IRL:Epiphaneia

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Epiphaneia
エピファネイア
Main
Silks
Romaji	Epifaneia
Foaled	February 11, 2010
Sire	Symboli Kris S
Dam	Cesario
Sex	Stallion
Color	Bay
Trainer	Katsuhiko Sumii
Race Record	14: 6-2-1
Earnings	687,790,000 JPY
Major wins
Radio Nikkei Hai Nisai Stakes (2012) Kobe Shimbun Hai (2013) Kikuka Sho (2013) Japan Cup (2014)

Epiphaneia is a Japanese racehorse that was active from 2012 to 2015. He is well known for his victories in the 2013 Kikuka Sho and the 2014 Japan Cup.

Name Origin

"Epiphaneia" (ἐπιφάνεια) in Greek means the epiphany of the Lord, twelve days after Christmas. This was inspired by the same Shakespearian play "the Twelfth Night" as his mother, Cesario.

Racing career

Two-year-old season (2012)

Epiphaneia made his debut on October 21st in a 1,800-meter turf race on Kyoto Racecourse. Winning the race by three lengths, he was set to compete in the open-class Kyoto Nisai Stakes on November 24th. Entered as the overwhelming favorite, he won the race by one length and three-quarters. This was also the first time facing off his future rival, Kizuna.

His final race of the year was the Radio Nikkei Hai Nisai Stakes (G3). Competing with Kizuna once again, he overtook him and won the race, marking his first graded victory.

Three-year-old season (2013)

The first race of the year for Epiphaneia was the Yayoi Sho (G2) on March 3rd. Because Yuichi Fukunaga, Epiphaneia's jockey, was suspended at the time, William Buick took his place.Despite accelerating at the final straight, he lost and placed 4th, marking the end of his win streak.

With Fukunaga returning as his jockey, Epiphaneia was set to compete in the Satsuki Sho, the first leg of the Triple Crown. However, due to Epiphaneia being in a rough mood, he rushed into the front instead of waiting in the middle of the pack. As he tried to hold onto his position, Logotype began to overtake him, and set a record time of 1:58.0, going unbeaten until Dee Majesty beat him by 0.1 seconds in 2016. With Epiphaneia placing 2nd, he was then set to challenge the Japanese Derby on May 26th, aiming for the second leg.

Once again, Epiphaneia was in a rough mood during the race, and nearly caused Fukunaga to fall. Taking the lead for a brief moment, he was suddenly overtaken by Kizuna, and he lost and placed 2nd. In a post-race interview on the television show Umanchu, Fukunaga lamented about the loss, and stated that "there was no reason to continue riding him if he couldn't handle a horse like this", referring to Epiphaneia and his temperament.

After months of rest, Epiphaneia made his return as the overwhelming favorite in the Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2) on September 22nd. Winning by two lengths and a half, he earned his second graded victory. Next, he went on to challenge the Kikuka Sho, the final leg of the Triple Crown. With Logotype tackling middle-distance races and Kizuna preparing for overseas racing in France, Epiphaneia did not get to face his rivals in the final leg.

On October 20th, the Kikuka Sho began. Enduring a heavy track caused by the rain, Epiphaneia got off to a good start and ran in the front of the pack. At a steady pace, he began to accelerate in the final straight. With an easy lead, Epiphaneia won the race by five lengths, and he achieved his first G1 victory. Though Epiphaneia was initially set to challenge the Japan Cup, it was avoided due to an injury in his left eye Epiphaneia sustained during the Kikuka Sho. Plans to have him compete in the Arima Kinen were also scrapped due to a sprain in his right front leg.He took a break for the rest of the year.

Four-year-old season (2014)

With his break coming to a close, Epiphaneia returned in the spring to compete in the Osaka Hai (G2) on April 6th. Surging at the fourth corner, Kizuna quickly ran past him, and he lost and placed 3rd. After this loss, Epiphaneia was transported to Hong Kong to compete in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup. Unable to catch up to the horses in front, he placed 4th. Because he was fatigued, it was then announced that he would not compete in the Takarazuka Kinen when he returned to Japan.

After a long break, Epiphaneia competed in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), where he lost and placed 6th. Weeks later, on November 30th, he challenged the Japan Cup. Because Fukunaga was set to jockey Just a Way during the race, Christophe Soumillon took his place. In this race, there were many strong competitors, such as the 2012 Triple Tiara and dual Japan Cup winner Gentildonna and Dubai Duty Free winner Just a Way. Running within a high pace, Epiphaneia ran within the pack. At the last 400 meters, he began to take the lead and held off Just a Way and Gentildonna, achieving his second and final G1 victory.

At the end of the year, Epiphaneia challenged the Arima Kinen, a race he had to miss last year. Due to Soumillon participating in the World Super Jockeys Series, and Fukunaga jockeying Just a Way in the Arima Kinen, Yuga Kawada was his jockey instead. Despite taking the lead in the final straight, he lost momentum and placed 5th, losing to Gentildonna.

However, for his efforts, Epiphaneia was awarded World's top-rated long distance horse in 2014 World's Best Racehorse Rankings.

Five-year-old season (2015)

With Soumillon returning as his jockey, Epiphaneia competed in only one race in 2015. He went overseas to compete in the Dubai World Cup, where he lost and placed 9th, the lowest in his career. He then returned to Japan, preparing for the Takarazuka Kinen in June.

