Tennō Shō (Spring)
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_2023(IMG1).jpg) Justin Palace winning the 167th Tennō Shō | |
| Class | Int'l Grade 1 |
|---|---|
| Location | Kyoto Racecourse, Kyoto |
| Inaugurated | May 15, 1938 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
| Website | japanracing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 3200 meters (About 16 furlongs / 2 miles) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Right-handed |
| Qualification | 4-y-o & Up, Thoroughbreds |
| Weight | 58 kg Allowances: 2 kg for fillies and mares |
| Purse | ¥ 648,000,000 (as of 2025)
|
| Bonuses | Winner of the following in the same year: Ōsaka Hai, Tennō Shō (Spring), Takarazuka Kinen[1] Domestic: ¥ 300,000,000 International: ¥ 150,000,000 Winner of any three of the following in the same year: Ōsaka Hai, Tennō Shō (Spring/Autumn), Japan Cup, Takarazuka Kinen, Arima Kinen Domestic: ¥ 200,000,000 International: ¥ 100,000,000 |
The Tennō Shō (Spring) (天皇賞（春; lit. 'Emperor Prize (Spring)') is an International Grade I horse race held at Kyoto Racecourse, Japan in late April or early May. It is run over a distance of 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) on turf, and is the longest Grade 1 race in Japan.[2]
The official name of the race is Tennō Shō (天皇賞), but the Japan Racing Association (JRA) describes the race as Tennō Shō (Spring) (天皇賞（春）) since 1984 when the race distance of the Tennō Shō (Autumn) (天皇賞（秋）) was shortened from 3,200 metres to 2,000 metres.[3]
History
[edit]Early years
[edit]One of the origin of the Tennō Shō is The Emperor's Cup first contested at Negishi Racecourse in 1905, prized from the Emperor for the winner, and later renamed as Teishitsu Goshōten until 1937. Another origin is Yushō Naikokusanba Rengō Kyōsō run over 3,200 metres, held twice a year between 1911 and 1937 to determine the best horse of the year. The Tennō Shō was established in 1937 to unify these prestigious races under the name of the Emperor, and therefore it is regarded as the most prestigious horse race in Japan since then.
In 1953, Leda has won the race, the only one mare who has won the race in the race history as of 2026.
Prior to 1980, a horse winning a Tennō Shō was not allowed to participate in future editions of the race again, but this ban was lifted in 1981.[4]
Recent years
[edit]In 1984, JRA introduced Group races into their big races, and Tennō Shō was designated as Grade 1 (domestic grade at that time). At the same time the distance of the Tennō Shō (Autumn) held at Tokyo Racecourse was shortened from 3,200 metres to 2,000 metres, though the Tennō Shō (Spring) remained its distance as 3,200 metres, thus the Tennō Shō (Spring) remained its characteristics to determine best stayer, while Tennō Shō (Autumn) changed its characteristics to determine best middle-distance horse.
Prior to 2000, the participants of the Tennō Shō was limited to the horses born and trained in Japan. In 2000, maximum of two foreign-bred horses trained in Japan acquired the rights to participate the race[5], and then became an international horse race in 2005[6], maximum of five foreign-trained horses can run the race. Maximum number for international participants were increased to nine in 2007. In 2008, the race also became open to geldings.
Since 2008, the winner of the Melbourne Cup held over a distance of 3,200 metres, same distance as the Tennō Shō (Spring), at the Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia in previous year is invited to this race, and the winner of the Tennō Shō (Spring) is also given the automatic berths to participate the same year's Melbourne Cup in November.[7]
Since the race became international in 2005, there are three horses participated the race from overseas, including 
Makybe Diva (finished 7th in 2005), 
Gentoo (finished 9th in 2011) and 
Red Cadeaux twice (finished 3rd in 2013 and 14th in 2014).
