Kiseki

Bred by Shimokobe Farm, Kiseki is by Rulership out of Blitz Finale, a daughter of Deep Impact. His pedigree therefore brings together prominent strands of modern Japanese breeding: Rulership as his sire and the influence of Deep Impact through his dam.

Blitz Finale also produced a successful immediate family. Kiseki’s siblings include Big Ribbon, winner of the 2023 Mermaid Stakes at Group 3 level, as well as Phantom Gray and Humming, both winners in allowance company. Kiseki’s own Kikuka Sho success made him the family’s male Group 1 and Classic winner.

He raced for owner Tatsue Ishikawa and was trained from Ritto by Yasuyuki Tsujino. Several leading jockeys partnered him during his long career, with Mirco Demuro aboard for the sequence that culminated in his Classic victory and Yuga Kawada riding him through a particularly consistent run in major races during 2018 and 2019.

Kiseki made a winning start at Hanshin on 11 December 2016. Ridden by Christophe Lemaire, he took an 1,800-metre turf race on good ground, defeating Granny’s Chips in an eight-runner field.

His first months at three were less straightforward. He finished fifth behind Daiwa Cagney in the Saintpaulia Sho at Tokyo in January 2017, then stepped up to 2,200 metres for the Sumire Stakes at Hanshin, where he was third behind Clincher. Returning to 1,800 metres in the Group 3 Mainichi Hai, he again finished third, this time behind Al Ain.

Those efforts established him as a capable colt without yet producing a major success. His season changed in the summer as he moved to 2,000 metres. With Yuichi Fukunaga riding, Kiseki won an allowance race at Chukyo on 15 July, beating Suzuka Deep. Three weeks later, partnered by Mirco Demuro, he followed up in the Shinanogawa Tokubetsu at Niigata, defeating Black Platinum.

The two victories provided a platform for a return to graded company. In September, Kiseki contested the Group 2 Kobe Shimbun Hai over 2,400 metres at Hanshin. He finished second in a field of 14, beaten by Rey de Oro, but the performance confirmed his ability over an extended trip and set up the defining race of his career.

Kiseki’s strongest performance of that campaign came in the Japan Cup at Tokyo on 25 November. Ridden by Yuga Kawada, he finished second to Almond Eye over 2,400 metres, ahead of a field that also included Cheval Grand, Sounds of Earth, Satono Diamond and Satono Crown.

The result carried particular weight because it showed that his Classic success over 3,000 metres did not define the limits of his ability. A year after winning a heavy-ground stamina test at Kyoto, he was runner-up in one of Japan’s premier international races over 2,400 metres on good turf. He closed the season by finishing fifth behind Blast Onepiece in the Arima Kinen.

Kiseki remained a major-race contender in 2019. In March he finished second to Al Ain in the Osaka Hai over 2,000 metres at Hanshin. He then took another Group 1 second in the Takarazuka Kinen, where Lys Gracieux defeated him over 2,200 metres.

The 2020 Takarazuka Kinen produced another notable Group 1 placing. Ridden by Yutaka Take, Kiseki finished second to Chrono Genesis in an 18-runner field over 2,200 metres on good-to-soft ground. It was his second consecutive runner-up finish in the race, following his second to Lys Gracieux in 2019 and improving markedly on his eighth-place result in 2018.

Later that year he was second to Glory Vase in the Group 2 Kyoto Daishoten, fifth behind Almond Eye in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), eighth in the Japan Cup and 12th behind Chrono Genesis in the Arima Kinen.

His 2021 campaign again ranged across major Japanese and international races. He finished fifth in the Kinko Sho before travelling to Sha Tin for the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, where he was fourth of seven behind Loves Only You. Back in Japan, he placed fifth in another Takarazuka Kinen and then finished third behind Makahiki in the Group 2 Kyoto Daishoten at Hanshin.

Kiseki’s final recorded appearances came in two of Japan’s signature year-end races. He finished tenth behind Contrail in the 2021 Japan Cup and tenth behind Efforia in the Arima Kinen. By then, his career had stretched from a juvenile victory in December 2016 through five seasons of Group-level competition.

Kiseki’s record was built across a broad range of middle and long distances. His principal victory came over 3,000 metres on heavy ground, while his most important placings included Group 1 seconds over 2,000, 2,200 and 2,400 metres. He also contested the 3,200-metre Tenno Sho (Spring), giving his career a distance range that extended from major 2,000-metre races to Japan’s longest leading turf events.

The sequence surrounding his Kikuka Sho victory remains the clearest expression of his development. Two summer allowance wins were followed by second place to Rey de Oro in the Kobe Shimbun Hai and then success over Clincher in the Classic. His subsequent record showed that the victory was not an isolated high point: he returned season after season to compete in the Japan Cup, Arima Kinen, Tenno Sho and Takarazuka Kinen, while also racing at Sha Tin and Longchamp.

Now retired from racing, Kiseki stands as a stallion. His sporting legacy rests first on his Kikuka Sho, a Group 1 Classic won over a demanding 3,000 metres, but his longevity is also central to his profile. He earned ¥701.40 million in JRA competition and remained competitive against successive groups of elite horses, finishing behind champions such as Almond Eye, Lys Gracieux and Chrono Genesis while repeatedly securing major placings of his own.

That combination distinguishes him within his generation: a Classic-winning stayer who also performed at the highest level over shorter middle-distance trips, travelled internationally, and continued racing through the end of his seven-year-old season. His pedigree and later role as a stallion carry the influence of a durable Group 1 performer from the racecourse into breeding.

• netkeiba horse profile and pedigree
• 2017 Kobe Shimbun Hai result
• 2017 Kikuka Sho result
• 2018 Japan Cup result
• 2019 Osaka Hai result
• 2019 Takarazuka Kinen result
• 2020 Takarazuka Kinen result
• 2021 Japan Cup result
• 2021 Arima Kinen result
• Meaning and uses of “Kiseki”
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/201609050405/
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/201705010209/
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/201709010209/
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/201709020111/
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/201707030508/
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/201704020310/