Daiwa El Cielo

  • Daiwa El Cielo
  • ダイワエルシエーロ
Daiwa El Cielo at 2004 Oka Sho paddock
SireSunday Silence[1]
GrandsireHalo[1]
DamLondon Bridge[1]
DamsireDr. Devious[1]
SexMare[1]
Foaled(2001-05-11)11 May 2001[1]
CountryJapan[1]
ColourBay[1]
BreederShimokawabe Ranch[1]
OwnerKeizo Oshiro[1]
Racing colours
TrainerKunihide Matsuda[1]
JockeyYuichi Fukunaga[2]
Record13: 5-1-1[2]
Earnings¥281,754,000[1]
Major wins
Last updated on 10 August 2026

Daiwa El Cielo (Japanese: ダイワエルシエーロ, Daiwa eru shiēro; foaled 11 May 2001) is a retired Japanese racehorse and broodmare.[1] She was a horse that famously won the 2004 Yushun Himba as the sixth favourite for the day.[3] She also won a few more graded stakes such as the Daily Hai Queen Cup, Keihan Hai, and closing out her career with a win at the Mermaid Stakes before safely retiring and moving on to broodmare duty.[4]

Background

Daiwa El Cielo was foaled out of London Bridge, who won the 1997 Fantasy Stakes and finished second behind Phalaenopsis at the 1998 Oka Sho.[5] Her dam herself was sired by Dr. Devious, the winner of the 1991 Dewhurst Stakes and 1992 Epsom Derby.[6] Meanwhile, the horse itself was sired by the 1989 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner who was the thirteen time Leading sire in Japan, Sunday Silence.[7]

She was owned by Keizo Oshiro, a horse owner who used Daiwa as his stable name.[8] Her name came from the combination of the stable name and also El Cielo – a Spanish phrase that loosely means heaven or sky.[9]

Racing career

2003: two-year-old season

Daiwa El Cielo made her debut on 28 December in the fifth race at the Hanshin Racecourse. She took the lead from the start and held off the rest of the field in the straight to win the race.[10]

2004: three-year-old season

The second race of her career would be the Kobai Stakes in January at the Kyoto Racecourse. In this race, she would be narrowly defeated at the finish line by Sweep Tosho and ended up in second place.[11] In the preparation leading up to her first-ever graded stakes race, the Queen Cup, Matsuda, who is her trainer, stated that he saw that the horse was capable of starting well from the gate and positioning herself on the front early.[12] This approach turned out well for her on the race day as she surged from fourth position to the lead in the straight to win the race by one-and-a-quarter lengths ahead of the second place finisher, Crystal Violet.[13] This race qualified her for her first classic race, the Oka Sho on 11 April.[14] Despite a good run at the start, she failed to impress and faded out as the race went on, finishing in seventh place, seven-and-three-quarters length behind Dance in the Mood.[15]

One month later, she would run at the second leg of the classic tiara race which was the Yushun Himba at the Tokyo Racecourse.[16] Before the race started, his main jockey, Yuichi Fukunaga stated that he decided to take a front-running strategy, let the horse go as it pleased and would try to win from the get go.[3] When the gates opened, Daiwa El Cielo started well from her gate and positioned herself behind the front-running horse of the day, Winglet. The race pace turned out to be slow, but it did not affect her running rhythm. Entering the backstretch, Winglet lost composure at the front and veered outwards, allowing Daiwa El Cielo to make a move for the race lead. Meanwhile, Sweep Tosho, who settled at the back, used the outside track and sped up in the final phase to cut the lead created by Daiwa El Cielo whilst Dance in The Mood struggled in the mid-pack but was able to follow up the move. Both horses closed in as much as they could, but they ran out of ground, which saw Daiwa El Cielo finished first and won by three-quarters of a length over Sweep Tosho, while Yamanin Alabaster succeeded in stealing the last podium places over Dance in the Mood in the dying seconds.[3][17] This was the first Yushun Himba victory for both Fukunaga and Matsuda in their career.[18]

