Hokuto Vega
| Hokuto Vega | |
|---|---|
Hokuto Vega in December 1995 | |
| Breed | Thoroughbred |
| Sire | Nagurski |
| Grandsire | Nijinsky |
| Dam | Takeno Falcon |
| Damsire | Philip of Spain |
| Sex | Mare |
| Foaled | March 26, 1990 |
| Died | April 3, 1997 (aged 7) |
| Country | Japan |
| Breeder | Sakai Farm |
| Owner | Kanamorimori Corporation |
| Trainer | Takao Nakano |
| Jockey | Kazuhiro Kato |
| Record | 42:16-5-4 |
| Earnings | 888,126,000 ¥[1] $8,300,301[2] |
| Major wins | |
| Flower Cup (1993) Queen Elizabeth II Cup (1993) Sapporo Kinen (1994) Kawasaki Kinen (1996, 1997) February Stakes (1996) Teio Sho (1996) Mile Championship Nambu Hai (1996) | |
| Awards | |
| JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse (1996) | |
Hokuto Vega (in Japanese: ホクトベガ, March 26, 1990 – April 3, 1997) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 1993 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. She was badly injured in a fall during the 1997 Dubai World Cup at what was her retirement race and had to be euthanized. She was famous by having an early great career on turf before successfully switching to dirt on the later half.
Career
Hokuto Vega's first race was on January 5, 1993, at Nakayama, where she came in first. She picked up her next win at the 1993 Cattleya Sho on February 20.[3] She competed in her first graded race on March 20, 1993, when she won the 1993 Flower Cup.[3] This win helped her gain entry into the 1993 Oka Sho, where she came in 5th place. On May 23, 1993, she competed in the Grade-1 Yushun Himba, where she came in 6th.[3] She came in 2nd place at the October 3, 1993, Grade-3 Queen Stakes. On November 14, 1993, she scored a major upset by winning the 1993 Grade-1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, the biggest win of her career.[3]
In 1994, she faced a winless season except for victories at the June 12th Sapporo Nikkei Open and the Grade-3 Sapporo Kinen.[3] It wasn't until June 13th, 1995, that she secured her sole victory of the year, winning the 1995 Empress Hai.[3]
She had her most successful racing season in 1996. She won 8 of the 10 races she competed in during the 1996 season. Her wins in 1996 included victories at the Kawasaki Kinen, the February Stakes, the Diolite Kinen, the Gunma Kinen, the Grade-1 Teio Sho, the Grade-1 Mile Championship Nambu Hai and the Urawa Kinen.[3] In November, she attempted to repeat her win in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, with the race newly being open to fillies and mares of all ages 3 and over, but came up short behind three younger mares, with the first place being Dance Partner. At the end of the year, she was awarded the JRA Award for Best Dirt Horse.
Hokuto Vega's 8 year old season in 1997 started off strong. She repeated her win in the Kawasaki Kinen on February 5,[3][4] becoming the only filly or mare to win the race twice. A couple months later, Hokuto Vega was invited to the second running of the Dubai World Cup, which was scheduled to be her retirement race. She broke well from the gates and settled in the back of the pack, but rounding the corner into the final straight, she suddenly fell, colliding with Bijou d'Inde. She had a poor prognosis, and was euthanized shortly after as a result.[5] Due to quarantine regulations, her body was never repatriated to Japan. As she died before she could become a broodmare, she produced no foals. Shortly after her death, Kawasaki Racecourse established the Sparking Lady Cup, also called the Hokuto Vega Memorial in her honor, which is run over a 1600 meter dirt track.
