Tennō Shō (Autumn)

Tennō Shō (Autumn)
Equinox winning the 168th Tennō Shō
ClassInt'l Grade 1
LocationTokyo Racecourse, Fuchu, Tokyo
InauguratedDecember 3, 1937
Race typeThoroughbred
Websitejapanracing.jp
Race information
Distance2000 meters
(About 10 furlongs / 1+1⁄4 miles)
SurfaceTurf
TrackLeft-handed
Qualification3-y-o & Up, Thoroughbreds
Weight3-y-o 56 kg \ 4-y-o & up 58 kg
Allowances
2 kg for fillies and mares
Purse¥ 648,000,000 (as of 2025)
  • 1st: ¥ 300,000,000
  • 2nd: ¥ 120,000,000
  • 3rd: ¥ 75,000,000
BonusesWinner of the following in the same year:
Tenno Sho (Autumn), Japan Cup, Arima Kinen[1]
Domestic: ¥ 300,000,000
International: ¥ 150,000,000
Winner of any three of the following in the same year:
Ōsaka Hai, Tenno Sho (Spring/Autumn), Japan Cup, Takarazuka Kinen, Arima Kinen
Domestic: ¥ 200,000,000
International: ¥ 100,000,000

The Tennō Shō (Autumn) (天皇賞（秋）; lit. 'Emperor Prize (Autumn)') is an International Grade I horse race held at Tokyo Racecourse, Japan in late October or early November. It is run over a distance of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) on turf. It is considered the first leg of the Japanese Autumn Triple Crown, the other two being the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen.

Originally, the Autumn Tennō Shō was run over a distance of 3,200 metres (10,500 ft), but was shortened to its current distance in 1984 to promote middle-distance horses and to promote 3-year-old horses as a shorter-distance alternative to the Kikuka Sho, the Japanese St. Leger, which is 3,000 metres (9,800 ft).

History

Early years

One of the origin of the Tennō Shō is The Emperor's Cup first contested at Negishi Racecourse in 1905, prized from the Emperor for the winner, and later renamed as Teishitsu Goshōten until 1937. Another origin is Yushō Naikokusanba Rengō Kyōsō run over 3,200 metres, held twice a year between 1911 and 1937 to determine the best horse of the year. The Tennō Shō was established in 1937 to unify these prestigious races under the name of the Emperor, and therefore it is regarded as the most prestigious horse race in Japan since then.

Prior to 1980, a horse winning a Tennō Shō was not allowed to participate in future editions of the race again, but this ban was lifted in 1981.[2]

Contrary to the Tennō Shō (Spring) held at Kyoto Racecourse, that has only one mare winner Leda in 1953, there are 10 mare winners at the Tennō Shō (Autumn) when its distance was 3,200 metres until 1983; Hisatomo (1938), Nipatois (1942), Yashima Daughter (1950), Queen Narubi (1953), Opal Orchid (1954), Cellulose (1958), Garnet (1959), Kurihide (1962), Tomei (1971) and Pretty Cast (1980) are the mare winners of this race.

Recent years

In 1984, the Japan Racing Association introduced Group races into their big races, and Tennō Shō is designated as Grade 1 (domestic grade at that time). At the same time the distance of the Tennō Shō (Autumn) was shortened from 3,200 metres to 2,000 metres, while the Tennō Shō (Spring) held at Kyoto Racecourse remained its distance as 3,200 metres, thus the Tennō Shō (Autumn) has changed its characteristics to determine best middle-distance horse, while Tennō Shō (Spring) remained its characteristics to determine best stayer.

Prior to 2000, the participants of the Tennō Shō was limited to the horses born and trained in Japan. In 2000, maximum of two foreign-bred horses trained in Japan acquired the rights to participate the race[3], and then became an international horse race in 2005[4], maximum of five foreign-trained horses can run the race. In 2008, the race also became open to geldings.

Since the distance of the race was shortened to 2,000 metres in 1984, there are five mare winners at the Tennō Shō (Autumn); Air Groove (1997), Heavenly Romance (2005), Vodka (2008), Buena Vista (2010) and Almond Eye (2019 and 2020) are the mare winners of this race.

The current record holder for this race is Equinox who set up a time of 1:55.2 in 2023, beating previous record holder Tosen Jordan by point nine seconds.[5]

Mirco Demuro dismounted from Eishin Flash, then kneeled and performed a profound bow to the Emperor and the Empress after winning the 2012 Tennō Shō (Autumn)

The Tennō Shō (Autumn) was held in the Emperor's presence three times, in 2005, 2012 and 2023. Winning jockey in 2005 (Mikio Matsunaga, riding on Heavenly Romance) and 2023 (Christophe Lemaire, riding on Equinox) made profound obeisance to the Emperor and the Empress riding on the winner, and in 2012, Mirco Demuro kneeled and performed a profound bow to the Emperor and the Empress after dismounting from the winner Eishin Flash.

