IRL:Zenno Rob Roy

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Zenno Rob Roy
ゼンノロブロイ
Main
Zenno Rob Roy at the 2004 Arima Kinen with jockey Olivier Peslier
Silks
Romaji	Zenno Robu Roi
Foaled	March 27, 2000
Died	September 02, 2022
Sire	Sunday Silence
Dam	Roamin Rachel
Damsire	Mining
Sex	Stallion
Color	Dark Bay
Owner	Shinobu Osako, later Kumiko Osako
Trainer	Kazuo Fujisawa
Race Record	20: 7-6-4
Earnings	1,115,600,000 JPY
Major wins
Aoba Sho (2003) Kobe Shimbun Hai (2003) Tenno Sho (Autumn) (2004) Japan Cup (2004) Arima Kinen (2004)

Zenno Rob Roy was a Japanese racehorse who was active from 2003 until 2005. He was the second horse to achieve the Senior Autumn Triple Crown after T.M. Opera O in 2000, and is currently one of the only horses to have achieved this. Additionally, Zenno Rob Roy's record time in the 2004 Arima Kinen remains unbroken over two decades later.

Name Origin

The crown name "Zenno" was chosen by Shinobu Osako, who was the president of Zenrin, a map publishing company. After Shinobu Osako's death in 2005, Kumiko Osako inherited the stable and crown name. "Rob Roy" originates from the Scottish outlaw and folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor.

Background

Zenno Rob Roy was sired by legendary American sire Sunday Silence (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Breeders' Cup Classic). His dam, Roamin Rachel, won the American G1 Ballerina Handicap. Since Roamin Rachel was a successful sprinter (her G1 victory was over 7 furlongs/1408 meters), it was initially expected that Zenno Rob Roy would also be proficient in short-distance races.

Racing career

Three-year-old season (2003)

Zenno Rob Roy made his debut on February 9th, in a 1,600-meter turf race at Nakayama Racecourse which he won by two and a half lengths. On March 2nd, he competed in the open-class Sumire Stakes, where he placed 3rd. On April 12th, he entered and won the open-class Yamabuki Sho.

On May 3rd, he competed in the Aoba Sho (G2), where he won by two and a half lengths and attained his first graded victory. Because of this victory, he gained entry into the Japanese Derby on June 1st. Despite fighting hard in the stretch, he lost to Neo Universe and placed 2nd. After this, he rested for a few months at Fantast Club, alongside Symboli Kris S.

After his break, Zenno Rob Roy returned on September 28th and won his second graded victory at the Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2). While his connections initially planned for him to run the Autumn Tenno Sho, where he would have competed against Symboli Kris S, Rob Roy's trainer Kazuo Fujisawa believed that his Kobe Shimbun Hai win indicated that he could handle the distance of the Kikuka Sho. As such, he was entered into the Kikuka Sho instead.

On October 26th, Zenno Rob Roy challenged the Kikuka Sho. He was in a good position early on in the race, but was blocked and placed 4th; both he and Neo Universe lost to That's the Plenty. Due to his exhaustion after running in the Kikuka Sho, plans to have Rob Roy enter the Japan Cup were scrapped.

His final race of the year was the Arima Kinen on December 28th, where he raced with Symboli Kris S for the first and last time. At a high pace set by Tap Dance City, Zenno Rob Roy ran in a good position throughout the race. However, he could not catch up to Symboli Kris S, who won by nine lengths, and he placed 3rd.

Four-year-old season (2004)

After a few months of rest, Zenno Rob Roy entered the Nikkei Sho (G2) on March 27th, where he was narrowly beaten by Win Generale. On May 2nd, he entered the Tenno Sho (Spring), where he challenged Neo Universe for the final time, but placed a distant second as the two were once again defeated by the 71-to-1 outsider Ingrandire. On June 27th, Rob Roy entered the Takarazuka Kinen, in a strong field that included Tap Dance City, 2003 Triple Tiara winner Still in Love, and 2004 Yasuda Kinen winner Tsurumaru Boy. Thanks to Tap Dance City once again setting a fast pace, Zenno Rob Roy was unable to reach him, and he placed 4th.

On October 10th, Zenno Rob Roy ran in the Kyoto Daishoten (G2), which ended with another second-place finish. Weeks later, on October 31st, he entered the Tenno Sho (Autumn), a race he had skipped the year prior. This was another incredibly strong field of competition, which included Tiara hopeful and Queen Elizabeth II Cup winner Admire Groove, two 2004 classic race winners in Daiwa Major (Satsuki Sho) and Dance in the Mood (Oka Sho), multiple G1-winning stayer Hishi Miracle, and NHK Mile Cup winner Telegnosis. In spite of this, Zenno Rob Roy was the overwhelming favorite. After spending most of the race toward the back of the pack, he began to overtake the horses in front of him, and he won by just over a length. After six attempts, he finally attained his first G1 victory.

