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IRL:Kurofune

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Kurofune
クロフネ

Kurofune in the 2001 Japan Cup Dirt
Silks
Romaji Kurofune
Foaled March 31, 1998
Died January 17, 2021
Sire French Deputy
Dam Blue Avenue
Sex Stallion
Color Gray
Trainer Kunihide Matsuda
Race Record 10: 6-1-2
Earnings 370,235,000 JPY
Major wins
Mainichi Hai (2001)
NHK Mile Cup (2001)
Musashino Stakes (2001)
Japan Cup Dirt (2001)
This horse is only the fan-assumed connection between the Umamusume and the real horse based on similarities between the two. This connection is not official.



Kurofune was an American-bred, Japanese-trained racehorse active from 2000 to 2001. He was famous for breaking several records on turf and dirt, and was known to be one of the strongest turf and dirt horses alongside Agnes Digital. Because of his strength, He was called the "White Secretariat". He was also one of the five horses from the "Strongest Generation" of Japanese Horseracing alongside Agnes Tachyon, Jungle Pocket, Manhattan Cafe, and Dantsu Flame.

Name Origin

His name "Kurofune" literally means "black ship". It was a reference to Matthew Calbraith Perry's fleet and his black ship, which arrived in Japan in 1853 and initiated the country’s opening to the West. The event was otherwise known as "Kurofune raikō (黒船来航)", meaning "arrival of the black ships". In English, this event was known as "Perry Expedition".[1]

In Hong Kong, his name was translated by HKJC as "大洋船", which means "ocean ship". Though, it is also a wordplay on "big foreign ship", pointing towards its historic meaning.

Racing career

Two-year-old season (2000)

Kurofune made his debut on October 14th, in a 1,600-meter turf race on Kyoto Racecourse. Though he lost to Eishin Spencer and placed 2nd, he broke out of his maiden on October 28th. Later, on December 3rd, he challenged the open-class Erica Sho, where he won the race.

Weeks later, on December 23rd, Kurofune challenged the Radio Tampa Hai Sansai Stakes (G3)[Note 1], where he ran calmly within the pack. When he began to accelerate at the final straight, Agnes Tachyon, who was marking him, began to overtake him. With Agnes Tachyon winning the race, Kurofune lost and placed 3rd.

Three-year-old season (2001)

Though he was initially set to compete in the Kyodo Tsushin Hai (G2), that plan was scrapped due to light osteoarthritis[2]. Instead, he was set to challenge the Mainichi Hai (G3) on March 24th. At the fourth corner, he began to surge past the horses ahead of him, and won by five lengths. With this victory, he was not only set to compete in the NHK Mile Cup, but the Japanese Derby as well.

While it was initially planned to have Kurofune challenge either the Kyoto Shimbun Hai (G2) or the Aoba Sho (G2), Kunihide Matsuda, his trainer, consulted the owner Makoto Kaneko and urged to have him compete in the NHK Mile Cup[3]. This was because Matsuda thought Kurofune would be more relaxed on the track of Tokyo Racecourse, where the race was held[4]. So, on May 6th, Kurofune entered the NHK Mile Cup. As he struggled to get in a good position, he began to accelerate in the straight, and broke out of the pack. Winning by half a length, he was then set to compete in the Japanese Derby on May 27th.

Encountering Jungle Pocket and Dantsu Flame, Kurofune ran within a fast pace. At the third corner, both him and Dantsu Flame began to accelerate, but Jungle Pocket began to overtake them and won by half a length. Kurofune lost and placed 5th.

After months of rest, Kurofune was initially set to challenge the Tenno Sho (Autumn). At the time, there were only two available slots for foreign horses in the race, and if he won the Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2), he would gain priority entry to the race. So, on September 23rd, he entered the race, where he suffered a late start. He could not catch up to the winning foreign horse Air Eminem and placed 3rd. Because of this loss, Kurofune did not gain enough prize money to enter the Tenno Sho (Autumn) as a foreign horse. Instead, the American-bred Agnes Digital and the Irish-bred Meisho Doto were set to compete instead. Because of Agnes Digital's last minute entry, some fans of Kurofune were even angry about the loss[5].