Trial races

Trial races provide automatic berths to the winning horses.[6]

Race Grade Racecourse Distance Condition
Sankei Sho All Comers GII Nakayama 2,200 metres Winner
Mainichi Okan GII Tokyo 1,800 metres Winner
Kyoto Daishoten GII Kyoto 2,400 metres Winner

Winners since 1984

Year
 Winner
 Age
 Jockey
 Trainer
 Owner
 Time
1984 Mr. C.B. 4 Masato Yoshinaga Yasuhisa Matsuyama Chigira Bokujo 1:59.3
1985 Gallop Dyna 5 Yasuhiro Nemoto Susumu Yano Shadai Racehorse 1:58.7
1986 Sakura Yutaka O 4 Futoshi Kojima Katsutaro Sakai Sakura Commerce 1:58.3
1987 Nippo Teio 4 Hiroyuki Gohara Kinzo Kubota Yuichi Yamaishi 1:59.7
1988 Tamamo Cross 4 Katsumi Minai Isami Obara Tamamo Co., Ltd. 1:58.8
1989 Super Creek 4 Yutaka Take Shuji Ito Makoto Kikura 1:59.1
1990 Yaeno Muteki 5 Yukio Okabe Mitsuo Ogino Fuji Ltd. 1:58.2
1991 Prekrasnie [1] 4 Teruo Eda Terumaso Yano Eijiro Tajima 2:03.9
1992 Let's Go Tarquin 5 Shoichi Osaki Kojiro Hashiguchi Diners Club Japan 1:58.6
1993 Yamanin Zephyr 4 Yoshitomi Shibata Hironori Kurita Hajime Doi 1:58.9
1994 Nehai Caesar 4 Katsumi Shiomura Akira Huse Daimaru Enterprise 1:58.6
1995 Sakura Chitose O 5 Futoshi Kojima Katsutaro Sakai Sakura Commerce 1:58.8
1996 Bubble Gum Fellow 3 Masayoshi Ebina Kazuo Fujisawa Shadai Racehorse 1:58.7
1997 Air Groove 4 Yutaka Take Yuji Ito Lucky Field Co Ltd 1:59.0
1998 Offside Trap 7 Yoshitomi Shibata Shuho Kato Takashi Watanabe 1:59.3
1999 Special Week 4 Yutaka Take Toshiaki Shirai Hiroyoshi Usuda 1:58.0
2000 T. M. Opera O 4 Ryuji Wada Ichizo Iwamoto Masatsugu Takezono 1:59.9
2001 Agnes Digital 4 Hirofumi Shii Toshiaki Shirai Takao Watanabe 2:02.0
2002 Symboli Kris S [2] 3 Yukio Okabe Kazuo Fujisawa Symboli Stud 1:58.5
2003 Symboli Kris S 4 Olivier Peslier Kazuo Fujisawa Symboli Stud 1:58.0
2004 Zenno Rob Roy 4 Olivier Peslier Kazuo Fujisawa Shinobu Osako 1:58.9
2005 Heavenly Romance 5 Mikio Matsunaga Masashi Yamamoto North Hills Management 2:00.1
2006 Daiwa Major 5 Katsumi Ando Hiroyuki Uehara Keizou Ooshiro 1:58.8
2007 Meisho Samson 4 Yutaka Take Shigetada Takahashi Yoshio Matsumoto 1:58.4
2008 Vodka 4 Yutaka Take Katsuhiko Sumii Yuzo Tanimizu 1:57.2
2009 Company [3] 8 Norihiro Yokoyama Hidetaka Otonashi Eiko Kondou 1:57.2
2010 Buena Vista 4 Christophe Soumillon Hiroyoshi Matsuda Sunday Racing Co Ltd 1:58.2
2011 Tosen Jordan 5 Nicola Pinna Yasutoshi Ikee Takaya Shimakawa 1:56.1
2012 Eishin Flash 5 Mirco Demuro Hideaki Fujiwara Toyomitsu Hirai 1:57.3
2013 Just A Way 4 Yuichi Fukunaga Naosuke Sugai Akatsuki Yamatoya 1:57.5
2014 Spielberg 5 Hiroshi Kitamura Kazuo Fujisawa Hidetoshi Yamamoto 1:59.7
2015 Lovely Day 5 Suguru Hamanaka Yasutoshi Ikee Kaneko Makoto Holdings 1:58.4
2016 Maurice 5 Ryan Moore Noriyuki Hori Kazumi Yoshida 1:59.3
2017 Kitasan Black 5 Yutaka Take Hisashi Shimizu Ono Shoji 2:08.3
2018 Rey de Oro 4 Christophe Lemaire Kazuo Fujisawa U Carrot Farm 1:56.8
2019 Almond Eye 4 Christophe Lemaire Sakae Kunieda Silk Racing 1:56.2
2020 Almond Eye 5 Christophe Lemaire Sakae Kunieda Silk Racing 1:57.8
2021 Efforia 3 Takeshi Yokoyama Yuichi Shikato Carrot Farm 1:57.9
2022 Equinox 3 Christophe Lemaire Tetsuya Kimura Silk Racing 1:57.5
2023 Equinox 4 Christophe Lemaire Tetsuya Kimura Silk Racing 1:55.2
2024 Do Deuce 5 Yutaka Take Yasuo Tomomichi Kieffers Co. Ltd. 1:57.3
2025 Masquerade Ball 3 Christophe Lemaire Takahisa Tezuka Shadai Race Horse Co. Ltd. 1:58.6

