IRL:Tamamo Cross

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Tamamo Cross
タマモクロス
Main
Silks
Romaji	Tamamo Kurosu
Foaled	May 23, 1984
Died	April 10, 2003
Sire	C.B. Cross
Dam	Green Chateau
Sex	Stallion
Color	Gray
Owner	Tamamo Co., Ltd.
Trainer	Isami Obara
Race Record	18: 9-3-2
Earnings	489,670,000 JPY
Major wins
Naruo Kinen (1987) Kyoto Kimpai (1988) Hanshin Daishoten (1988) Takarazuka Kinen (1988) Tenno Sho (Spring) (1988) Tenno Sho (Autumn) (1988)

The White Lightning

1988, Tenno Sho Autumn.
'Gray horses aren't strong.'
People had said until these two horses appeared.
The showdown by a gray and a gray.
A rival gives strength. A Wind or a light?
That horse's name is Tamamo Cross.
JRA CM "THE WINNER" (Autumn Tenno Sho 2012)

Tamamo Cross was a Japanese racehorse that was active from 1987 to 1988. Prior to his career, people believed that gray horses couldn't run fast. His appearance broke this superstition by winning three G1 races in a row, including both 1988 Tenno Sho races and the Takarazuka Kinen. He was also the first horse to have won both Tenno Sho races in the same year, after the rule where Tenno Sho winners cannot participate in another Tenno Sho in the same year was abolished in 1981.

Tamamo Cross and Oguri Cap sparked the second horse racing boom in Japan through their remarkable rivalry, about 15 years after Haiseiko drew the first modern wave of interest to the Japanese racing scene.

Name Origin

The first part of Tamamo Cross's name comes from the company, Tamamo Co., Ltd, in which his owner Mitsuho Tamamo owned. The name Tamamo also refers to Tamamo-no-Mae, a legendary fox spirit in Japanese mythology. The second half comes from his sire, C.B. Cross, who was nicknamed "White Lightning".

Racing career

Three-year-old season (1987)

Tamamo Cross made his debut on March 1st, in a 2,000-meter turf race on Hanshin Racecourse. Though he ran out well early on, he began to stall at the final straight, and he placed 7th. He was switched to dirt afterward, and finally won his maiden race on the third attempt on April 11th.

On May 10th, Tamamo Cross briefly switched back to turf. He ran from the back of the pack, but a nearby horse lost its rider and ran out of control, bruising Tamamo and leaving him unable to finish the race. After this incident, the colt became afraid of racing, and he couldn't even look at the horse transportation car without fear. He ran four more open-class dirt races, but did not win any of them. Due to his mental state, he ran poorly in each race, and also would not let other horses come near him.

Tamamo Cross's connections decided at this point that if he continued to lose and run poorly, he would be converted to steeplechase racing instead. Instead, after months of losses, he finally won an open-class turf race on October 18th - by seven lengths, no less. He then won another race by eight lengths on November 1st. While it was expected that he would enter the Kikuka Sho a few weeks later, and the press even referred to him as "the secret weapon of Kansai" due to his strong final spurt, his trainer Obara decided against this, as he believed that Tamamo would break down under the pressure of such a long G1 race.

Instead, as his first graded race, Tamamo Cross was entered into the Naruo Kinen (G2) on December 6th. He had a late start and was blocked in the final straight, but advanced into a good enough position to surge through the final 300 meters. In the final 100 meters, he widened the gap by six lengths for a commanding win. Fans expected Tamamo to enter the Arima Kinen, but Obara decided against it due to the horse's fluctuating weight, which would have made it difficult to transport him to Nakayama Racecourse in Chiba.

Four-year-old season (1988)

On January 5th, Tamamo Cross competed in the Kyoto Kimpai (G3). He ran from the back during the race, and found himself blocked by five other horses at the straight; however, with 300 meters to go, he found an opening to break out of the pack and won by three-quarters of a length. After the race, fans began to give Tamamo his father's nickname, "White Lightning."

On March 13th, Tamamo Cross entered the Hanshin Daishoten (G2) as the overwhelming favorite. He even surpassed Mejiro Durren - the previous year's Arima Kinen winner - in popularity. The pace was slow, allowing Tamamo to gradually overtake the rest of the field. The race ended in a three-horse photo finish, and Tamamo was deemed to have won the race by a small margin.

