IRL:Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi

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Spoilers ahead! This page contains real life information that may spoil any story or events related to the character. Read at your own discretion!

Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi
ツルマルツヨシ
Main
Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi at the Kyoto Racecourse in 2006
Silks
Romaji	Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi
Foaled	April 06, 1995
Sire	Symboli Rudolf
Dam	Sweet Cielo
Sex	Stallion
Color	Dark bay
Trainer	Hisao Nibun
Race Record	11: 5-0-1
Earnings	174,280,000 JPY
Major wins
Asahi Challenge Cup (1999) Kyoto Daishoten (1999)

Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi is a Japanese racehorse who was active from 1998 to 2000. He was called the "Last Big Star of Symboli Rudolf's Children", and fought with other "Golden Generation" horses in the 1998 Classics. However, he suffered from a weak constitution and thus had repeated rests. Although he could not win any G1s, he defeated three G1-winning horses at the G2 Kyoto Daishoten, including Special Week, T.M. Opera O and Mejiro Bright.

Name Origin

"Tsurumaru" is the crown name of owner Takao Tsuruda. He was named "Tsuyoshi", meaning strong.

Racing career

Debut and 4 years old season (1998)

Because of his weak constitution, he had to make his debut at 4 years old, later than his peers. On May 2nd 1998, he raced in the Four-Year-Old Maiden at Kyoto Racecourse, he took the lead and began accelerating around the corner, running away from the pack. He maintained his momentum down the home straight to secure his first victory by 1 1/2 lengths.

After the race, due to worries about his health, Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi entered a period of rest. Returning in November for the Osakayama Tokubetsu, however he was unable to catch up with the front runners and finished fifth. Three weeks later, he raced again at another Pre-OP race - the Inuyama Tokubetsu, he maintained a mid-to-rear position before edging forward slightly after the second turn. Entering the home straight, he launched a fierce charge from the middle-outer rail, displaying an excellent end closure to secure victory.

5 years old season (1999)

Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi was originally enrolled to compete in the Inari Tokubetsu at the start of 1999. However, he withdrew from the race due to bodily issues and made his return in June's Mikawa Tokubetsu after resting. When the race started, he surged forward with impressive form, maintaining a favorable leading position before accelerating from the middle-outer post through the corner. Ultimately, he prevailed over his rivals to claim victory.

In July, he made his first attempt at a graded race with the Kitakyushu Kinen as his target. Early in the race, he chose to wait for his chance from a mid-to-rear position. However, in the middle of the backstretch, under jockey Shinji Fujita's direction, he moved out to the outer rail to secure position and took the lead entering the fourth corner. Entering the home straight, he briefly showed promise with a strong surge, but was unable to close the gap on the front runners Eishin Vincennes and Embrasser Moi, ultimately finishing third.

He was enrolled in the Asahi Challenge Cup in mid-September, he initially advanced from the front position. However, after navigating the first and second corners, he deliberately slowed down and dropped back to the middle of the pack to conserve stamina by reducing his pace. Upon entering the home straight, he accelerated again from the outer rail near the middle. Ultimately, Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi secured his first graded race victory by posting the fastest end closing speed of the entire race.

A month later, his team targeted the Kyoto Daishoten. Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi started smoothly from the gate and took an aggressive pace to secure position, maintaining the lead along the rail throughout the race while waiting for the right moment. Entering the home straight, he effortlessly passed the weak front runners to take the lead. He then accelerated further, successfully fending off Mejiro Bright's challenge while also defeating formidable rivals like T.M. Opera O, Stay Gold, and Special Week, achieving a consecutive graded race victory.

His team then capitalized on his momentum to challenge his first G1 - the Tenno Sho (Autumn). However, affected by a relatively packed schedule which put a toll on his weak body, he was unable to perform at his peak during the race. He could only advance steadily from mid-pack at a consistent pace, ultimately finishing eighth.

After a brief resting period at year's end, his team targeted the Arima Kinen. Maintaining a mid-pack position early in the race, he started accelerating on the third corner, steadily advancing to settle around third or fourth place. Entering the home straight, he maintained his momentum without slowing down. However, he was consistently pressured from the outside by Grass Wonder, Special Week, and T.M. Opera O. Ultimately unable to overcome his rivals, he finished the race in fourth place. After the race, an osteoma was discovered in his body and he had to take a long rest.

6 years old season (2000, present 5 years old)

He rested for about 10 months until his team enrolled him to race in the 2000 Kyoto Daishoten, seeking a consecutive victory. However, he was unable to perform well on the straight due to the pace set by the front runners, and ultimately finished only sixth.

His team decided to target the Arima Kinen again at year's end, he adopted a mid-pack strategy, maintaining around eighth position. However, by the third and fourth corner, his stride showed noticeable disruption. When approaching the last straight, his jockey Shinji Fujita slowed him to a halt, resulting in a DNF.

