Kitasan Black

Foaled on 10 March 2012, Kitasan Black was bred in Hokkaido by Yanagawa Bokujo. He was a notably large Thoroughbred, weighing as much as 540 kilograms during his racing career, and his bay coat was marked by a narrow white blaze.

He came from the third crop of Black Tide, a son of Sunday Silence and Wind in Her Hair. His dam, Sugar Heart, was by Sakura Bakushin O out of Otome Gokoro. Other successful runners from his immediate family include Shonan Bach, winner of the 2015 November Stakes; Everyone Black, winner of the 2021 Amanogawa Stakes; and Sugar Kun, who captured the Grade 2 Aoba Sho in 2024.

Kitasan Black raced for Ono Shoji, the company associated with entertainer Saburo Kitajima. Hisashi Shimizu trained him throughout his career from the Ritto training centre, handling him for all 20 of his starts.

Kitasan Black opened his four-year-old campaign with a second-place finish to Ambitious in the Grade 2 Osaka Hai at Hanshin. His next start brought a more important breakthrough. Ridden by Yutaka Take in the 3,200-metre Tenno Sho (Spring) at Kyoto, he defeated Curren Mirotic to earn his second Grade 1 victory.

That success established that his Kikuka Sho had not been merely a peak among three-year-olds. He had carried his form into Japan’s all-aged program and won one of its most demanding championships.

He finished third behind Marialite in the Takarazuka Kinen, then began his autumn campaign by winning the Grade 2 Kyoto Daishoten over 2,400 metres. That result set up the central achievement of his four-year-old season: the Japan Cup at Tokyo.

Facing 16 opponents over 2,400 metres, Kitasan Black defeated Sounds of Earth, with Cheval Grand also among the field. The Japan Cup placed one of Japan’s leading international races alongside his classic and Tenno Sho successes, demonstrating that his elite form extended from long-distance racing at Kyoto to a major championship over Tokyo’s 2,400 metres.

He returned to Nakayama for the Arima Kinen and improved upon his third place of the previous year, finishing second to Satono Diamond. Across six starts in 2016, Kitasan Black won the Tenno Sho (Spring), Kyoto Daishoten and Japan Cup while placing in the Osaka Hai, Takarazuka Kinen and Arima Kinen.

Kitasan Black’s five-year-old season was both his last and his most productive at the highest level. He began by winning the Osaka Hai at Hanshin, defeating Staphanos over 2,000 metres. The race had been a Grade 2 contest when he finished second in it a year earlier; in 2017 he captured it as a Grade 1.

Four weeks later he returned to Kyoto for the Tenno Sho (Spring). Facing a field that included Cheval Grand and Satono Diamond, he successfully defended his title by beating Cheval Grand over 3,200 metres. The victory made him a dual winner of the spring championship and gave him consecutive Grade 1 successes to open the season.

That sequence ended abruptly in the Takarazuka Kinen. Kitasan Black finished ninth of 11 behind Satono Crown, his first result outside the top three since the 2015 Japanese Derby. It created a sharp division between the spring and autumn portions of his final campaign.

He rebounded in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), contested over 2,000 metres on heavy turf at Tokyo. By defeating Satono Crown, he added the autumn race to his two spring victories and became a three-time Tenno Sho winner. The achievement was especially distinctive because it combined two successes over 3,200 metres at Kyoto with another over 2,000 metres at Tokyo under markedly different conditions.

Kitasan Black then finished third behind Cheval Grand in the Japan Cup before making his final appearance in the Arima Kinen at Nakayama on 24 December. His previous runs in the race had traced a steady progression—third in 2015 and second in 2016. At five, he completed that sequence by defeating Queens Ring over 2,500 metres.

The Arima Kinen was his fourth Grade 1 victory of 2017 and the 12th win of his career. More than another major prize, it gave his racing record a conclusive ending: his final start was also his first victory in a race in which he had placed in each of his previous two seasons.

Kitasan Black’s achievements were built around unusually consistent connections. Yanagawa Bokujo bred him, Ono Shoji owned him throughout his track career and Hisashi Shimizu trained him for every start. Ono Shoji’s association with Saburo Kitajima also linked the horse’s public identity with one of Japan’s prominent entertainers, while the company remained his registered owner.

Hiroshi Kitamura rode Kitasan Black through much of his three-year-old campaign, partnering him in the Spring Stakes, St Lite Kinen and Kikuka Sho. Yutaka Take became his regular jockey from 2016 onward and rode him in all six of his subsequent Grade 1 victories: the two Tenno Sho (Spring) wins, Japan Cup, Osaka Hai, Tenno Sho (Autumn) and Arima Kinen.

His overall record demonstrates sustained consistency across three seasons. Kitasan Black won 12 races, finished second twice and third four times, placing in the first three in 18 of his 20 starts. His two unplaced finishes—the 2015 Japanese Derby and 2017 Takarazuka Kinen—were each followed by a Grade 1 victory in his next appearance.

The range of those results was equally notable. His Grade 1 wins extended from 2,000 to 3,200 metres and were achieved at Tokyo, Kyoto, Hanshin and Nakayama. He won major races at three, four and five, with his largest annual Grade 1 total coming in the final season of his career.

• Kitasan Black — netkeiba
• Kitasan Black — JBIS-Search
• Kitasan Black — Wikipedia
• 2015 Spring Stakes — netkeiba
• 2015 Satsuki Sho — netkeiba
• 2015 Tokyo Yushun — netkeiba
• 2015 St Lite Kinen — netkeiba
• 2015 Kikuka Sho — netkeiba
• 2016 Tenno Sho (Spring) — netkeiba
• 2016 Japan Cup — netkeiba
• 2017 Osaka Hai — netkeiba
• 2017 Tenno Sho (Spring) — netkeiba
• 2017 Tenno Sho (Autumn) — netkeiba
• 2017 Arima Kinen — netkeiba
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/201505010105/
• https://en.netkeiba.com/db/race/201505010807/