On November 28th, Zenno Rob Roy entered the Japan Cup. He charged down the stretch from midpack and won the race by three lengths, claiming a second G1 win. His final race of the year was the Arima Kinen on December 26th, where he stalked and finally caught up to the runaway Tap Dance City for his third and final G1 victory. Tap Dance City set such a high pace that Rob Roy won in a record time of 2:29.5, which as of 2026 remains unbroken.

For his efforts throughout the year, Zenno Rob Roy was awarded the JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse, and was declared Japanese Horse of the Year. His consecutive wins in the Autumn G1 races also made him the second winner of the unofficial Senior Autumn Triple Crown, after T.M. Opera O.

Five-year-old season (2005)

Zenno Rob Roy took a lengthy break throughout the first half of the year, and did not return to racing until late June. His owner hoped to have him race domestically, but trainer Fujisawa wanted Zenno Rob Roy to be able to challenge foreign races in Europe over the summer. His first race of 2005 was the Takarazuka Kinen on June 26th, where he was the second favorite to win behind Tap Dance City, but also faced the likes of Still In Love and Admire Groove. Though Rob Roy fought hard in the stretch, breaking through the front of the pack with ease, Sweep Tosho surged past him to claim an upset win. Rob Roy placed third, behind her and Heart's Cry, leaving his connections briefly unsure as to whether he should run another domestic race before traveling abroad.

It was soon decided that Zenno Rob Roy would head to the United Kingdom, because Fujisawa believed that he could handle both the harsh turf and the unforgiving competition on British tracks. He arrived on July 20th, and on August 16th, he challenged the International Stakes (G1). He fought hard to finish 2nd place, only a head away from the winner Electrocutionist. There were plans to have Rob Roy challenge the Irish Champion Stakes; however, to honor the last wishes of his owner Shinobu Osako, who had passed away mere days before his Takarazuka Kinen, the horse returned home to challenge the Autumn Triple Crown for a second time.

On October 30th, Zenno Rob Roy entered his second Tenno Sho (Autumn), where Sweep Tosho, Admire Groove, Dance in the Mood, and Tap Dance City stood against him once again, but they were all defeated by the long-shot mare Heavenly Romance, with Zenno Rob Roy behind him by just a head. He placed third in the Japan Cup on November 27th, then finished 8th in the Arima Kinen on December 25th. That was to be the end of his career, and a few days later, he was deregistered as a racehorse.

Retirement, Breeding Career & Death

Zenno Rob Roy moved to Shadai Stallion Station in Hokkaido to begin his stallion career. His progeny were somewhat successful; his daughter Saint Emilion won the 2010 Japanese Oaks, his son Magnifica won the Japan Dirt Derby (Jpn1) the same year, and he sired several G2 and G3 winners. Zenno Rob Roy is also the damsire of Juryoku Pierrot, who won the 2026 Japanese Oaks in a historic victory for her jockey Seina Imamura (the second female jockey to win a Japanese G1, but the first Japanese female jockey and the first to win on turf).

Zenno Rob Roy died on September 2nd, 2022 due to heart failure. He was 22 years old.

Honors

• Japanese Horse of the Year (2004)
• JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse (2004)
• 2nd Senior Autumn Triple Crown Winner (2004)

Relationships

Relatives

• Sunday Silence - Father
• Happy Meek - Granddaughter
• Forever Young - Grandnephew via Roamin Rachel

Race Records

Race data sourced from netkeiba.