Racing form
Hokuto Vega raced in 42 races and achieved 16 wins with nine more placed finish. The data available is based on JBIS and netkeiba.com.[6][7]
| Date | Track | Race | Grade | Distance (Condition) |
Entry | HN | Odds (Favored) |
Finish | Time | Margins | Jockey | Winner (Runner-up) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 – three-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| Jan 5 | Nakayama | 3YO debut | 1400m（Fast） | 16 | 2 | 3.7（2） | 1st | 1:12.5 | –1.5 | Kazuhiro Kato | (Izumi Blue) | |
| Jan 16 | Nakayama | Shuchiku Sho | ALW (1W) | 1800m（Muddy） | 9 | 9 | 1.5（1） | 2nd | 1:52.4 | 0.1 | Kazuhiro Kato | Saikyo Hozan |
| Feb 20 | Tokyo | Cattleya Sho | ALW (1W) | 1600m（Fast） | 16 | 12 | 1.9（1） | 1st | 1:37.8 | –0.5 | Kazuhiro Kato | (Sanei Record) |
| Mar 20 | Nakayama | Flower Cup | 3 | 1800m（Firm） | 14 | 3 | 2.9（2） | 1st | 1:49.7 | –0.1 | Kazuhiro Kato | (Tai Juliet) |
| Apr 11 | Hanshin | Oka Sho | 1 | 1600m（Firm） | 18 | 16 | 16.2（6） | 5th | 1:37.7 | 0.5 | Kazuhiro Kato | Vega |
| May 23 | Tokyo | Yushun Himba | 1 | 2400m（Firm） | 18 | 14 | 10.2（5） | 6th | 2:28.2 | 0.9 | Kazuhiro Kato | Vega |
| Oct 3 | Nakayama | Queen Stakes | 3 | 2000m（Firm） | 14 | 10 | 3.3（2） | 2nd | 2:02.6 | 0.3 | Kazuhiro Kato | Yukino Bijin |
| Oct 24 | Kyoto | Rose Stakes | 2 | 2000m（Firm） | 14 | 3 | 5.5（3） | 3rd | 2:00.7 | 0.5 | Kazuhiro Kato | Star Ballerina |
| Nov 14 | Kyoto | QE II Cup | 1 | 2400m（Firm） | 18 | 1 | 30.4（9） | 1st | 2:24.9 | –0.2 | Kazuhiro Kato | (North Flight) |
| Dec 18 | Nakayama | Turquoise Stakes | OP | 1800m（Firm） | 9 | 2 | 3.7（2） | 3rd | 1:49.8 | 0.4 | Kazuhiro Kato | Yukino Bijin |
| 1994 – four-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| Jan 15 | Hanshin | Heian Stakes | 3 | 1800m（Fast） | 16 | 12 | 5.3（2） | 10th | 1:54.3 | 1.5 | Kazuhiro Kato | Toyo Lyphard |
| Feb 27 | Nakayama | Nakayama Himba Stakes | 3 | 1800m（Firm） | 11 | 9 | 3.6（2） | 4th | 1:48.3 | 0.7 | Kazuhiro Kato | Hokkai Seres |
| Apr 23 | Tokyo | Keio Hai Spring Cup | 2 | 1400m（Firm） | 16 | 9 | 12.1（5） | 5th | 1:21.9 | 0.5 | Kazuhiro Kato | Ski Paradise |
| Jun 12 | Sapporo | Sapporo Nikkei Open | OP | 1800m（Firm） | 12 | 5 | 2.3（1） | 1st | R1:47.2 | –0.3 | Kazuhiro Kato | (Mogami Saruno) |
| Jul 3 | Sapporo | Sapporo Kinen | 3 | 2000m（Firm） | 13 | 10 | 2.0（1） | 1st | 2:00.9 | –0.1 | Kazuhiro Kato | (A. P. Grand Prix) |
| Aug 21 | Sapporo | Hakodate Kinen | 3 | 2000m（Firm） | 14 | 3 | 2.9（1） | 3rd | 2:02.1 | 0.5 | Kazuhiro Kato | Wako Chikako |
| Oct 9 | Tokyo | Mainichi Okan | 2 | 1800m（Firm） | 11 | 8 | 26.5（11） | 9th | 1:45.4 | 0.8 | Kazuhiro Kato | Nehai Caesar |
| Nov 13 | Tokyo | Fuji Stakes | OP | 1800m（Firm） | 11 | 3 | 6.6（2） | 6th | 1:47.6 | 0.7 | Kazuhiro Kato | Sakura Chitose O |
| Dec 18 | Hanshin | Hanshin Himba Stakes | 2 | 2000m（Firm） | 13 | 6 | 16.3（6） | 5th | 2:01.2 | 0.6 | Kazuhiro Kato | Memory Jasper |
| 1995 – five-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| Jan 22 | Nakayama | American Jockey Club Cup | 2 | 2200m（Firm） | 10 | 1 | 57.1（6） | 2nd | 2:14.5 | 0.1 | Kazuhiro Kato | Sakura Chitose O |
| Feb 26 | Nakayama | Nakayama Himba Stakes | 3 | 1800m（Good） | 10 | 6 | 3.2（1） | 2nd | 1:49.5 | 0.1 | Kazuhiro Kato | Alpha Cute |
| Mar 12 | Nakayama | Nakayama Kinen | 2 | 1800m（Good） | 12 | 8 | 10.3（2） | 8th | 1:50.8 | 0.5 | Kazuhiro Kato | Fujiyama Kenzan |
| Apr 22 | Tokyo | Keio Hai Spring Cup | 2 | 1400m（Firm） | 18 | 16 | 25.6（11） | 3rd | 1:21.5 | 0.2 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Dumaani |
| May 14 | Tokyo | Yasuda Kinen | 1 | 1600m（Firm） | 18 | 10 | 10.1（3） | 5th | 1:33.5 | 0.3 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Heart Lake |
| Jun 13 | Kawasaki | Empress Hai | Grade-1 | 2000m（Muddy） | 7 | 7 | 0.0（1） | 1st | 2:06.5 | –3.6 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (Aqua Raiden) |
| Aug 20 | Sapporo | Hakodate Kinen | 3 | 2000m（Soft） | 16 | 3 | 8.5（5） | 11th | 2:03.5 | 1.1 | Hitoshi Matoba | Inter My Way |
