Curren Chan was one of Japan’s standout sprint mares of the late 2000s and early 2010s, a gray daughter of Kurofune out of Spring Ticket, by Tony Bin. Foaled on 31 March 2007 and bred by Shadai Farm, she raced in the colors of Takashi Suzuki and was trained at Ritto by Takayuki Yasuda. Bought for ¥26.25 million at the 2007 Select Sale, she developed into a high-class specialist over short distances and retired with a record of 18 starts for 9 wins, 3 seconds and 1 third, along with earnings of ¥449,061,000.
Her pedigree combined speed and quality. Kurofune was a major influence in Japan, while Spring Ticket contributed a productive female line that also produced Spring Song, winner of the 2010 Keihan Hai (G3). Curren Chan’s family therefore had proven sprinting depth, and she became its best standard-bearer on the biggest stage.
Curren Chan’s peak came in 2011, when she rose to the top of the sprint division. That season she won the Hanshin Himba Stakes, Hakodate Sprint Stakes, Keeneland Cup, and then captured the Sprinters Stakes, her signature Group 1 success. Her performances earned her the 2011 JRA Award for Best Sprinter or Miler, confirming her as the leading short-distance horse in Japan that year.
She remained at the top in 2012, adding another major victory in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. The awards data in the supplied research reflects just how highly she was regarded across these seasons: she was recognized as JRA Best Sprinter or Miler in 2011, and the archive material also credits her with a 2012 end-of-year honor. Taken together, those accolades underline her unusual status as a mare who could dominate an elite sprint division in consecutive campaigns.
In retirement, Curren Chan is remembered as a Shadai Farm-bred gray mare who turned a strong pedigree into top-level performance. Her career arc was compact but brilliant: purchased as a yearling, developed patiently by Yasuda, and elevated into a Group 1-winning champion sprinter. Among Japanese mares of her era, she holds a secure place as a fast, durable, and decorated performer at six furlongs.
Sources