On April 29th, Tamamo Cross finally ran his first G1 race: the Spring Tenno Sho. As usual, he ran from behind and accelerated at the straight, overtaking the front-runners who had set a quick pace and claiming his first G1 victory by three lengths. After this, he entered the Takarazuka Kinen on June 12th as the second favorite; Yasuda Kinen winner Nippo Teio was the overwhelming favorite. Nippo Teio was in the front of the pack, and Tamamo ran from the rear. In the last 200 meters, Tamamo caught up to Nippo Teio and won by two and a half lengths. After back-to-back G1 wins, Tamamo rested in Hokkaido, in preparation for his autumn campaign.

Because Tamamo Cross continued to struggle with gaining weight, Obara decided to not have him race in any prerequisite races and instead go straight to the Autumn Tenno Sho on October 30th. The 1988 Autumn Tenno Sho drew significant attention, as for the first time, another gray horse had entered the fray: Oguri Cap, who was on a streak of fourteen wins. It was to be a "gray horse showdown" - a race that would raise the racing world's opinion of gray thoroughbreds from then on. Unusually, Tamamo Cross ran the Autumn Tenno Sho from the front, while Oguri Cap raced from behind. Even though Oguri Cap began to chase him and get closer, Tamamo did not let go of his position, and he continued to take the lead. As he won the race by one-fourth of a length, not only did he attain his third G1 victory, he also became the first horse in history to win both the Spring and Autumn Tenno Sho in the same year.

Tamamo Cross was then entered into the Japan Cup on November 27th, where he faced strong competition, including Oguri Cap, Gold City, and international contenders like Tony Bin, Pay the Butler, and My Big Boy. Though Tamamo accelerated quickly in the stretch and briefly took the lead, the long-shot Pay the Butler overtook him. Tamamo Cross finished second, and Oguri Cap third. Unfortunately for Tony Bin, he sustained a fracture during the race, causing his retirement.

Tamamo Cross' final race of the year, and his career overall, was the Arima Kinen on December 25th. There, he faced off with Oguri Cap one last time. Joining the pair were Mejiro Durren; Soccer Boy, winner of the 1987 Hanshin Sansai Stakes and 1988 Mile Championship; and Super Creek, winner of the 1988 Kikuka Sho. Tamamo raced from the back of the pack alongside Soccer Boy. As Oguri Cap began to advance from midpack, Tamamo surged past the other horses; meanwhile, Super Creek cut off Mejiro Durren, earning himself a disqualification after the race. Though Tamamo fought hard to overtake Oguri Cap, he ultimately lost by merely half a length, with Soccer Boy finishing right behind him in third place.

Tamamo Cross received the JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse in 1988, and was also awarded Japanese Horse of the Year for his historic efforts and victories. A few weeks after the Arima Kinen, on January 15th, 1989, a retirement ceremony was held for him at Kyoto Racecourse.

Retirement

Tamamo Cross retired to perform stud duty at Arrow Stud in 1989. He had many graded race winners among his progeny, but no G1 winners.

On April 19th, 2003, Tamamo Cross passed away at the age of 19 due to intestinal obstruction. 19 years after his death, in 2022, his great-grandson Naran Huleg won the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.

Honors

• Japanese Horse of the Year (1988)
• JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse (1988)

Race Records

Race data sourced from netkeiba.

