IRL:Dantsu Flame
| Main | Gallery | IRL |
| Dantsu Flame | ||
|---|---|---|
| ダンツフレーム | ||
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| Dantsu Flame with jockey Shinji Fujita at the 2002 Takarazuka Kinen | ||
| Silks |  |
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| Romaji | dantsu fureemu | |
| Foaled | April 19, 1998 | |
| Died | August 28, 2005 | |
| Sire | Brian's Time | |
| Dam | Inter Pyrenees | |
| Sex | Stallion | |
| Color | Bay | |
| Trainer | Yamauchi Kenji | |
| Race Record | 26: 6-6-0 | |
| Earnings | 511,428,000 JPY | |
| Major wins | ||
| Takarazuka Kinen (2002) | ||
The Next Act
If you're worried
About not being able to stand in the center,
I want to ask you this
Even if it was on the edge or the back of the stage,
You would have performed with your life on the line, right?
With your current abilities,
You left the best possible results, right?
Then there's no need to be pessimistic.
I've got a big role lined up for you next time.
For you, the opening bell will ring.-JRA Portraits of the Bucephalus[1]
Dantsu Flame was a Japanese racehorse active from 2000 to 2005. She was part of the '01 Generation, and won the 2002 Takarazuka Kinen. According to the ranch's president, Yukinori Nobuoka, "he was never a good-looking horse".
After entering on the Hokkaido Market, Tetsuji Yamamoto won the bid for the horse for 25 million yen after looking for a foal of Brian's Time.
Name Origin
Dantsu is a type of Japanese hand-made carpet, the owner decided to name the clan after the carpet since he bought one of them when he first became a horse owner.
Racing career
In 2000 (2 years old)
He ended up coming 2nd to Meiner Japan on his first debut race, but won his second debut race shortly after.
In 2001 (3 years old)
In 2001 he won his first major race, the Arlington Cup with jockey Yutaka Take. He raced in the 2001 Satsuki Sho, but he finished 2nd to Agnes Tachyon, in the 2001 Japan Derby he finished 2nd to Jungle Pocket and finished 5th in the 2001 Kikuka Sho. It is said that if he'd been born in a different year, he might have been able to win these races.
After the Kikuka Sho, he switched his focus to mile races, and ran in the Mile Championship, but came in 5th after Zenno El Cid came from the outside.
In 2002 (4 years old)
In 2002, after some of the strongest horses fighting for the Triple Crown retired, first with Agnes Tachyon and later with Kurofune, Jungle Pocket and Manhattan Cafe were left to battle it out at the 2002 Spring Tenno Sho, but Dantsu Flame didn't choose to compete against them, instead racing in the Yasuda Kinen, finishing 2nd to Admire Cozzene, marking his third time finishing second in a G1 race.
After the Yasuda Kinen, the team decided to choose the middle-distance Takarazuka Kinen for his next race, instead of the mile-distance Sekiya Kinen. Since Manhattan Cafe was scheduled to challenge the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Jungle Pocket withdrew from the Takaruka Kinen due to leg problems, this left a ray of hope for Dantsu Flame. He was the favorite to win, against the two-time champion Air Shakur, and with Shinji Fujita as his jockey, first time since last year's Satsuki Sho. After battling it out with Tsuruma Boy and Lohengrin in the final spurt, Dantsu Flame crossed the finish line first, marking his first G1 victory.
However, after that, he came 5th in the Mainichi Okan, 14th in the Autumn Tenno Sho and 17th in the Mile Championship.
In 2003 (5 years old)
He started off the year in the Mile Cup, where he placed 4th, and then in the Spring Tenno Sho, where he placed fifth. He won the Niigata Daishoten after, but later placed 5th in the Yasuda Kinen and 7th in the Takarazuka Kinen behind Hishi Miracle. After a summer break, he was scheduled to return in the All Comers, but developed a bowed tendon on his right front leg, and was forced to retire for the first time.
In 2004 (6 years old)
After his retirement, he was scheduled to become a stud, but his name did not appear on the stud list at the beginning of spring, and fans thought he had simply disappeared. Later reports revealed that he wasn't highly regarded as a breeding stallion, and the owner continued to let the horse in Hokkaido, considering making him a riding horse instead.
Dantsu Flame recovered from his bowed tendon and the owner decided to "give him another chance to shine", and he returned to local racing on NAR dirt races.
Retirement
He retired in 2005 after 3 straight losses in graded races, and since his bloodline was frowned upon, he became a riding horse, but when a thorough examination was conducted, it was discovered that he had severe pneumonia. By the time the examination was made, the symptoms were already beyond treatment, and died of pneumonia on August 28, 2005, at 7 years old, about 2 months after his retirement.