Tennō Shō (Autumn)
Equinox winning the 168th Tennō Shō | |
| Class | Int'l Grade 1 |
|---|---|
| Location | Tokyo Racecourse, Fuchu, Tokyo |
| Inaugurated | December 3, 1937 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
| Website | japanracing |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 2000 meters (About 10 furlongs / 1+1⁄4 miles) |
| Surface | Turf |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | 3-y-o & Up, Thoroughbreds |
| Weight | 3-y-o 56 kg \ 4-y-o & up 58 kg Allowances 2 kg for fillies and mares |
| Purse | ¥ 648,000,000 (as of 2025)
|
| Bonuses | Winner of the following in the same year: Tenno Sho (Autumn), Japan Cup, Arima Kinen[1] Domestic: ¥ 300,000,000 International: ¥ 150,000,000 Winner of any three of the following in the same year: Ōsaka Hai, Tenno Sho (Spring/Autumn), Japan Cup, Takarazuka Kinen, Arima Kinen Domestic: ¥ 200,000,000 International: ¥ 100,000,000 |
The Tennō Shō (Autumn) (天皇賞（秋）; lit. 'Emperor Prize (Autumn)') is an International Grade I horse race held at Tokyo Racecourse, Japan in late October. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) on turf. It is considered the first leg of the Japanese Autumn Triple Crown, the other two being the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen.
Originally, the Autumn Tennō Shō was run over a distance of 3,200 metres (10,500 ft), but was shortened to its current distance to promote middle-distance horses and to promote 3-year-old horses as a shorter-distance alternative to the Kikuka Sho, the Japanese St. Leger, which is 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). The current record holder for this race is Equinox who set up a time of 1:55.2 in 2023, beating previous record holder Tosen Jordan by point nine seconds.[2]
Winners since 1990
| Year |
Winner |
Age |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Yaeno Muteki | 5 | Yukio Okabe | Mitsuo Ogino | Fuji Co | 1:58.2 |
| 1991 | Prekrasnie* | 4 | Teruo Eda | Terumaso Yano | Eijiro Tajima | 2:03.9 |
| 1992 | Let's Go Tarquin | 5 | Akikasu Osaki | Kojiro Hashiguchi | Diners Club Japan | 1:58.6 |
| 1993 | Yamanin Zephyr | 4 | Masao Shibata | Hiromu Kurita | Tadashi Doi | 1:58.9 |
| 1994 | Nehai Caesar | 4 | Katsumi Shiomura | Akira Huse | Daimaru Enterprise | 1:58.6 |
| 1995 | Sakura Chitose O | 5 | Futoshi Kojima | Katsutarao Sakai | Sakura Commerce | 1:58.8 |
| 1996 | Bubble Gum Fellow | 3 | Masayoshi Ebina | Kazuo Fujisawa | Shadai Racehorse | 1:58.7 |
| 1997 | Air Groove | 4 | Yutaka Take | Yasunori Ito | Lucky Field Co Ltd | 1:59.0 |
| 1998 | Offside Trap | 7 | Yoshitomi Shibata | Shuho Kato | Takashi Watanabe | 1:59.3 |
| 1999 | Special Week | 4 | Yutaka Take | Toshiaki Shirai | Hiroyoshi Usuda | 1:58.0 |
| 2000 | T. M. Opera O | 4 | Ryuji Wada | Ichizo Iwamoto | Masatsugu Takezono | 1:59.9 |
| 2001 | Agnes Digital | 4 | Hirofumi Shii | Toshiaki Shirai | Takao Watanabe | 2:02.0 |
| 2002 | Symboli Kris S | 3 | Yukio Okabe | Kazuo Fujisawa | Symboli Stud | 1:58.5 |
| 2003 | Symboli Kris S | 4 | Olivier Peslier | Kazuo Fujisawa | Symboli Stud | 1:58.0 |
| 2004 | Zenno Rob Roy | 4 | Olivier Peslier | Kazuo Fujisawa | Shinobu Osako | 1:58.9 |
| 2005 | Heavenly Romance | 5 | Mikio Matsunaga | Masashi Yamamoto | Nosohiruzu Management | 2:00.1 |
| 2006 | Daiwa Major | 5 | Katsumi Ando | Hiroyuki Uehara | Keizou Ooshiro | 1:58.8 |
| 2007 | Meisho Samson | 4 | Yutaka Take | Shigetada Takahashi | Yoshio Matsumoto | 1:58.4 |
| 2008 | Vodka | 4 | Yutaka Take | Katsuhiko Sumii | Yuzo Tanimizu | 1:57.2 |
| 2009 | Company# | 8 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Hidetaka Otonashi | Eiko Kondou | 1:57.2 |
| 2010 | Buena Vista | 4 | Christophe Soumillon | Hiroyoshi Matsuda | Sunday Racing Co Ltd | 1:58.2 |
| 2011 | Tosen Jordan | 5 | Nicola Pinna | Yasutoshi Ikee | Takaya Shimakawa | 1:56.1 |