She was rested and prepared for the second half of the season at the Rose Stakes in September. As usual, she tracked on the lead for the majority of the race but was unable to extend her advantage in the final phase, falling down the order in the straight and finishing in seventh place on the day.[19] Due to poor finishing, she skipped the final leg of the tiara race, Shuka Sho and opted for a comeback at the Keihan Hai in November. In this race, she took the lead from the start, pulled away from the rest of the field halfway down the straight, won by one-and-a-half lengths over Company and snatched her third graded race.[20] In the post-race, Fukunaga commented, "She ran at an easy pace and stretched out well to the finish. Last time she was a bit tense after a break, but today she was calm. She is a GI winner, after all. She showed her strength."[21] After this win, Matsuda sent her to close the season at the Hanshin Himba Stakes in December.[22] Daiwa El Cielo ran well in the front group at this race but she was overtaken by the eventual winner, Heavenly Romance and Meisho Butler, who both made their move in the final straight, and finished in third place.[23]

2005: four-year-old season

In January, the horse restarted her campaign in the new season at the Kyoto Kimpai. She led the race in the early phase before gassing out in the end and finished in ninth place.[24] At the end of the month, Matsuda tried to debut her at the dirt race, which turned out to be the JpnI Kawasaki Kinen where she would be starting from gate 10.[25] The same outcome happened again for the second successive races as she slowed down at the final straight and finished in sixth place despite taking an early lead.[26]

For the next two races, she would run at the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy in April and Aichi Hai in June. She flopped in both races, finishing in 16th place in those two.[27][28] One month later, she started early on the second half of the campaign, joining the Mermaid Stakes in July. When the race began, Daiwa El Cielo took the lead from the start and pulled away from the rest of the field. She briefly drew the others back between the third and fourth corners, then moved to the center of the track in the straight, easily shaking off the persistently chasing Meine Samantha and crossing the finish line first by one-and-three-quarters lengths.[29] After this race, she would be rested for the whole season and eventually retired from racing on 15 March 2006. Her racehorse registry would also be removed on the same day.[4]

Racing form

Daiwa El Cielo won five races and scored two podium finishes from 13 starts. This data is available based on JBIS and netkeiba.[30][2]

Date Racecourse Race Grade Distance
(Condition)		 Entry HN Odds
(Favored)		 Finish Time Margins Jockey Winner
(Runner-up)
2003 – two-year-old season
Dec 28 Hanshin 2yo Newcomer 1,600 m (Firm) 14 8 1.9 (1) 1st 1:37.8 –0.2 Yuichi Fukunaga (Meine Sorceress)
2004 – three-year-old season
Jan 18 Kyoto Kobai Stakes OP 1,400 m (Firm) 11 2 9.1 (3) 2nd 1:22.0 0.1 Yuichi Fukunaga Sweep Tosho
Feb 21 Tokyo Daily Hai Queen Cup GIII 1,600 m (Firm) 16 9 2.3 (1) 1st 1:34.3 –0.2 Yuichi Fukunaga (Crystal Violet)
Apr 11 Hanshin Oka Sho GI 1,600 m (Firm) 18 18 9.5 (5) 7th 1:34.7 1.1 Yuichi Fukunaga Dance in the Mood
May 23 Tokyo Yushun Himba GI 2,400 m (Good) 18 13 21.4 (6) 1st 2:27.2 –0.1 Yuichi Fukunaga (Sweep Tosho)
Sep 19 Hanshin Rose Stakes GII 2,000 m (Firm) 12 10 2.5 (1) 7th 1:59.7 0.7 Yuichi Fukunaga Les Clefs d'Or
Nov 27 Kyoto Keihan Hai GIII 1,800 m (Firm) 17 12 16.9 (8) 1st 1:46.3 –0.2 Yuichi Fukunaga (Company)
Dec 19 Hanshin Hanshin Himba Stakes GII 1,600 m (Firm) 16 16 4.5 (2) 3rd 1:34.2 0.2 Yuichi Fukunaga Heavenly Romance
2005 – four-year-old season
Jan 5 Kyoto Kyoto Kimpai GIII 1,600 m (Firm) 16 7 5.7 (2) 9th 1:34.6 0.6 Yuichi Fukunaga Hat Trick
Jan 26 Kawasaki Kawasaki Kinen JpnI 2,100 m (Muddy) 12 10 0.0 (2) 6th 2:15.8 1.6 Yuichi Fukunaga Time Paradox
Apr 3 Nakayama Lord Derby Challenge Trophy GIII 1,600 m (Firm) 16 3 7.1 (5) 16th 1:34.5 2.2 Yuichi Fukunaga Daiwa Major
Jun 5 Chukyo Aichi Hai GIII 2,000 m (Firm) 18 15 10.5 (5) 16th 2:03.1 1.8 Koshiro Take Meine Sorceress
Jul 10 Hanshin Mermaid Stakes GIII 2,000 m (Good) 9 6 4.5 (2) 1st 2:00.5 –0.3 Yuichi Fukunaga (Meine Samantha)

