Air Shakur

Air Shakur (Japanese: エアシャカール, February 26, 1997 – March 13, 2003) was a Japanese racehorse and sire. He won the 2000 Satsuki Shō and Kikuka Shō, achieving two of the Triple Crown wins and was selected as the JRA Award for Best Four-Year-Old Colt^[a] that year. In the Tokyo Yūshun (Japanese Derby), he narrowly missed winning by a nose of 7 cm,^[4] earning him the title of "quasi-Triple Crown winner." After becoming an older horse in 2001, he struggled to win races and was retired after finishing ninth in the 2002 Arima Kinen.^[4]

Air Deja Vu, who finished second in the 1998 Yushun Himba (Oaks), is his half-sister, and Air Messiah, who won the 2005 Shuka Sho, is his niece. The origin of the horse's name comes from the prefix 'Air' and the real name of the American hip-hop MC and actor Tupac Shakur.

Air Shakur was sired by 13-year leading sire in Japan^[5] Sunday Silence, who also sired famous Japanese racehorses Fuji Kiseki, Silence Suzuka, Stay Gold, and Special Week, along with many other successful progeny. Estimates put the amount won by Sunday Silence's progeny in Japan at approximately 80 billion Japanese yen.^[6] Air Shakur also had famous American racehorse Native Dancer in his damsire's line.^[1] Native Dancer was voted third in the Blood-Horse magazine list of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century.^[7] Air Shakur also had twice Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner and undefeated racehorse Ribot in his mother's line.

When Yutaka Take rode the horse during training before its maiden race,^[8] he said, 'I thought this horse would definitely become one that could win a graded race in the future,' and described the horse's aura as 'like a smaller version of Special Week.'^[9] On the other hand, the horse had a very fiery temperament. Take commented on this, saying, 'He was a horse that seemed to have collected all the bad traits of Sunday Silence's offspring. He simply wouldn't run straight, and he was extremely difficult to ride,' and he even said, 'I want to see what's going on in his head.' Due to his tendency to be distracted, the entire stable staff ended up taking care of him. At that time, it was common for each staff member to be responsible for two horses, but trainer Hideyuki Mori said, 'We abolished the responsibility system.'^[10] Although now mainstream, abolishing the responsibility system was unusual at that time.

The horse's former name was Air Scudetto.^[11] Air Shakur made his debut on October 31, 1999, in a maiden race at Tokyo Racecourse. Although it finished fifth in the maiden race, he secured his first victory in his second start in a winless race. After that, he won the Hopeful Stakes,^[b] ending his two-year-old season with two wins in four races^[2] and emerged as one of the candidates for the Classics.

In early 2000, as a three-year-old, Air Shakur placed second in the Yayoi Sho before running in the Satsuki Sho. He narrowly defeated Daitaku Riva by a neck, claiming his first GI victory. After the Satsuki Sho, there were plans announced for him to compete in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes.^[12]

In the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), he narrowly lost by just 7 cm to Agnes Flight, finishing second. After the Derby, he participated as scheduled in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot Racecourse but finished fifth behind Bonjour (horse).

In the autumn, Air Shakur started his campaign with the Kobe Shimbun Hai but finished third, unable to make a move in the inside lanes and unable to catch up in the straight, which was such a complete defeat that jockey Yutaka Take commented, "No growth is seen in its temperament." However, in the main race, the Kikuka Sho, he wore a ring bit to prevent veering inward and ran along the inside rail throughout the race, managing to edge out Toho Shiden by a neck to claim victory. Remarkably, Air Shakur became a dual crown horse, winning both the Satsuki Sho and the Kikuka Sho.^[12]

After the Kikuka Sho, Air Shakur ran in the Japan Cup. The highly anticipated matchup against T. M. Opera O, who had been on a six-race winning streak including three G1 victories that year, ended with a disastrous 14th-place finish for Air Shakur.^[2] Additionally, in this race, his generation peers, Derby winner Agnes Flight (13th), NHK Mile Cup winner Eagle Cafe (15th), and Oaks winner Silk Primadonna (16th, last place), all suffered defeats.

In 2001, when Yutaka Take moved his riding base overseas, Masayoshi Ebina became the main jockey for Air Shakur. In the Sankei Osaka Hai, he started off well with a second-place finish behind Toho Dream, but in the next race, the Tenno Sho (Spring), he finished 8th, and he also lost 5th place in the Takarazuka Kinen. By autumn, he suffered from transport-induced pneumonia and was unable to race.

At age five, Air Shakur made a comeback in the Sankei Osaka Hai, finishing 2nd and showing signs of recovery. In the following Kinko Sho, his partnership with Yutaka Take was restored, making him the favorite, but he was defeated by Tsurumaru Boy, finishing 2nd. Afterwards, in the Takarazuka Kinen, he shared the spotlight with Dantsu Flame but finished 4th. In autumn, he managed to place on the board with a 4th in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), but suffered a heavy defeat, finishing 12th in the Japan Cup. He also had no significant success in the Arima Kinen, finishing 9th, and retired after this race.

Air Shakur won four races out of 20 starts. This data is available in JBIS, netkeiba and racingpost.^[1][13][14]

Legend:
  Turf

After retiring from racing, he became a stallion and was kept at the Breeders Stallion Station, but on March 13, 2003, three months after his retirement, he suffered a broken left hind leg in an accident while grazing and was euthanised.^[15]

Air Shakur had four offspring (all fillies), three of which entered central horse racing. On October 24, 2006, one of these four, Air Miracle, earned a victory in Hokkaido racing, marking the first win for an Air Shakur offspring. Then, on July 28, 2007, Air Fergie won an unraced race at Hakodate Racecourse, giving Air Shakur's progeny their first JRA victory. However, of the three that entered central racing, only Air Fergie managed to win; the other two never won, and all four were eventually deregistered without achieving significant success. Among the offspring, Air Fergie and Maji Blanche became broodmares, but their progeny were skewed toward male horses, and as a result, the bloodline has already become extinct.

An anthropomorphized version of Air Shakur appears in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Minami Tsuda.^[16]