Oguri Cap
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| Oguri Cap | |
|---|---|
 Oguri Cap in retirement in 1995 | |
| Sire | Dancing Cap |
| Grandsire | Native Dancer |
| Dam | White Narubi |
| Damsire | Silver Shark |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 27 March 1985 |
| Died | 3 July 2010 (aged 25) |
| Country |  Japan |
| Colour | Gray |
| Breeder | Inaba Bokujō |
| Owner | Koichi Oguri → Isoo Sahashi → Toshinori Kondo |
| Trainer | Masao Sumi → Tsutomu Setoguchi |
| Record | 32: 22-6-1 NAR: 12: 10-2-0 JRA: 20: 12-4-1 |
| Earnings | ¥ 912,512,000 |
| Major wins | |
| Takamatsunomiya Hai (1988) New Zealand Trophy (1988) Mainichi Okan (1988, 1989) Arima Kinen (1988, 1990) Mile Championship (1989) Yasuda Kinen (1990) | |
| Awards | |
| JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt (1988) JRA Special Award (1989) JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse (1990) NAR Grand Prix Special Award (1990) Japanese Horse of the Year (1990) | |
| Honours | |
| Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame (1991) | |
Oguri Cap (Japanese : オグリキャップ, 27 March 1985 – 3 July 2010) was a Japanese thoroughbred racehorse and stud, sired by Dancing Cap.[1] Oguri Cap was inducted into the Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame in 1991. A horse from the countryside who found success at the national level, he was known as a member of the "Heisei Big Three", a trio of racehorses who reignited interest in horse racing in Japan alongside Super Creek and Inari One.
Popularity
[edit | edit source]Oguri Cap had a major impact on the sky Japanese horse-racing scene, thanks in no small part to his humble beginnings.
Due to starting his career in regional races, his move to the National scene came too late for him to be registered for the 1988 season of the Japanese Classic races, specifically the Satsuki Shō, the Tōkyō Yūshun (Japanese Derby) and the Kikuka Shō, collectively called the "Japanese Triple Crown". However, as Oguri Cap continued to win race after race, there was a popular outcry to allow him to participate in the classics despite missing the deadline. While the Japan Racing Association stood firm against allowing Oguri to participate, they did soon after change their rules to be less strict on registration, allowing late entries and even foreign-born horses to run in the classics, though with a hefty fee attached.[2] One of the beneficiaries of this new rule was T. M. Opera O.
Oguri Cap was extremely popular with fans, earning the nickname "Idol Horse", thanks to drawing crowds who watched the races for more than just race-betting, and was one of the first racehorses to have plush dolls made in his image, a form of merchandise that is now commonplace.[2]
Racing career
[edit | edit source]In May 1987, Oguri Cap made his debut at Kasamatsu Racecourse in Gifu Prefecture. After winning 9 starts in 11 races, including 7 consecutive victories and 4 stakes wins, he was transferred to the ownership of Chuo Horse Racing in January 1988. He recorded 13 more wins, including 4 Grade I stakes, 4 Grade II stakes, and 4 Grade III stakes. Some of his biggest wins included the 1989 Mile Championship (GI), two-time wins in the Arima Kinen (Grand Prix) (GI), and a win in the 1990 Yasuda Kinen (GI). He also won the New Zealand Trophy (GII), the Takamatsunomiya Hai (GII) and won the Mainichi Ōkan (GII) twice.
Oguri Cap was known for his rivalry with fellow gray-haired horse of the year Tamamo Cross, with whom he fought three times at the 1988 Tenno Sho (Autumn), Japan Cup, and Arima Kinen.
In 1988, Oguri Cap won the JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt and in 1990, he won both the JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse and Japanese Horse of the Year. His nicknames included "Oguri" and the "Gray-Haired Monster".
