Satsuki Shō

Satsuki Shō
Japanese 2,000 Guineas
皐月賞
2021 Satsuki Shō winner, Efforia
ClassGrade 1
LocationNakayama Racecourse
Funabashi, Chiba
Inaugurated29 April 1939 (87 years ago) (1939-04-29)
Race typeThoroughbred flat racing
Race information
Distance2000 meters
(About 10 furlongs or 1+1⁄4 miles)
Record1:56.5; Lovcen (2026)
SurfaceTurf
TrackRight-handed
QualificationThree-years-old Colts & Fillies
Weight57 kg
Allowances
2 kg for fillies
Purse¥ 432,000,000 (as of 2026)
  • 1st: ¥ 200,000,000
  • 2nd: ¥ 80,000,000
  • 3rd: ¥ 50,000,000
BonusesClassic Triple Crown
Winner of Satsuki Shō, Tōkyō Yūshun and Kikuka Shō
¥ 300,000,000

The Satsuki Shō (皐月賞) is a Japanese Grade 1 flat race for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres (approximately 1 mile 2 furlongs) at the Nakayama Racecourse, Funabashi, Chiba, and scheduled to take place each year at mid April.

History

The Satsuki Shō was first contested in 1939 as Yokohama Nōrinshō Shōten Yonsai Yobiuma (横浜農林省賞典四歳呼馬) over a distance of 1,850 metres at Negishi Racecourse in Yokohama, Kanagawa, and is regarded as the Japanese equivalent of the 2,000 Guineas. (Note that the original 2,000 Guineas is run at 1,609 metres, or one mile, about two furlongs shorter than the Satsuki Shō.)

The race was run at Negishi Racecourse until 1942, but the course was closed due to the World War II in 1943 and it was staged at Tokyo Racecourse over a distance of 1,800 metres until 1944. After a two-year hiatus, the race was resumed at Tokyo Racecourse twice in 1947 and 1948, then it was renamed to the Satsuki Shō and settled at Nakayama Racecourse since 1949. The distance was first set to 1,950 metres, then extended to 2,000 metres in 1950.

It is one of Japan's five Classic races, and it also serves as the opening leg of the Japanese Triple Crown followed by the Tōkyō Yūshun (Japanese Derby) and the Kikuka Shō (Japanese St. Leger).

Trial races

Trial races provide automatic berths to the winning horses or placed horses as specified.

Race Name Class Racecourse Distance Condition
Yayoi Sho (Deep Impact Kinen) GII Nakayama 2,000 meters Top 3 horses
Spring Stakes GII Nakayama 1,800 meters
Wakaba Stakes L Hanshin 2,000 meters Top 2 horses

Races listed below does not provide automatic berths, but still important steps for this race.

Race Name Class Racecourse Distance
Keisei Hai GIII Nakayama 2,000 meters
Wakagoma Stakes L Kyoto 2,000 meters
Kisaragi Sho GIII Kyoto 1,800 meters
Kyodo Tsushin Hai GIII Tokyo 1,800 meters
Sumire Stakes L Hanshin 2,200 meters
Mainichi Hai GIII Hanshin 1,800 meters

Records

Leading jockey(s) :

Leading trainer(s) :

Leading owner(s) :

