Masayoshi Ebina Takayuki Yasuda 1:36.0
2015 Nonkono Yume Christophe Lemaire Yukihiro Kato 1:35.9
2016 Gold Dream Yuga Kawada Osamu Hirata 1:35.8[4]
2017 Sunrise Nova Keita Tosaki Hidetaka Otonashi 1:35.9[5]
2018 Le Vent Se Leve Mirco Demuro Kiyoshi Hagiwara 1:35.0[6]
2019 Wide Pharaoh Yuichi Fukunaga Katsuhiko Sumii 1:35.5
2020 Cafe Pharoah Damian Lane Noriyuki Hori 1:34.9
2021 Smasher Ryusei Sakai Tatsuya Yoshioka 1:34.4
2022 Peisha Es Akira Sugawara Kazuo Konishi 1:35.2
2023 Perriere Christophe Lemaire Mitsumasa Nakauchida 1:35.0
2024 Ramjet Kousei Miura Shozo Sasaki 1:58.6

a Gold Tiara and I Am Actress were fillies

See also

References

  1. ^ "Unicorn Stakes". Horse Racing in Japan.
  2. ^ "2024 JRA Racing Calendar changes" (PDF). JRA.
  3. ^ "３歳ダート３冠レース体系発表　24年からスタート　すべてにトライアルレースを設定". Nikkan Sports.
  4. ^ "2016 result". Racing Post. 19 June 2016.
  5. ^ "2017 result". Racing Post. 18 June 2017.
  6. ^ "2018 result". Racing Post. 17 June 2018.
  7. ^ "ユニコーンS". Netkeiba.
  8. ^ "Unicorn Stakes". Netkeiba.