Racing statistics
[edit | edit source]In total, Oguri Cap raced 32 races in his career, with 22 wins and 4 Grade I victories.[3][4]
| Date | Distance | Race | Class | Track | Field | Finish | Winning Time |
Winner (2nd Place) |
Jockey | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 – Two-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| May 19, 1987 | 800 m | 2YO Maiden | Kasamatsu | 10 | 2nd | 0:50.1 | March Tosho | Tatsuhiko Aoki | ||||
| Jun 2, 1987 | 800 m | Two-year-old | Kasamatsu | 7 | 1st | 0:51.1 | (North Hero) | Kazunari Takahashi | ||||
| Jun 15, 1987 | 800 m | Two-year-old | Kasamatsu | 9 | 1st | 0:49.8 | (Fate Charles) | Tatsuhiko Aoki | ||||
| Jul 26, 1987 | 800 m | Two-year-old | Kasamatsu | 7 | 2nd | 0:50.3 | March Tosho | Kazunari Takahashi | ||||
| Aug 12, 1987 | 800 m | Two-year-old | Kasamatsu | 8 | 1st | 0:49.7 | (March Tosho) | Kazunari Takahashi | ||||
| Aug 30, 1987 | 1400 m | Akikaze Junior | Kasamatsu | 10 | 1st | 1:30.3 | (March Tosho) | Katsumi Ando | ||||
| Oct 4, 1987 | 1400 m | Junior Crown | Kasamatsu | 9 | 1st | 1:29.4 | (March Tosho) | Katsumi Ando | ||||
| Oct 14, 1987 | 1200 m | Chukyo Hai | Chukyo | 12 | 1st | 1:10.8 | (Ardent Love) | Katsumi Ando | ||||
| Nov 4, 1987 | 1400 m | Chunichi Sports Hai | Nagoya | 12 | 1st | 1:29.8 | (Hallow Princess) | Katsumi Ando | ||||
| Dec 7, 1987 | 1600 m | 3YO+ Tokubetsu | Kasamatsu | 10 | 1st | 1:44.4 | (Young Oja) | Katsumi Ando | ||||
| Dec 29, 1987 | 1600 m | Junior Grand Prix | Kasamatsu | 10 | 1st | 1:45.0 | (Tokai Shark) | Katsumi Ando | ||||
| 1988 – Three-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| Jan 19, 1988 | 1600 m | Gold Junior | Kasamatsu | 10 | 1st | 1:41.8 | (March Tosho) | Katsumi Ando | ||||
| Mar 6, 1988 | 1600 m | Pegasus Stakes | GIII | Hanshin | 10 | 1st | 1:35.6 | (Rugger Black) | Hiroshi Kawachi | |||
| Mar 27, 1988 | 2000 m | Mainichi Hai | GIII | Hanshin | 10 | 1st | 2:04.8 | (Foundry Dictor) | Hiroshi Kawachi | |||
| May 8, 1988 | 2000 m | Kyoto 4YO Tokubetsu | GIII | Kyoto | 15 | 1st | 2:03.6 | (Koei Spurt) | Katsumi Minai | |||
| Jun 5, 1988 | 1600 m | New Zealand Trophy | GII | Tokyo | 13 | 1st | 1:34.0 | (Lindo Hoshi) | Hiroshi Kawachi | |||
| Jul 10, 1988 | 2000 m | Takamatsunomiya Hai | GII | Chukyo | 8 | 1st | 1:59.0 | (Land Hiryu) | Hiroshi Kawachi | |||
| Oct 9, 1988 | 1800 m | Mainichi Okan | GII | Tokyo | 11 | 1st | 1:49.2 | (Sirius Symboli) | Hiroshi Kawachi | |||
| Oct 30, 1988 | 2000 m | Tenno Sho (Autumn) | GI | Tokyo | 13 | 2nd | 1:59.0 | Tamamo Cross | Hiroshi Kawachi | |||
| Nov 27, 1988 | 2400 m | Japan Cup | GI | Tokyo | 14 | 3rd | 2:25.8 | Pay the Butler | Hiroshi Kawachi | |||
| Dec 25, 1988 | 2500 m | Arima Kinen | GI | Nakayama | 13 | 1st | 2:33.9 | (Tamamo Cross) | Yukio Okabe | |||
| 1989 – Four-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| Sep 17, 1989 | 2200 m | Sankei Sho All Comers | GIII | Nakayama | 13 | 1st | 2:12.4 | (All Dash) | Katsumi Minai | |||
| Oct 8, 1989 | 1800 m | Mainichi Okan | GII | Tokyo | 8 | 1st | 1:46.7 | (Inari One) | Katsumi Minai | |||
| Oct 29, 1989 | 2000 m | Tenno Sho (Autumn) | GI | Tokyo | 14 | 2nd | 1:59.1 | Super Creek | Katsumi Minai | |||
| Nov 19, 1989 | 1600 m | Mile Championship | GI | Kyoto | 17 | 1st | 1:34.6 | (Bamboo Memory) | Katsumi Minai | |||
| Nov 26, 1989 | 2400 m | Japan Cup | GI | Tokyo | 15 | 2nd | 2:22.2 | Horlicks | Katsumi Minai | |||