Instead, Kurofune entered the Musashino Stakes (G3) on October 27th, a dirt race that would prepare him for the February Stakes next year[6]. At the third corner, Kurofune gradually began to accelerate. By the final straight, he began to overtake the other horses and won by nine lengths.

His final race of the year was the Japan Cup Dirt[Note 2] on November 24th, a G1 dirt race held at 2,100 meters. As the overwhelming favorite, he got into a good position by the second corner. Gradually, he began to accelerate, and by the fourth corner, he was in the lead. Kurofune then went on to win the race by seven lengths, marking off the year with a high note.

After the victory, it was then planned to have Kurofune compete in the February Stakes, the Dubai World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, and the Breeders' Cup Classic in the United States. However, on December 22nd, as Kurofune was preparing for the February Stakes, it was discovered that he had flexor tendonitis in his right front leg[7]. Because Kurofune would've been forced to rest for nearly a year, the race schedule was scrapped, and he was deregistered as a racehorse on December 26th. However, at the end of the year, Kurofune received the JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse.

Retirement, Breeding Career and Death

After retirement, Kurofune became a stud horse, resting at Shadai Stallion Station in Hayakari Town (now Abira Town), Hokkaido, and began stud work in 2002. His first crop of offspring were born in 2003, with them becoming eligible to race in 2005. On November 19th, Fusaichi Richard won the Tokyo Sport Hai Nisai Stakes, becoming the first stakes winner among his progeny. On December 11th, Fusaichi Richard won the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in 2005, also becoming the first Kurofune offspring to win a G1 race.

Kurofune had many successful children throughout his year as a stallion. In 2008, his daughter Sleepless Night won the Sprinters Stakes. His daughter, Curren Chan, won the Sprinters Stakes in 2011 as well as the Takamatsunomiya Kinen in 2012. Whale Capture won the Victoria Mile in 2012. In 2015, his son Clarity Sky won the NHK Mile Cup. White Fugue won the JBC Ladies' Classic twice in 2015 and 2016 respectively, and Aerolithe in 2017 won the NHK Mile Cup. His daughter, Sodashi, became the first white horse and white filly to win a G1 race, and she went on to win the 2020 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, the 2021 Oka Sho, and the 2022 Victoria Mile. Her sister, Mama Cocha, who was also sired by Kurofune, won the Sprinters Stakes in 2023.

Kurofune also had success as a broodmare sire, with many of his grandchildren winning G1 races. Normcore, his granddaughter, not only won the Victoria Mile in 2019, but set a record time of 1:30.5. She also won the Hong Kong Cup in 2020. His granddaughter Chrono Genesis, who is Normcore's sister, not only won the 2019 Shuka Sho, she also became the third horse to win three Grand Prix races, and the first mare to do this. Lei Papale won the Osaka Hai in 2021. In 2022 alone, his granddaughter Stunning Rose won the Shuka Sho, and his grandson Vela Azul won the Japan Cup. In 2025, Embroidery won two of the Triple Tiara races, being the Oka Sho and the Shuka Sho, a feat not seen since Daiwa Scarlet's classic year in 2007.

Throughout his breeding career, his success in passing on his excellent turf and dirt racing genes to his offspring resulted in their achievements spanning both turf and dirt races. Moreover, his outstanding breeding achievements introduced the Vice Regent bloodline - previously dominant only in North America - to Japan, breaking the monopoly held by the Halo-Sunday Silence line in the Japanese racehorse breeding industry at the time.

In 2020, due to reasons including old age and deteriorating health, Kurofune was retired from standing stud, and peacefully lived his days in Shadai Stallion Station.