Winners since 1984

Year
 Winner
 Jockey
 Trainer
 Owner
 Time
1984 Symboli Rudolf Yukio Okabe Yuji Nohira Symboli Bokujo 2:01.1
1985 Miho Shinzan Masato Shibata Tomojiro Tanaka Kanji Tsutsumi 2:02.1
1986 Dyna Cosmos Yukio Okabe Minetsugu Sawa Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd. 2:02.1
1987 Sakura Star O Shinji Azuma Yuji Hirai Sakura Commerce Co., Ltd. 2:01.9
1988 Yaeno Muteki Katsuichi Nishiura Mitsuo Ogino Fuji Co., Ltd. 2:01.3
1989 Doctor Spurt Hitoshi Matoba Takashi Tsukazaki Satoru Matsuoka 2:05.2
1990 Haku Taisei Katsumi Minai Tadashi Fuse Shigeo Watanabe 2:02.2
1991 Tokai Teio Takayuki Yasuda Shoichi Matsumoto Masanori Uchimura 2:01.8
1992 Mihono Bourbon Sadahiro Kojima Tameo Toyama Mihono International Co., Ltd. 2:01.4
1993 Narita Taishin Yutaka Take Masaaki Okubo Hidenori Yamaji 2:00.2
1994 Narita Brian Katsumi Minai Masaaki Okubo Hidenori Yamaji 1:59.0
1995 Genuine Yukio Okabe Yasuhisa Matsuyama Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd. 2:02.5
1996 Ishino Sunday Hirofumi Shii Kenji Yamauchi Ishino Co., Ltd. 2:00.7
1997 Sunny Brian Naohiro Onishi Senji Nakao Moriyasu Miyazaki 2:02.0
1998 Seiun Sky Norihiro Yokoyama Kazutaka Yasuda Masayuki Nishiyama 2:01.3
1999 T. M. Opera O Ryuji Wada Ichizo Iwamoto Masatsugu Takezono 2:00.7
2000 Air Shakur Yutaka Take Hideyuki Mori Lucky Field Co., Ltd. 2:01.8
2001 Agnes Tachyon Hiroshi Kawachi Hiroyuki Nagahama Takao Watanabe 2:00.3
2002 No Reason Brett Doyle Yasuo Ikee Shinji Maeda 1:58.5
2003 Neo Universe Mirco Demuro Tsutomu Setoguchi Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd. 2:01.2
2004 Daiwa Major Mirco Demuro Hiroyuki Uehara Daiwa Shoji Co., Ltd. 1:58.6
2005 Deep Impact Yutaka Take Yasuo Ikee Makoto Kaneko 1:59.2
2006 Meisho Samson Mamoru Ishibashi Tsutomu Setoguchi Yoshio Matsumoto 1:59.9
2007 Victory Katsuharu Tanaka Hidetaka Otonashi Hideko Kondo 1:59.9
2008 Captain Thule Yuga Kawada Hideyuki Mori Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd. 2:01.7
2009 Unrivaled Yasunari Iwata Yasuo Tomomichi Sunday Racing 1:58.7
2010 Victoire Pisa Yasunari Iwata Katsuhiko Sumii Yoshimi Ichikawa 2:00.8
2011 Orfevre Kenichi Ikezoe Yasutoshi Ikee Sunday Racing 2:00.6
2012 Gold Ship Hiroyuki Uchida Naosuke Sugai Eiichi Kobayashi 2:01.3
2013 Logotype Mirco Demuro Tsuyoshi Tanaka Teruya Yoshida 1:58.0
2014 Isla Bonita Masayoshi Ebina Hironori Kurita Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd. 1:59.6
2015 Duramente Mirco Demuro Noriyuki Hori Sunday Racing 1:58.2
2016 Dee Majesty Masayoshi Ebina Yoshitaka Ninomiya Masaru Shimada 1:57.9
2017 Al Ain Kohei Matsuyama Yasutoshi Ikee Sunday Racing 1:57.8
2018 Epoca d'Oro Keita Tosaki Hideaki Fujiwara Hidaka Breeders Union 2:00.8
2019 Saturnalia Christophe Lemaire Katsuhiko Sumii Carrot Farm Co., Ltd. 1:58.1
2020 Contrail Yuichi Fukunaga Yoshito Yahagi Shinji Maeda 2:00.7
2021 Efforia Takeshi Yokoyama Yuichi Shikato Carrot Farm Co., Ltd. 2:00.6
2022 Geoglyph Yuichi Fukunaga Tetsuya Kimura Sunday Racing 1:59.7
2023 Sol Oriens Takeshi Yokoyama Takahisa Tezuka Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd. 2:00.6
2024 Justin Milano Keita Tosaki Yasuo Tomomichi Masahiro Miki 1:57.1
2025 Museum Mile João Moreira Daisuke Takayanagi Sunday Racing 1:57.0
2026 Lovcen Kohei Matsuyama Haruki Sugiyama Forest Racing 1:56.5
  1. ↑ The 2011 race took place at Tokyo Racecourse due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami

Earlier winners

See also

References

  1. ↑ "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" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Racing Association.
  2. ↑ "競馬番組一般事項(Horseracing Program General Information) - Page 19" (PDF). JRA. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  3. ↑ "皐月賞". Netkeiba.
  4. ↑ "Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas)". Netkeiba.