However, he developed desmitis in his left front leg. Because of this, he was forced to retire, and he was deregistered as a racehorse on July 31st.

Retirement and Breeding Career

Epiphaneia retired to perform stud duty at Shadai Stallion Farm, where he continues to work. Beginning his career in 2016, his crop debuted in 2019. He has gained success as a stallion, with many of his progeny being G1 winners.

Daring Tact, his daughter, won the Triple Tiara in 2020, becoming one of his first G1 winners. Circle of Life won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in 2021. His son Efforia won the Satsuki Sho, Tenno Sho (Autumn), and the Arima Kinen in 2021. Danon Decile, his son, won the Japanese Derby in 2024 and the Dubai Sheema Classic in 2025. In 2024 alone, Blow the Horn won the Takarazuka Kinen, Ten Happy Rose won the Victoria Mile, and Stellenbosch won the Oka Sho.

Honors

• World's top-rated long distance horse (2014)

Relationships

Relatives

• Special Week - Maternal grandfather
  • Cesario - Mother
• Symboli Kris S - Father
• Daring Tact - Daughter

Race Records

Race data sourced from netkeiba.

Date	Racecourse	Race	Grade	Distance	Gate	Odds	Fav.	Fin.	Time	Margin	Jockey	Winner (Runner-Up)	Other Umamusume
2012/10/21	Kyoto	Two-Year-Old Newcomer	Maiden	T 1800m	2	2.9	1	1	1:48.9	-0.5	Y.Fukunaga	(Red Giselle)
2012/11/24	Kyoto	Kyoto Two-Year-Old Stakes	OP	T 2000m	1	1.2	1	1	2:03.0	-0.3	Y.Fukunaga	(Dantsu Atlas)
2012/12/22	Hanshin	Radio Nikkei Hai	G3	T 2000m	7	1.9	1	1	2:05.4	-0.1	Y.Fukunaga	(Bad Boy)
2013/03/03	Nakayama	Yayoi Sho	G2	T 2000m	12	2.3	1	4	2:01.1	0.1	W.Buick	Camino Tassahara
2012/04/14	Nakayama	Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas)	G1	T 2000m	14	3.9	2	2	1:58.1	0.1	Y.Fukunaga	Logotype	Logotype
2013/05/26	Tokyo	Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby)	G1	T 2400m	9	6.1	3	2	2:24.4	0.1	Y.Fukunaga	Kizuna	Logotype
2013/09/22	Hanshin	Kobe Shimbun Hai	G2	T 2400m	10	1.4	1	1	2:24.8	-0.4	Y.Fukunaga	(Majesty Hearts)
2013/10/20	Kyoto	Kikuka Sho (Japanese St.Leger)	G1	T 3000m	3	1.6	1	1	3:05.2	-0.8	Y.Fukunaga	(Satono Noblesse)
2014/04/06	Hanshin	Sankei Osaka Hai	G2	T 2000m	4	1.9	1	3	2:00.6	0.3	Y.Fukunaga	Kizuna
2014/04/27	Hong Kong	Queen Elizabeth II Cup (Hong Kong)	G1	T 2000m	3		2	3			Y.Fukunaga	Designs On Rome
2014/11/02	Tokyo	Tenno Sho (Autumn)	G1	T 2000m	5	8.0	4	6	1:59.9	0.2	Y.Fukunaga	Spielberg	Gentildonna, Fenomeno, Tosen Jordan
2014/11/30	Tokyo	Japan Cup	G1	T 2400m	4	8.9	4	1	2:23.1	-0.7	C.Soumillon	(Just a Way)	Gentildonna, Fenomeno, Tosen Jordan
2014/12/28	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	5	4.0	2	5	3:22.0	0.2	Y.Kawada	Gentildonna	Gentildonna, Gold Ship, Fenomeno, Win Variation, Verxina
2015/03/29	UAE	Dubai World Cup	G1	D 2000m	8		3	9			C.Soumillon	Prince Bishop	Hokko Tarumae

Pedigree

Horse pedigree of Epiphaneia (JPN)

Sire Symboli Kris S (USA)	Kris S. (USA)	Roberto (USA)	Hail to Reason (USA)
			Bramalea (USA)
		Sharp Queen (USA)	Princequillo (GB)
			Bridgework (USA)
	Tee Kay (USA)	Gold Meridian (USA)	Seattle Slew (USA)
			Queen Louie (CAN)
		Tri Argo (USA)	Tri Jet (USA)
			Hail Proudly (USA)
Dam Cesario (JPN)	Special Week (JPN)	Sunday Silence (USA)	Halo (USA)
			Wishing Well (USA)
		Campaign Girl (JPN)	Maruzensky (JPN)
			Lady Shiraoki (JPN)
	Kirov Premiere (GB)	Sadler's Wells (USA)	Northern Dancer (CAN)
			Fairy Bridge (USA)
		Querida (IRE)	Habitat (USA)
			Principia (FR), (Family: 16-a)

Trivia

• Epiphaneia is known to have a fierce temperament, which only continued once he became a stallion.
  • He gets so aggressive during the breeding season to the point where he has to be closed off in his stall. It is also known that he used to get along poorly with Contrail, so trees had to be planted around Contrail's paddock so Epiphaneia wouldn't see him.