Kurofune died on January 17th, 2021 due to complications related to old age.

Honors

  • JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse (2001)

Relationships

Relatives

Race Records

Race data sourced from netkeiba.
Date Racecourse Race Grade Distance Gate Odds Fav. Fin. Time Margin Jockey Winner (Runner-Up) Other Umamusume
2000/10/14 Kyoto Three-Year-Old Newcomer Maiden T 1600m 4 6.9 3 2 1:35.7 0.0 M.Matsunaga Eishin Spencer
2000/10/28 Kyoto Three-Year-Old Newcomer Maiden T 2000m 3 1.3 1 1 2:00.7 -0.3 M.Matsunaga (Meiner Escape)
2000/12/03 Hanshin Erica Sho Pre-OP T 2000m 10 1.3 1 1 2:01.2 -0.6 M.Matsunaga (Daiichi Dunhill)
2000/12/23 Hanshin Radio Tampa Hai Sansai Stakes G3 T 2000m 5 1.4 1 3 2:01.4 0.6 M.Matsunaga Agnes Tachyon Agnes Tachyon, Jungle Pocket
2001/03/24 Hanshin Mainichi Hai G3 T 2000m 2 1.3 1 1 1:58.6 -0.9 H.Shii (Coin Toss)
2001/05/06 Tokyo NHK Mile Cup G1 T 1600m 4 1.2 1 1 1:33.0 -0.1 Y.Take (Grass Eiko O)
2001/05/27 Tokyo Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) G1 T 2400m 17 3.0 2 5 2:27.9 0.9 Y.Take Jungle Pocket Jungle Pocket, Dantsu Flame
2001/09/23 Hanshin Kobe Shimbun Hai G2 T 2000m 7 4.4 2 3 1:59.6 0.1 M.Ebina Air Eminem Dantsu Flame
2001/10/27 Tokyo Musashino Stakes G3 D 1600m 15 2.3 1 1 1:33.3 -1.4 Y.Take (Eagle Cafe)
2001/11/24 Tokyo Japan Cup Dirt G1 D 2100m 9 1.7 1 1 2:05.9 -1.1 Y.Take (Wing Arrow)

Pedigree

Horse pedigree of Kurofune (USA)
Sire
French Deputy (USA) 		Deputy Minister (CAN) Vice Regent (CAN) Northern Dancer (CAN)
Victoria Regina (CAN)
Mint Copy (CAN) Bunty's Flight (CAN)
Shakney (USA)
Mitterand (USA) Hold Your Peace (USA) Speak John (USA)
Blue Moon (USA)
Laredo Lass (USA) Bold Ruler (USA)
Fortunate Isle (USA)
Dam
Blue Avenue (USA) 		Classic Go Go (USA) Pago Pago (USA) Matrice (AUS)
Pompilia (AUS)
Classic Perfection (USA) Never Bend (USA)
Mira Femme (USA)
Eliza Blue (USA) Icecapade (USA) Nearctic (CAN)
Shenanigans (USA)
Corella (USA) Roberto (USA)
Catania (NZ), (Family: 2-r)


Trivia

Notes

  1. ↑ Renamed to the Hopeful Stakes in 2014, and was promoted to a G1 in 2017.
  2. ↑ Renamed the Champions Cup in 2013.

References

  1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Expedition
  2. ↑ https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%83%95%E3%83%8D#cite_note-100%E5%90%8D%E9%A6%AC%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%83%95%E3%83%8D6-22
  3. ↑ https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%83%95%E3%83%8D#cite_note-yushun0106-11
  4. ↑ https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%83%95%E3%83%8D#cite_note-meiba-14
  5. ↑ https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%83%95%E3%83%8D#cite_note-36
  6. ↑ https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AF%E3%83%AD%E3%83%95%E3%83%8D#cite_note-meiba-14
  7. ↑ https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/190209/japan-cup-dirt-winner-kurofune-retired-with-tendon-injury
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