IRL:Vodka: Difference between revisions
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1st version of text entry for Vodka/IRL
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(1st version of text entry for Vodka/IRL) |
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Vodka would enter in the Mainichi Okan as her first race in the fall season. Though she was a heavy favorite, she ended up losing to fellow rival Super Hornet by a head. Vodka would race again in November, entering a star-studded Fall Tennosho. The field included 2008 Japan Derby winner Deep Sky, 2008 Takarazuka Kinen winner Dream Journey and her longtime rival and 3 G1 winner Daiwa Scarlet. | Vodka would enter in the Mainichi Okan as her first race in the fall season. Though she was a heavy favorite, she ended up losing to fellow rival Super Hornet by a head. Vodka would race again in November, entering a star-studded Fall Tennosho. The field included 2008 Japan Derby winner Deep Sky, 2008 Takarazuka Kinen winner Dream Journey and her longtime rival and 3 G1 winner Daiwa Scarlet. | ||
The race would end up being a thriller and regarded as one of the greatest races in JRA history, as Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet would cross the finish line noses apart. It took 13 minutes for stewards to determine Vodka as the winner, beating Daiwa Scarlet by only 2 centimeters. | The race would end up being a thriller and regarded as one of the greatest races in JRA history, as Vodka and Daiwa Scarlet would cross the finish line noses apart. It took 13 minutes for stewards to determine Vodka as the winner, beating Daiwa Scarlet by only 2 centimeters. Vodka would end the year running in the Japan Cup, and though leading in the final meters of the race, was caught by eventual winner Screen Hero, finishing the race in 3rd. | ||
Vodka would be awarded the 2008 JRA Horse of the Year and Best Female Horse 4 Years and Older. This would only be the 2nd time that a filly was awarded the JRA Horse of Year award, following [[Air Groove]] in 1997. | |||
=== In 2009 (5 years old) === | |||
Vodka would begin 2009 traveling to Dubai with the intent to race in the Dubai Duty Free. She would run in the G2 Jebel Hatta, a prep race at Meydan Racecourse, but would finish a disappointing 5th. She would still go to run in the Dubai Duty Free but would not be able to improve upon her last race finishing 7th. | |||
Vodka would return to Japan focusing on a domestic campaign in the Spring, with her first race to be the Victoria Mile. She was heavy favorite going into the race, having an overwhelming odds of 1.7. Vodka would not disappoint those odds, and won by a dominating 7 length margins. This was her 5th G1 victory, tying the record for most G1 victories by a filly at the time with [[Mejiro Dober]], and set the record for most prize money won by a filly, surpassing Air Groove and Hokuta Vega. | |||
Vodka's next race would be the Yasuda Kinen, where she would look to set the record for most G1 wins by a filly, and just like her last race, was considered an overwhelming favorite in the race. During the race, Vodka would be caught up in traffic on the final stretch, but would be able to break through and catch Deep Sky in the final moments, claiming victory by 3/4 lengths. Vodka would become only the 2nd horse to achieve consecutive Yasuda Kinen victories, first achieved by [[Yamanin Zephyr]] in 1993. She had claimed her 6th G1 victory, and set the record for most G1 victories by a filly in the JRA. | |||
Vodka would take a break during summer, where her first race of her autumn campaign would be the Mainichi Okan, a race many expected her to win. She would run away in the race but was caught by Company in the final stretch, finishing a surprising 2nd. She would go on to run in the Fall Tennosho, where she would face familiar rivals in Company and Deep Sky. However, she would have a tough race, and failed to catch Company on the stretch, finishing the race in 3rd. The disappointing results in the Mainichi Okan and Fall Tennosho resulted in her longtime jockey, Yutaka Take, from stepping down allowing upcoming star jockey Christophe Lemaire to ride Vodka in her next race. | |||
Her next race would be the Japan Cup where she would be set to face an international field of horses. The main international rival would come in as Conduit, an Irish horse that had won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Breeders Cup Turf that year. Vodka was considered a slight favorite in the race, having 3.6 odds. In the race, Vodka was able to take the lead in the final 400 meters, but was being chased down Oken Bruce Lee resulting in a photo finish. It took 7 minutes to decide a winner, but Vodka was declared victorious by only a nose. Vodka had claimed her 7th G1 victory and tied the record for most G1 victories in the JRA, held by [[Symboli Rudolf]], [[T.M. Opera O]] and Deep Impact, and was the first Japanese trained filly to win the Japan Cup. | |||
Vodka would once again be awarded the JRA Horse of the Year and Best Female Horse 4 Years and Older. She is the first filly to awarded Horse of the Year 2 years in a row, and the sixth horse ever in the history of the JRA. | |||
===Retirement=== | |||
After the Japan Cup, it was discovered Vodka had developed a nosebleed during the race, and was suspended from racing in the JRA for a month, causing her to miss the Arima Kinen. Vodka would cancel her retirement at the end of 2009, with the plan to retire after running in the Dubai World Cup. Vodka's first race of 2010 would be the prep race G2 Maktoum Challenge Round 3, but would finish in 8th place. After the race, Vodka had developed a second nosebleed, and the decision was made to retire her from racing. | |||
In 2011, Vodka was voted into the JRA Hall of Fame with a 84.4% majority vote. She would be the 4th filly to be voted into the Hall of Fame, following Kurifuji, Tokitsukaze, and [[Mejiro Ramonu]]. | |||
==Breeding career== | |||
After her retirement, Vodka would begin her breeding career at Aga Khan Stud Giltown in Ireland. She was bred to Sea the Stars for 3 consecutive years, and other stallions including Frankel and Invincible Spirit. Her 3rd and 4th kid, Tanino Urban Sea and Tanino Frankel would race in Japan, with Tanino Frankel becoming a sire at Rex Stud in 2022. | |||
On February 23rd, 2019, Vodka was moved to a farm near Newmarket, England to mate with a stallion but had developed a fracture in her right hind leg. She was taken to a hospital for surgery but had developed laminitis in both hind legs. Vodka would be euthanized due to her injuries, and passed away on April 1st, 2019. Vodka was cremated and remains were given to her owner Yuzo Tanimizu. He divided her ashes, and her remains are buried on a private farm in Newmarket, in a grave under a cherry blossom tree. | |||
== Honors == | |||
[[File:Vodka_statue.jpg|200px|thumb|Vodka statue outside of Tokyo Racecourse]] | |||
Including being inducted into the JRA Hall of Fame 2011, owner Yuzo Tanimizu donated a bronze state of Vodka at Tokyo Racecourse, celebrating her 6 G1 victories at the racetrack. The statue was unveiled April 23rd, 2014, in a rose garden near Tokyo Racecourse. | |||
On April 6th, 2019, 5 days after Vodka's passing, the main races of the race weekend, The New Zealand Trophy, Hanshin Himba Stakes and Azuma-Kofuji Sho were held with the subtitle "Vodka Memorial Race". Flower offering stands were set up that race weekend at Fukushima, Kyoto, Tokyo, Nakayama and Hanshin Racecourse, with 218 flower tributes being offered. | |||
== Relationships == | == Relationships == | ||
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* [[Daiwa Scarlet]] | * [[Daiwa Scarlet]] | ||
* [[Aston Machan]] | * [[Aston Machan]] | ||
* [[Kawakami Princess]] | |||
* [[Sweep Tosho]] | |||
* [[Daring Heart]] | |||
* | |||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
<references group="Note" /> | <references group="Note" /> | ||