Samson Big was a bay Japanese stallion of the 1990s, foaled on 14 April 1991 and bred by Samson Bokujo. He raced in the colors of Yoshiko Tanaka and was trained from Ritto by Yukiharu Shikato, building a solid career on the JRA circuit. Although not a prolific winner by raw totals, he stayed active long enough to compile 35 starts, 4 wins, and JRA earnings of ¥109.35 million.
His background tied him closely to his breeder, being by Sakura Shori out of Shunichi Okan, with Floribunda as his damsire. The available record also lists siblings including Samson Esse, Samson White, and Samson Grant, placing him within a named family developed by Samson Bokujo. In public record terms, that pedigree gives Samson Big a clear place in a homebred Japanese program of the era.
The standout achievement of Samson Big's racing life came in 1994, when he captured the Kisaragi Sho (NHK Sho), a Grade 3 success that marked him as a graded stakes winner. That win remains the defining highlight of his résumé and the main reason he is remembered in the archive today. For a horse who made only four visits to the winner's circle, landing a recognized graded race gave his career a distinction that went beyond simple win totals.
More broadly, Samson Big's record suggests the kind of tough, durable campaigner often seen in Japanese racing in the period: a horse kept in training, able to earn well, and capable of reaching a meaningful stakes-level peak. His ¥109.35 million in JRA earnings reflect that usefulness and consistency across a substantial body of work, even if the surviving summary does not detail every placing or season-by-season turn in his form.
He is recorded as retired, with no later death date supplied in the available evidence. Even so, Samson Big's place in the historical record is secure as a graded-winning son of Sakura Shori, campaigned by Yoshiko Tanaka and trained by Yukiharu Shikato, whose 1994 Kisaragi Sho victory stands as the signature moment of his career.
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