Rice Shower

The Kikuka Sho at Kyoto on 8 November 1992 was run over 3,000 metres, making it the longest of Japan’s three colts’ Classics. Mihono Bourbon was heavily favoured to complete the Triple Crown, while Rice Shower went into the race as the distant second favourite.

Ridden by H. Matoba, Rice Shower defeated Mihono Bourbon and ended the previously unbeaten colt’s attempt to sweep the Classics. The victory was a major upset, but it also revealed the quality that would define Rice Shower’s career. After finishing second over 2,200 and 2,400 metres, he improved again when asked to compete over 3,000.

The Kikuka Sho gave him his first Grade 1 title and fixed his place in the history of his generation. His victory became inseparable from the achievement he had prevented: he was remembered not simply as a Classic winner, but as the horse who denied Mihono Bourbon the Triple Crown.

Rice Shower ended the year with an eighth-place finish in the Arima Kinen over 2,500 metres. His greatest opportunities, however, still lay ahead in Japan’s premier staying races.

Rice Shower raced only three times in 1994. He finished fifth in the Kyoto Kinen, staged that year at Hanshin, and then returned to Nakayama to finish second in the Nikkei Sho. After a long absence, he reappeared in the Arima Kinen on 25 December and placed third in a field of 13.

That Grade 1 placing was an important sign of continuing competitiveness after a season without a victory. It also provided a foundation for one final campaign.

The opening races of 1995 did not immediately produce a return to Rice Shower’s best form. He finished sixth in the Kyoto Kinen over 2,200 metres and sixth again in the Nikkei Sho over 2,500 metres on heavy ground. His next start, however, brought him back to the course, race and distance most closely associated with his greatest strength.

Rice Shower’s record traces a clear progression from early speed tests to long-distance distinction. His first victory came over 1,000 metres and his second over 1,600, but his three principal Grade 1 wins were achieved over 3,000 or 3,200 metres. He also finished second in the 2,400-metre Japanese Derby and recorded prominent placings in important races between 2,200 and 2,500 metres.

Jockey H. Matoba was the central riding figure in Rice Shower’s career. Matoba rode him in the Japanese Derby, the Kikuka Sho, both Tenno Sho (Spring) victories and most of his later major engagements. Their partnership produced the performances that defined Rice Shower’s reputation: a Classic victory over 3,000 metres and two editions of Japan’s premier 3,200-metre championship.

The contrast between Rice Shower’s results at different distances was particularly striking. He could compete at a high level over intermediate trips, as demonstrated by his Derby second and Arima Kinen third, but his greatest victories came when stamina became decisive. His three Grade 1 successes were all recorded at Kyoto, another recurring feature of his career.

Following the 1995 Tenno Sho (Spring), retirement was considered, but Rice Shower remained strongly supported by the public and was voted the leading selection for the Takarazuka Kinen. In the aftermath of the Hanshin earthquake, the race was transferred from Hanshin to Kyoto—the course where he had won all three of his Grade 1 races.

The Takarazuka Kinen was run over 2,200 metres on 4 June 1995. During the race, Rice Shower suffered a fatal fracture and was euthanised on the course. He was six years old.

His death brought an abrupt end to a career of 25 starts, six victories, five seconds and two thirds. Later in 1995, he received a JRA Special Award, following a season in which he had regained the Tenno Sho (Spring) before his fatal final appearance.

Rice Shower’s competitive legacy rests above all on three races. In the 1992 Kikuka Sho he stopped Mihono Bourbon’s Triple Crown attempt; in the 1993 Tenno Sho (Spring) he confirmed his standing among Japan’s elite stayers; and in 1995 he reclaimed that championship by the smallest possible margin. Those victories placed him at the centre of several defining moments in early-1990s Japanese racing, while the public vote that sent him to his final Takarazuka Kinen reflected the strong following he had developed.