| Oct 8 | Tokyo | Mainichi Okan | 2 | 1800m（Soft） | 14 | 5 | 21.6（8） | 7th | 1:49.2 | 0.8 | Eizaburo Otsuka | Sugano Oji |
| Oct 29 | Tokyo | Tenno Sho (Autumn) | 1 | 2000m（Firm） | 17 | 18 | 77.0（15） | 16th | 2:00.2 | 1.4 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Sakura Chitose O |
| Nov 19 | Niigata | Fukushima Kinen | 3 | 2000m（Firm） | 16 | 12 | 13.7（8） | 2nd | 2:01.9 | 0.0 | Eiji Nakadate | Meiner Bridge |
| Dec 17 | Hanshin | Hanshin Himba Stakes | 2 | 2000m（Firm） | 12 | 4 | 12.8（5） | 5th | 2:00.8 | 0.5 | Eiji Nakadate | Samani Beppin |
| 1996 – six-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| Jan 24 | Kawasaki | Kawasaki Kinen | Grade-1 | 2000m（Fast） | 12 | 9 | 0.0（2） | 1st | 2:07.5 | –1.0 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (Life Asahi) |
| Feb 17 | Tokyo | February Stakes | 2 | 1600m（Fast） | 15 | 5 | 4.6（3） | 1st | 1:36.5 | –0.6 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (I Owe You) |
| Mar 20 | Funabashi | Diolite Kinen | Grade-1 | 2400m（Fast） | 8 | 8 | 0.0（1） | 1st | 2:31.3 | –0.5 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (Spectacle) |
| May 5 | Takasaki | Gunma Kinen | Grade-1 | 1500m（Muddy） | 12 | 2 | 0.0（1） | 1st | R1:33.6 | –0.5 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (Hikari Rufas) |
| Jun 19 | Ohi | Teio Sho | Grade-1 | 2000m（Fast） | 15 | 10 | 0.0（1） | 1st | 2:04.2 | –0.4 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (I Owe You) |
| Jul 15 | Kawasaki | Empress Hai | Grade-1 | 2000m（Fast） | 6 | 2 | 0.0（1） | 1st | 2:06.7 | –1.5 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (Speed Iris) |
| Oct 10 | Morioka | Mile Championship Nambu Hai | Grade-1 | 1600m（Fast） | 12 | 2 | 0.0（1） | 1st | 1:38.3 | –1.3 | Hitoshi Matoba | (Heisei Silver) |
| Nov 10 | Kyoto | QE II Cup | 1 | 2200m（Firm） | 16 | 2 | 8.5（4） | 4th | 2:14.4 | 0.1 | Hitoshi Matoba | Dance Partner |
| Dec 4 | Urawa | Urawa Kinen | Grade-1 | 2000m（Fast） | 9 | 8 | 0.0（1） | 1st | 2:05.5 | –0.2 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (Kyoto City) |
| Dec 22 | Nakayama | Arima Kinen | 1 | 2500m（Firm） | 14 | 9 | 31.3（9） | 9th | 2:36.0 | 2.2 | Shinji Fujita | Sakura Laurel |
| 1997 – seven-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| Jan 24 | Kawasaki | Kawasaki Kinen | Grade-1 | 2000m（Good） | 11 | 7 | 0.0（1） | 1st | 2:06.7 | –0.6 | Norihiro Yokoyama | (Kyoto City) |
| Apr 3 | Nad Al Sheba | Dubai World Cup | L | 2000m（Fast） | 12 | 8 | – | DNF | – | – | Norihiro Yokoyama | Singspiel |
Legend:
Turf
Dirt
- R means it was a record time finish
- All "Grade-1" ranked race was labeled as listed in international level
Pedigree
| Sire Nagurski (CAN) 1981 |
Nijinsky (CAN) 1967 |
Northern Dancer | Nearctic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natalma | |||
| Flaming Page | Bull Page | ||
| Flaring Top | |||
| Deceit (USA) 1968 |
Prince John | Princequillo | |
| Not Afraid | |||
| Double Agent | Double Jay | ||
| Conniver | |||
| Dam Takeno Falcon (JPN) 1982 |
Philip of Spain (GB) 1969 |
Tudor Melody | Tudor Minstrel |
| Matelda | |||
| Lerida | Matador | ||
| Zepherin | |||
| Cool Fair (JPN) 1978 |
Yellow God | Red God | |
| Sally Deans | |||
| Sharkskin | Silver Shark | ||
| Atrevida |
References
- ^ "Hokuto Vega(JPN) | JBIS-Search". www.jbis.jp. Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ "Hokuto Vega". Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Hokuto Vega". Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ "Hokuto Vega". Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ "1997 Dubai World Cup flashback". 15 September 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ "Race Records | Hokuto Vega(JPN) | JBIS-Search". www.jbis.jp. Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
- ^ "ホクトベガ (Hokuto Vega) | 競走馬データ" [Hokuto Vega's racing results]. netkeiba (in Japanese). NET DREAMERS, Co., Ltd. Retrieved 25 December 2025.