Since 2017, bonus has been awarded to horses that win all three races in the same year that make up the Spring Triple Crown for older horses: Osaka Hai, Tenno Sho (Spring) and Takarazuka Kinen.[8]
Since 2025, bonus has also be awarded to horses that win three races in the same year from the six races that make up the Spring Triple Crown described above, and the Autumn Triple Crown for older horses: Tenno Sho (Autumn), Japan Cup, and Arima Kinen.[9]
Deep Impact won the 2006 version of the race setting the world record for a 3,200-metre race with a time of 3:13.4, beating the World Record set in the 1988 Wellington Cup by Daria's Fun, held for almost 20 years of 3:15.59, the closest time run in the Melbourne Cup is 3:16.3.[10][11] Deep Impact's record stood until Kitasan Black won in 3:12.5 in 2017. The average time for the Tennō Shō from 1990 to 2018 is 3:16.7, while the same for the Melbourne Cup is 3:21.1, a difference of 4.4 seconds.[12]
Trial races
[edit]Trial races provide automatic berths to the winning horses.[13]
| Race | Grade | Racecourse | Distance | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanshin Daishoten | GII | Hanshin | 3,000 metres | Winner |
| Nikkei Sho | GII | Nakayama | 2,500 metres | Winner |
Records
[edit]Speed record:
- 3:12.5 — Kitasan Black (2017/Yutaka Take)
Multiple winners:
- 2 — Mejiro McQueen (1991, 1992)
- 2 — Rice Shower (1993, 1995)
- 2 — T. M. Opera O (2000, 2001)
- 2 — Fenomeno (2013, 2014)
- 2 — Kitasan Black (2016, 2017)
- 2 — Fierement (2019, 2020)
Most wins by jockey:
- 8 — Yutaka Take (1989 / Inari One)(1990 / Super Creek)(1991,1992 / Mejiro McQueen)(1999 / Special Week)(2006 / Deep Impact)(2016,2017 / Kitasan Black)
The youngest winning jockey:
- Yutaka Take (1989 Inari One, 20 Years old 1 Month 15 Days)
The oldest winning jockey
- Yutaka Take (2017 Kitasan Black, 48 Years old 1 Month 16 Days)
Winners since 1990
[edit]| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Super Creek | 5 | Yutaka Take | Syuuji Itou | Makoto Kikura | 3:21.9 |
| 1991 | Mejiro McQueen | 4 | Yutaka Take | Yasuo Ikee | Mejiro Stud | 3:18.8 |
| 1992 | Mejiro McQueen | 5 | Yutaka Take | Yasuo Ikee | Mejiro Stud | 3:20.0 |
| 1993 | Rice Shower | 4 | Hitoshi Matoba | Yoshitsugu Iizuka | Hideo Kurabayashi | 3:17.1 |
| 1994 | Biwa Hayahide[a] | 4 | Yukio Okabe | Mitsumasa Hamada | Biwa Co Ltd | 3:22.6 |
| 1995 | Rice Shower | 6 | Hitoshi Matoba | Yoshitsugu Iizuka | Hideo Kurabayashi | 3:19.9 |
| 1996 | Sakura Laurel | 5 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Katsutarou Sakai | Sakura Commerce | 3:17.8 |
| 1997 | Mayano Top Gun | 5 | Seiki Tabara | Masahiro Sakaguchi | Yuu Tadokoro | 3:14.4 |
| 1998 | Mejiro Bright | 4 | Hiroshi Kawachi | Hidekazu Asami | Mejiro Stud | 3:23.6 |
| 1999 | Special Week | 4 | Yutaka Take | Toshiaki Shirai | Hiroyoshi Usuda | 3:15.3 |
| 2000 | T. M. Opera O | 4 | Ryuji Wada | Ichizo Iwamoto | Masatsugu Takezono | 3:17.6 |
| 2001 | T. M. Opera O | 5 | Ryuji Wada | Ichizo Iwamoto | Masatsugu Takezono | 3:16.2 |
| 2002 | Manhattan Cafe | 4 | Masayoshi Ebina | Futoshi Kojima | Ken Nishikawa | 3:19.5 |
| 2003 | Hishi Miracle | 4 | Koichi Tsunoda | Masaru Sayama | Masaichiro Abe | 3:17.0 |