1 Mejiro McQueen finished first in 1991 but was demoted to last place following a Stewards' Inquiry.

2 The 2002 Autumn Tennō Shō was contested at Nakayama Racecourse, due to construction at Tokyo Racecourse.

3 Also Japanese record of flat racing for oldest horse winning first G1 race.

Earlier winners

Source:[7][8]

  • 1937 – Happy Might
  • 1938 - Hisatomo
  • 1939 - Tetsumon
  • 1940 – Rocky Mor[9]
  • 1941 - Estates
  • 1942 - Nipatois
  • 1943 - Kuri Hikari
  • 1944 - No race
  • 1945 - No race
  • 1946 - No race
  • 1947 - Toyo Ume
  • 1948 - Katsu Fuji
  • 1949 - Newford
  • 1950 - Yashima Daughter
  • 1951 - Hatakaze
  • 1952 - Track O
  • 1953 - Queen Narubi
  • 1954 - Opal Orchid[10]
  • 1955 - Dainana Hoshu
  • 1956 - Midfarm
  • 1957 - Hakuchikara
  • 1958 - Cellulose[11]
  • 1959 - Garnet
  • 1960 - Ote Mon
  • 1961 - Takamagahara
  • 1962 - Kurihide
  • 1963 - Ryu Forel
  • 1964 - Yamato Kyodai
  • 1965 - Shinzan
  • 1966 - Korehide
  • 1967 - Kabuto Ciro
  • 1968 - Knit Eight
  • 1969 - Mejiro Taiyo
  • 1970 - Mejiro Asama
  • 1971 - Tomei
  • 1972 - Yamanin Wave
  • 1973 - Tani no Chikara
  • 1974 - Kami no Tesio
  • 1975 - Fujino Parthia
  • 1976 - Eyeful
  • 1977 - Hokuto Boy
  • 1978 - Tenmei
  • 1979 - Three Giants
  • 1980 - Pretty Cast
  • 1981 - Hoyo Boy
  • 1982 - Mejiro Titan
  • 1983 - Kyoei Promise

See also

References

  1. ↑ "同一年度に本会が定める競走に優勝した馬に対する褒賞金交付基準" (PDF) (in Japanese). Japan Racing Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2025-09-18. Retrieved 2023-03-12.
  2. ↑ "2026年天皇賞（春）（GⅠ）　JRA". JRA. May 3, 2026. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  3. ↑ "2026年天皇賞（秋）（GⅠ）　JRA". JRA. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  4. ↑ "2026年天皇賞（秋）（GⅠ）　JRA". JRA. Retrieved June 18, 2026.
  5. ↑ ""Could not believe the finish time" Equinox in record-setting G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) | Horse Racing News". netkeiba. NET DREAMERS, Co., Ltd. 29 October 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "競馬番組一般事項(Horseracing Program General Information) - Page 22" (PDF). JRA. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Tennō Shō". レーシング・アーカイヴ (in Japanese). Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  8. ↑ "Past Winners". Ahonoora (in Kinyarwanda). Retrieved 2025-11-26.
  9. ↑ JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association) Archived 2014-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association)". Archived from the original on 2014-12-15. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  11. ↑ "JBIS Japan Bloodstock Information System (Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association)". Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2014-12-12.
  12. ↑ "天皇賞(秋)". Netkeiba. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  13. ↑ "Tennō Shō (Autumn)". Netkeiba. Archived from the original on 2023-12-21. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
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