| 2012 | Eishin Flash | 5 | Mirco Demuro | Hideaki Fujiwara | Toyomitsu Hirai | 1:57.3 |
| 2013 | Just A Way | 4 | Yuichi Fukunaga | Naosuke Sugai | Akatsuki Yamatoya | 1:57.5 |
| 2014 | Spielberg | 5 | Hiroshi Kitamura | Kazuo Fujisawa | Hidetoshi Yamamoto | 1:59.7 |
| 2015 | Lovely Day | 5 | Suguru Hamanaka | Yasutoshi Ikee | Kaneko Makoto Holdings | 1:58.4 |
| 2016 | Maurice | 5 | Ryan Moore | Noriyuki Hori | Kazumi Yoshida | 1:59.3 |
| 2017 | Kitasan Black | 5 | Yutaka Take | Hisashi Shimizu | Ono Shoji | 2:08.3 |
| 2018 | Rey de Oro | 4 | Christophe Lemaire | Kazuo Fujisawa | U Carrot Farm | 1:56.8 |
| 2019 | Almond Eye | 4 | Christophe Lemaire | Sakae Kunieda | Silk Racing | 1:56.2 |
| 2020 | Almond Eye | 5 | Christophe Lemaire | Sakae Kunieda | Silk Racing | 1:57.8 |
| 2021 | Efforia | 3 | Takeshi Yokoyama | Yuichi Shikato | Carrot Farm | 1:57.9 |
| 2022 | Equinox | 3 | Christophe Lemaire | Tetsuya Kimura | Silk Racing | 1:57.5 |
| 2023 | Equinox | 4 | Christophe Lemaire | Tetsuya Kimura | Silk Racing | 1:55.2 |
| 2024 | Do Deuce | 5 | Yutaka Take | Yasuo Tomomichi | Kieffers Co. Ltd. | 1:57.3 |
| 2025 | Masquerade Ball | 3 | Christophe Lemaire | Takahisa Tezuka | Shadai Race Horse Co. Ltd. | 1:58.6 |
* Mejiro McQueen finished first in 1991 but was demoted to last place following a Stewards' Inquiry.
@ The 2002 Autumn Tennō Shō was contested at Nakayama Racecourse, due to construction at Tokyo Racecourse.
# Also Japanese record of flat racing for oldest horse winning first G1 race.
@ The 2002 Autumn Tennō Shō was contested at Nakayama Racecourse, due to construction at Tokyo Racecourse.
# Also Japanese record of flat racing for oldest horse winning first G1 race.
Earlier winners
- 1937 – Happy Might
- 1938 - Hisatomo
- 1939 - Tetsumon
- 1940 – Rocky Mor[5]
- 1941 - Estates
- 1942 - Nipatois
- 1943 - Kuri Hikari
- 1944 - No race
- 1945 - No race
- 1946 - No race
- 1947 - Toyo Ume
- 1948 - Katsu Fuji
- 1949 - Newford
- 1950 - Yashima Daughter
- 1951 - Hatakaze
- 1952 - Track O
- 1953 - Queen Narubi
- 1954 - Opal Orchid[6]
- 1955 - Dainana Hoshu
- 1956 - Midfarm
- 1957 - Hakuchikara
- 1958 - Cellulose[7]
- 1959 - Garnet
- 1960 - Ote Mon
- 1961 - Takamagahara
- 1962 - Kurihide
- 1963 - Ryu Forel
- 1964 - Yamato Kyodai
- 1965 - Shinzan
- 1966 - Korehide
- 1967 - Kabuto Ciro
- 1968 - Knit Eight
- 1969 - Mejiro Taiyo
- 1970 - Mejiro Asama
- 1971 - Tomei
- 1972 - Yamanin Wave
- 1973 - Tani no Chikara
- 1974 - Kami no Tesio
- 1975 - Fujino Parthia
- 1976 - Eyeful
- 1977 - Hokuto Boy
- 1978 - Tenmei
- 1979 - Three Giants
- 1980 - Pretty Cast
- 1981 - Hoyo Boy
- 1982 - Mejiro Titan
- 1983 - Kyoei Promise
- 1984 - Mr. C. B.
- 1985 - Gallop Dyna
- 1986 - Sakura Yutaka O
- 1987 - Nippo Teio
- 1988 - Tamamo Cross
- 1989 - Super Creek
See also
References
- Netkeiba:[8][9]
- Racing Post:
- ^ "同一年度に本会が定める競走に優勝した馬に対する褒賞金交付基準" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Racing Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2025-09-18. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
- ^ ""Could not believe the finish time" Equinox in record-setting G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) | Horse Racing News". netkeiba. NET DREAMERS, Co., Ltd. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ^ "Tennō Shō". レーシング・アーカイヴ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-11-26.
- ^ "Past Winners". Ahonoora (in Kinyarwanda). Retrieved 2025-11-26.
- ^ JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association) Archived 2014-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association)". Archived from the original on 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association)". Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
- ^ "天皇賞(秋)". Netkeiba. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ "Tennō Shō (Autumn)". Netkeiba. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.