| 2004 | Ingrandire | 5 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Yoshinami Shimizu | Chizu Yoshida | 3:18.4 |
| 2005 | Suzuka Mambo | 4 | Katsumi Ando | Mitsuru Hashida | Keiji Nagai | 3:16.5 |
| 2006 | Deep Impact | 4 | Yutaka Take | Yasuo Ikee | Makoto Kaneko | 3:13.4 |
| 2007 | Meisho Samson | 4 | Mamoru Ishibashi | Shigetada Takahashi | Yoshio Matsumoto | 3:14.1 |
| 2008 | Admire Jupiter | 5 | Yasunari Iwata | Yasuo Tomomichi | Riichi Kondo | 3:15.1 |
| 2009 | Meiner Kitz | 6 | Masami Matsuoka | Sakae Kunieda | Thoroughbred Club Ruffian | 3:14.4 |
| 2010 | Jaguar Mail | 6 | Craig Williams | Noriyuki Hori | Kazumi Yoshida | 3:15.7 |
| 2011 | Hiruno d'Amour | 4 | Shinji Fujita | Mitsugu Kon | Hashimoto Bokujo | 3:20.6 |
| 2012 | Beat Black | 5 | Syu Ishibashi | Hitoshi Nakamura | Koji Maeda | 3:13.8 |
| 2013 | Fenomeno | 4 | Masayoshi Ebina | Hirofumi Toda | Sunday Racing | 3:14.2 |
| 2014 | Fenomeno | 5 | Masayoshi Ebina | Hirofumi Toda | Sunday Racing | 3:15.1 |
| 2015 | Gold Ship | 6 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Naosuke Sugai | Kobayashi Eiichi Holdings | 3:14.7 |
| 2016 | Kitasan Black | 4 | Yutaka Take | Hisashi Shimizu | Ono Shoji | 3:15.3 |
| 2017 | Kitasan Black | 5 | Yutaka Take | Hisashi Shimizu | Ono Shoji | 3:12.5 |
| 2018 | Rainbow Line | 5 | Yasunari Iwata | Hidekazu Asami | Masahiro Mita | 3:16.2 |
| 2019 | Fierement | 4 | Christophe Lemaire | Takahisa Tezuka | Sunday Racing | 3:15.0 |
| 2020 | Fierement | 5 | Christophe Lemaire | Takahisa Tezuka | Sunday Racing | 3:16.5 |
| 2021 | World Premiere[b] | 5 | Yuichi Fukunaga | Yasuo Tomomichi | Ryoichi Otsuka | 3:14.7 |
| 2022 | Titleholder[b] | 4 | Kazuo Yokoyama | Toru Kurita | Hiroshi Yamada | 3:16.2 |
| 2023 | Justin Palace | 4 | Christophe Lemaire | Haruki Sugiyama | Masahiro Miki | 3:16.1 |
| 2024 | T O Royal | 6 | Yuji Hishida | Inao Okada | Tomoya Ozasa | 3:14.2 |
| 2025 | Redentor | 4 | Damian Lane | Tetsuya Kimura | U Carrot Farm | 3:14.0 |
| 2026 | Croix du Nord | 4 | Yuichi Kitamura | Takashi Saito | Sunday Racing | 3:13.7 |
a The 1994 race was contested at Hanshin Racecourse.[14]
b The 2021 and 2022 races were contested at Hanshin Racecourse, due to construction at Kyoto Racecourse.[15]
Earlier winners
[edit]- 1938 - Hase Park
- 1939 - Sugenuma
- 1940 - Toki no Chikara
- 1941 - Marutake
- 1942 - Minami Mor[16]
- 1943 - Grand Lite
- 1944 - Hiro Sakura
- 1945 - No race
- 1946 - No race
- 1947 - Olite[17]
- 1948 - Cyma[18][19]
- 1949 - Miharu O
- 1950 - Owens
- 1951 - Takakura Yama
- 1952 - Mitsuhata
- 1953 - Leda
- 1954 - Hakuryou
- 1955 - Taka O
- 1956 - Meiji Hikari
- 1957 - Kitano O
- 1958 - Onward There
- 1959 - Tosa O
- 1960 - Kuripero
- 1961 - Yamanin More[20]
- 1962 - Onslaught[21]
- 1963 - Korehisa
- 1964 - Hikaru Pola[22]
- 1965 - Asahoko
- 1966 - Hakuzuikou
- 1967 - Speed Symboli
- 1968 - Hikarutakai
- 1969 - Takeshiba O
- 1970 - Riki Eikan
- 1971 - Mejiro Musashi
- 1972 - Bell Wide
- 1973 - Tai Tehm[23]
- 1974 - Take Hope
- 1975 - Ichifuji Isami
- 1976 - Erimo George
- 1977 - Ten Point
- 1978 - Green Grass
- 1979 - Kashuu Chikara
- 1980 - Nichidou Taro
- 1981 - Katsurano Haiseiko
- 1982 - Monte Prince
- 1983 – Amber Shadai
- 1984 – Monte Fast
- 1985 - Symboli Rudolf
- 1986 - Kushiro King
- 1987 - Miho Shinzan
- 1988 - Tamamo Cross