| Dec 24, 1989 | 2500 m | Arima Kinen | GI | Nakayama | 16 | 5th | 2:32.5 | Inari One | Katsumi Minai | |||
| 1990 – Five-year-old season | ||||||||||||
| May 13, 1990 | 1600 m | Yasuda Kinen | GI | Tokyo | 16 | 1st | 1:32.4 | (Yaeno Muteki) | Yutaka Take | |||
| Jun 10, 1990 | 2200 m | Takarazuka Kinen | GI | Hanshin | 10 | 2nd | 2:14.6 | Osaichi George | Junichiro Oka | |||
| Oct 28, 1990 | 2000 m | Tenno Sho (Autumn) | GI | Tokyo | 18 | 6th | 1:58.9 | Yaeno Muteki | Sueo Masuzawa | |||
| Nov 25, 1990 | 2400 m | Japan Cup | GI | Tokyo | 15 | 11th | 2:24.1 | Better Loosen Up | Sueo Masuzawa | |||
| Dec 23, 1990 | 2500 m | Arima Kinen | GI | Nakayama | 16 | 1st | 2:34.2 | (Mejiro Ryan) | Yutaka Take | |||
Turf
Dirt
Retirement
[edit | edit source]After retirement in 1991, Oguri Cap was sent to the Yushun Stallion Station to stand stud. He was not able to produce any racers of his caliber, and in 2007 he was retired from stud duty. After retirement, he lived as a pensioned stallion at the Yushun Stallion Station. On July 3, 2010, he fractured one of the tibias in his legs in an apparent pasture accident, and was subsequently euthanized.[5]
Legacy
[edit | edit source]A life-sized statue of Oguri Cap was erected at the Yushun Memorial Park in Niikappu, Hokkaido one year after the horse's death.[6][7]
In addition, another Oguri Cap statue was erected at Kasamatsu Racecourse and later refreshed in 2019.[8]
Popular culture
[edit | edit source]An anthropomorphized version of Oguri Cap has made an appearance as a playable character in the video game franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby voiced by Tomoyo Takayanagi.[9]
Oguri Cap's real-life career would later be dramatized in Umamusume's spin-off manga series Uma Musume Cinderella Gray. Produced by Junnosuke Itō, written by Masafumi Sugiura and illustrated by Taiyō Kuzumi, Cinderella Gray began serializing in Shueisha's Weekly Young Jump on June 11, 2020 with the first collected tankōbon volume published on January 19, 2021.[10][11] As of September 2025[update], twenty-one volumes have been released.[12] It received an anime adaptation on 2025, airing on two split cours.[13] The first season, focused on Oguri Cap's debut at the Kasamatsu racecourse in 1987 to the 1988 Autumn Tenno Sho, aired from April 6 to June 29, 2025 with the second cour premiering on October 5, 2025.[14]
In the manga and anime series Nichijou, the character Mai Minakami owns a dog named Oguri Cap.[15]
Pedigree
[edit | edit source]Through Never Say Die, Oguri Cap is a descendant of War Admiral and Man o' War.
| Sire Dancing Cap (USA) (1968) |
Native Dancer (1950) |
Polynesian (1942) |
Unbreakable (1935) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Polly (1936) | |||
| Geisha (1943) |
Discovery (1931) | ||
| Miyako (1935) | |||
| Merry Madcap (GB) (1962) |
Grey Sovereign (1948) |
Nasrullah (1940) | |
| Kong (1933) | |||
| Croft Lady (IRE) (1958) |
Golden Cloud (GB) (1941) | ||
| Land of Hope (GB) (1950) | |||
| Dam White Narubi (JPN) (1974) |
Silver Shark (IRE) (1963) |
Buisson Ardent (FR) (1953) |
Relic (USA) (1945) |
| Rose o'Lynn (IRE) (1944) | |||
| Palsaka (GB) (1954) |
Palestine (1947) | ||
| Masaka (IRE) (1945) | |||
| Never Narubi (1969) |
Never Beat (GB) (1960) |
Never Say Die (USA) (1951) | |
| Bride Elect (1952) | |||
| Senju (1963) |
Guersant (FR) (1949) | ||
| Star Narubi (1957) (Family 7-d)[18] |
See also
[edit | edit source]References
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