Retirement

A veterinary examination found out that Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi tore his front left-leg tendon in the Arima Kinen. Although it wasn't severe enough to warrant euthanasia, he had lost his racing ability, and was retired from racing. Due to his poor body condition, he did not stand stud and therefore did not have any children. Instead, he was trained to become a lead horse, and started lead horse duty in 2002 at Kyoto Racecourse until 2007, where his leg condition had gotten worse and was retired from lead horse duty.

After retirement from lead horse duty, he was transferred to an equestrian club in Miyazaki Prefecture to truly start his life of retirement. In 2017 November, he was transferred to Yoshino Farm in the same prefecture, and is now living his days peacefully.

Relationships

Relatives

• Symboli Rudolf - Father

Race Records

Race data sourced from netkeiba.

Date	Racecourse	Race	Grade	Distance	Gate	Odds	Fav.	Fin.	Time	Margin	Jockey	Winner (Runner-Up)	Other Umamusume
1998/05/02	Kyoto	Four-Year-Old Maiden	Maiden	D 1400m	5	6.7	5	1	1:25.6	-0.2	S.Fujita	(T.M.Tiger)
1998/11/08	Kyoto	Osakayama Tokubetsu	Pre-OP	T 1800m	4	18.5	8	5	1:47.3	0.4	S.Fujita	Sunday Sarah
1998/11/28	Chukyo	Inuyama Tokubetsu	Pre-OP	T 2000m	10	5.2	2	1	2:02.1	-0.6	T.Sato	(State Fellow)
1999/01/17	Kyoto	Inari Tokubetsu	Pre-OP	T 2000m	4						S.Fujita	Suehiro Commander
1999/06/06	Chukyo	Mikawa Tokubetsu	Pre-OP	T 1800m	8	2.3	1	1	1:48.8	-0.4	S.Fujita	(Elegant More)
1999/07/25	Kokura	Kitakyushu Kinen	G3	T 1800m	4	5.9	3	3	1:46.0	0.4	S.Fujita	Eishin Vincennes
1999/09/12	Hanshin	Asahi Challenge Cup	G3	T 2000m	1	7.0	5	1	1:59.5	-0.2	S.Fujita	(Meisho Odo)
1999/10/10	Kyoto	Kyoto Daishoten	G2	T 2400m	4	13.4	4	1	2:24.3	-0.1	S.Fujita	(Mejiro Bright)	Mejiro Bright, T.M. Opera O, Special Week, Stay Gold
1999/10/31	Tokyo	Tenno Sho (Autumn)	G1	T 2000m	17	6.0	2	8	1:58.6	0.6	S.Fujita	Special Week	Special Week, Seiun Sky, King Halo, Mejiro Bright, Stay Gold
1999/12/26	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	10	12.1	6	4	2:37.3	0.1	S.Fujita	Grass Wonder	Grass Wonder, Special Week, T.M. Opera O, Mejiro Bright, Narita Top Road, Stay Gold
2000/10/08	Kyoto	Kyoto Daishoten	G2	T 2400m	9	11.9	3	6	2:26.7	0.7	S.Fujita	T.M. Opera O	T.M. Opera O, Narita Top Road, Mejiro Bright
2000/12/24	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	1	13.1	4	DNF			S.Fujita	T.M. Opera O	T.M. Opera O, Meisho Doto, King Halo, Narita Top Road, Stay Gold

Pedigree

Horse pedigree of Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi (JPN)

Sire Symboli Rudolf (JPN)	Partholon (IRE)	Milesian (GB)	My Babu (FR)
			Oatflake (GB)
		Paleo (FR)	Pharis (FR)
			Calonice (FR)
	Sweet Luna (JPN)	Speed Symboli (JPN)	Royal Challenger (IRE)
			Sweet Inn (JPN)
		Dance Time (IRE)	Palestine (GB)
			Samaritaine (FR)
Dam Sweet Cielo (USA)	Conquistador Cielo (USA)	Mr. Prospector (USA)	Raise a Native (USA)
			Gold Digger (USA)
		K D Princess (USA)	Bold Commander (USA)
			Tammy's Turn (USA)
	Change Water (USA)	Swaps (USA)	Khaled (GB)
			Iron Reward (USA)
		Portage (USA)	War Admiral (USA)
			Carillon (USA), (Family: 4-m)

Trivia

• Despite being sickly and frail, Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi has outlived most of his peers from the Golden Generation. Currently, he is still alive.
  • The most notable members of the Golden Generation (date of death) were Special Week (2018), Grass Wonder (2025), El Condor Pasa (2002), King Halo (2019) and Seiun Sky (2011). Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi had outlived them all.