- 1989 - Inari One
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Netkeiba:[24][25]
- Racing Post:
- ^ "平成２９年度競馬番組等について" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Racing Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-03-25. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
- ^ "2025.04.28 Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1)". Horse Racing in Japan. 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
- ^ "RESULT OF THE 172ND TENNO SHO (AUTUMN) (G1)" (PDF). Horse Racing in Japan. 2025-11-02. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
- ^ "2026年天皇賞（春）（GⅠ） JRA". JRA. May 3, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ "2026年天皇賞（春）（GⅠ） JRA". JRA. May 3, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ "2026年天皇賞（春）（GⅠ） JRA". JRA. May 3, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ "TENNO SHO (SPRING) 2026: Latest News, Entries, Race Overview, Racecourse, Past Winners, Information". netkeiba. 2026-04-27. Retrieved 2026-06-17.
- ^ "2017年度競馬番組等について" (in Japanese). 日本中央競馬会. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
- ^ "同一年度に本会が定める競走に優勝した馬に対する褒賞金交付基準 - Page 1" (PDF) (in Japanese). 日本中央競馬会. January 1, 2025. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- ^ "Results from the 7.40 race at KYOTO (JPN) - 30 April 2006". Racing Post. Archived from the original on 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- ^ "Drought ends with a week's free vision - Horseracing - Sport". smh.com.au. 3 May 2006. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- ^ "US$ 2.7 Million (R20 Million) Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1)". SAHorseracing.COM. 2010-05-01. Archived from the original on 2026-01-28. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
- ^ "競馬番組一般事項(Horseracing Program General Information) - Page 22" (PDF). JRA. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
- ^ "第109回 天皇賞（春）（ＧＩ）" (in Japanese). Japan Racing Association. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
- ^ "令和３年度の重賞競走の主な変更点について" (PDF) (in Japanese). 日本中央競馬会. 19 October 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
- ^ JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association) Archived 2021-05-18 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association)". Archived from the original on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ Family Tables of Racinghorses Vol.IV Archived 2014-05-18 at the Wayback Machine, Edited by Thoroughbred Pedigree Center / In collaboration with France Galop,Published by Japan Racing Association and The Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association,2003
- ^ According to Romanization of Japanese,Shîmâ(pronounced as 'seemer').
- ^ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association)". Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association)". Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association)". Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association)". Archived from the original on 2022-08-09. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ "天皇賞(春)". Netkeiba. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "Tennō Shō (Spring)". Netkeiba. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.