Date	Racecourse	Race	Grade	Distance	Gate	Odds	Fav.	Fin.	Time	Margin	Jockey	Winner (Runner-Up)	Other Umamusume
1987/03/01	Hanshin	Four-Year-Old Newcomer	Maiden	T 2000m	6	3.5	2	7	2:07.1	1.8	K.Minai	Aichi Matsushima
1987/03/21	Hanshin	Four-Year-Old Newcomer	Maiden	D 1800m	8	3.7	2	4	1:56.3	0.7	K.Minai	Silk Maria
1987/04/11	Hanshin	Four-Year-Old Maiden	Maiden	D 1700m	7	3.0	2	1	1:48.3	-0.1	K.Minai	(Beautiful)
1987/05/10	Kyoto	Four-Year-Old Pre-OP	Pre-OP	T 2000m	4	11.2	6	DNF			K.Minai	Tosano Asakaze
1987/06/28	Sapporo	Four-Year-Old and Up Pre-OP	Pre-OP	D 1800m	6	11.7	7	6	1:55.6	3.0	S.Tabara	Hokkai Seizan
1987/07/11	Sapporo	Rebun Tokubetsu	Pre-OP	D 2000m	5	18.0	7	2	2:07.1	0.2	T.Yasuda	Hirono Hayate
1987/09/19	Hanshin	Nose Tokubetsu	Pre-OP	D 1800m	4	4.8	3	3	1:55.0	0.3	K.Minai	Alpha Vivace
1987/10/04	Hanshin	Four-Year-Old and Up Pre-OP	Pre-OP	D 1700m	1	2.0	1	3	1:47.9	0.6	K.Minai	Marukasky
1987/10/18	Kyoto	Four-Year-Old and Up Pre-OP	Pre-OP	T 2200m	10	9.6	5	1	2:16.2	-1.2	K.Minai	(Nachino Perso)
1987/11/01	Kyoto	Fujinomori Tokubetsu	Pre-OP	T 2000m	5	1.7	1	1	2:03.0	-1.3	M.Matsunaga	(Meisho Hien)
1987/12/06	Hanshin	Naruo Kinen	G2	T 2500m	5	5.8	3	1	2:33.0	-1.0	K.Minai	(Meisho Eikan)	Gold City
1988/01/05	Kyoto	Kyoto Kimpai	G3	T 2000m	13	2.2	1	1	2:03.7	-0.1	K.Minai	(Hallow Point)
1988/03/13	Hanshin	Hanshin Daishoten	G2	T 3000m	5	1.7	1	1	3:12.1	0.0	K.Minai	(Dyna Carpenter)
1988/04/29	Kyoto	Tenno Sho (Spring)	G1	T 3200m	8	4.4	1	1	3:21.8	-0.5	K.Minai	(Running Free)	Gold City
1988/06/12	Hanshin	Takarazuka Kinen	G1	T 2200m	2	3.0	2	1	2:13.2	-0.4	K.Minai	(Nippo Teio)
1988/10/30	Tokyo	Tenno Sho (Autumn)	G1	T 2000m	9	2.6	2	1	1:58.8	-0.2	K.Minai	(Oguri Cap)	Oguri Cap, Sirius Symboli
1988/11/27	Tokyo	Japan Cup	G1	T 2400m	5	3.2	1	2	2:25.6	0.1	K.Minai	Pay the Butler	Oguri Cap, Gold City
1988/12/25	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	11	2.4	1	2	2:34.0	0.1	K.Minai	Oguri Cap	Super Creek, Oguri Cap

Pedigree

Horse pedigree of Tamamo Cross (JPN)

Sire C.B. Cross (JPN)	Fortino (FR)	Grey Sovereign (GB)	Nasrullah (GB)
			Kong (GB)
		Ranavalo (FR)	Relic (USA)
			Navarra (ITY)
	Zuisho (JPN)	Partholon (IRE)	Milesian (GB)
			Paleo (FR)
		Cumulus (JPN)	Turk's Reliance (FR)
			Royal Deal (IRE)
Dam Green Chateau (JPN)	Chateaugay (USA)	Swaps (USA)	Khaled (GB)
			Iron Reward (USA)
		Banquet Bell (USA)	Polynesian (USA)
			Dinner Horn (USA)
	Queen Bee (JPN)	Tudor Period (GB)	Owen Tudor (GB)
			Cornice (GB)
		Corsa (JPN)	Hindostan (GB)
			Miss Channel (AUS), (Family: 21-a)

Trivia

• Although he raced alongside Oguri Cap, he was not considered part of the "Heisei Big Three". That trio instead includes Super Creek and Inari One.
  • This is because Tamamo Cross retired at the end of the 1988 season, the final year of the Showa era. The Heisei era began in 1989.
• Tamamo Cross was known to be so exceptionally temperamental that other horses became afraid of him. According to Ryuseisha's "Ano Uma wa Ima? Guide 2002-2003", he picked fights with almost every horse beside him in his retirement stable, most notably Mejiro Bright, Paradise Creek and Tikkanen.
  • His fights with Mejiro Bright were so ferocious that no man or horse dared come near them.
• When he was younger, his trainer Isami Obara described him as looking like a mare.