Date	Racecourse	Race	Grade	Distance	Gate	Odds	Fav.	Fin.	Time	Margin	Jockey	Winner (Runner-Up)	Other Umamusume
2003/02/09	Nakayama	Three-Year-Old Newcomer	Maiden	T 1600m	10	1.8	1	1	1:37.8	-0.4	N.Yokoyama	(Patience King)
2003/03/02	Hanshin	Sumire Stakes	OP	T 2200m	5	2.8	2	3	2:17.3	0.4	N.Yokoyama	Lincoln
2003/04/12	Nakayama	Yamabuki Sho	Pre-OP	T 2200m	10	1.4	1	1	2:14.9	-0.4	N.Yokoyama	(Rubens Memory)
2003/05/03	Tokyo	Aoba Sho	G2	T 2400m	11	2.3	1	1	2:26.3	-0.2	N.Yokoyama	(Takara Shaadi)
2003/06/01	Tokyo	Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby)	G1	T 2400m	3	6.4	3	2	2:28.6	0.1	N.Yokoyama	Neo Universe	Neo Universe
2003/09/28	Hanshin	Kobe Shimbun Hai	G2	T 2000m	2	3.9	3	1	1:59.5	-0.6	K.Desormeaux	(Sakura President)	Neo Universe
2003/10/26	Kyoto	Kikuka Sho (Japanese St.Leger)	G1	T 3000m	4	2.5	2	4	3:05.3	0.5	O.Peslier	That's the Plenty	Neo Universe
2003/12/28	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	2	5.9	3	3	2:32.1	1.6	Y.Shibata	Symboli Kris S	Symboli Kris S, Tap Dance City, Agnes Digital
2004/03/27	Nakayama	Nikkei Sho	G2	T 2500m	6	1.1	1	2	2:32.8	0.0	Y.Shibata	Win Generale
2004/05/02	Kyoto	Tenno Sho (Spring)	G1	T 3200m	16	7.7	4	2	3:19.5	1.1	D.Oliver	Ingrandire	Neo Universe
2004/06/27	Hanshin	Takarazuka Kinen	G1	T 2200m	3	3.9	2	4	2:11.6	0.5	K.Tanaka	Tap Dance City	Tap Dance City, Still in Love
2004/10/10	Kyoto	Kyoto Daishoten	G2	T 2400m	4	1.4	1	2	2:25.2	0.0	Y.Okabe	Narita Century	Admire Groove
2004/10/31	Tokyo	Tenno Sho (Autumn)	G1	T 2000m	13	3.4	1	1	1:58.9	-0.2	O.Peslier	(Dance in the Mood)	Admire Groove, Hishi Miracle
2004/11/28	Tokyo	Japan Cup	G1	T 2400m	9	2.7	1	1	2:24.2	-0.5	O.Peslier	(Cosmo Bulk)	Hishi Miracle
2004/12/26	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	1	2.0	1	1	2:29.5	-0.1	O.Peslier	(Tap Dance City)	Tap Dance City, Hishi Miracle
2005/06/26	Hanshin	Takarazuka Kinen	G1	T 2200m	6	3.0	2	3	2:11.7	0.2	K.Desormeaux	Sweep Tosho	Sweep Tosho, Tap Dance City, Admire Groove, Still in Love
2005/08/16	UK	International Stakes	G1	T 2080m	6			2		0.0	Y.Take	Electrocutionist
2005/10/30	Tokyo	Tenno Sho (Autumn)	G1	T 2000m	13	2.2	1	2	2:00.1	0.0	N.Yokoyama	Heavenly Romance	Sweep Tosho, Tap Dance City, Admire Groove
2005/11/27	Tokyo	Japan Cup	G1	T 2400m	8	2.1	1	3	2:22.4	0.3	K.Desormeaux	Alkaased	Tap Dance City
2005/12/25	Nakayama	Arima Kinen	G1	T 2500m	3	6.8	2	8	2:32.8	0.9	K.Desormeaux	Heart's Cry	Tap Dance City

Pedigree

Horse pedigree of Zenno Rob Roy (JPN)

Sire Sunday Silence (USA)	Halo (USA)	Hail to Reason (USA)	Turn-to (IRE)
			Nothirdchance (USA)
		Cosmah (USA)	Cosmic Bomb (USA)
			Almahmoud (USA)
	Wishing Well (USA)	Understanding (USA)	Promised Land (USA)
			Pretty Ways (USA)
		Mountain Flower (USA)	Montparnasse (ARG)
			Edelweiss (USA)
Dam Roamin Rachel (USA)	Mining (USA)	Mr. Prospector (USA)	Raise a Native (USA)
			Gold Digger (USA)
		I Pass (USA)	Buckpasser (USA)
			Impish (USA)
	One Smart Lady (USA)	Clever Trick (USA)	Icecapade (USA)
			Kankakee Miss (USA)
		Pia's Lady (USA)	Pia Star (USA)
			Plucky Roman (USA), (Family: 2-b)

Trivia

• Up until the 2004 Autumn Tenno Sho, fans called Zenno Rob Roy "未完の大器" (Mikan no Taiki, which means "The Incomplete Talent" in English) due to his constant losses in G1 races, though he placed well in all of them.
• Although "Tenno Sho" means "Emperor's Cup," the 2005 Autumn Tenno Sho was the first time since the race's inauguration that the Emperor of Japan was in attendance. The next time Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended the Autumn Tenno Sho was in 2012, when Eishin Flash won. Akihito abdicated the throne in 2019, ending the Heisei era; his son and successor Emperor Naruhito continued the new tradition by attending the 2023 Autumn Tenno Sho alongside Empress Masako.