Legend:
  Turf   Dirt

Broodmare career

She became a broodmare at her birthplace, Shimokawabe Ranch, from 2007 until her retirement in 2022.[4] She was sent to Shimokawa Farm and lived out the rest of her life alongside her dam, London Bridge.[31][32]

During her broodmare period, she produced nine foals:[33]

  • Daiwa Hermosa, bay filly, foaled in 2007, by Brian's Time, 0 wins in 6 starts, broodmare.[34]
  • Unnamed colt, 2008, by Jungle Pocket.[35]
  • Speir, bay filly, 2013, by Jungle Pocket, broodmare.[36]
  • Casa del Cielo, dark bay filly, 2015, by Lord Kanaloa, 2 wins in 21 starts, broodmare.[37]
  • Haurvatat, dark bay filly, 2016, by Lord Kanaloa, 2 wins in 18 starts, broodmare.[38]
  • Lonsdale Belt, bay colt, 2017, by Lord Kanaloa, 3 wins in 13 starts, retired.[39]
  • Pleasant London, bay filly, 2020, by Lord Kanaloa, 3 wins in 24 starts, broodmare.[40]
  • Ho O Amoureuse, chestnut filly, 2021, by Rey de Oro, 1 win in 22 starts, retired.[41]
  • Thriving Road, chestnut filly, 2022, by Rey de Oro, 3 wins in 9 starts, active.[42]

Pedigree

Pedigree of Daiwa El Cielo (JPN), bay filly, 2001[43][44]
Sire
Sunday Silence (USA)
1986		 Halo (USA)
1969		 Hail to Reason Turn-To
Nothirdchance
Cosmah Cosmic Bomb
Almahmoud
Wishing Well (USA)
1975		 Understanding Promised Land
Pretty Ways
Mountain Flower Montparnasse
Edel Weiss
Dam
London Bridge (JPN)
1995		 Dr. Devious (IRE)
1989		 Ahonoora Lorenzaccio
Helen Nichols
Rose of Jericho Alleged
Rose Red
All for London (USA)
1982		 Danzig Northern Dancer
Pas de Nom
Full Card Damascus
Belle of the Ball (Family 22-b)[43]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ダイワエルシエーロ [Daiwa El Cielo]. www.jbis.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Daiwa El Cielo Race Record and Form | Horse Profile". netkeiba. NET DREAMERS, Co., Ltd. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 【追憶のオークス】04年ダイワエルシエーロ　圧倒的人気馬を破った福永祐一の驚くべき作戦と騎乗 [[Memories of the Oaks] 2004 Daiwa El Cielo: Yuichi Fukunaga's amazing strategy and riding that defeated the overwhelming favorite.]. スポニチ競馬Web (in Japanese). 17 May 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 ダイワエルシエーロ引退 [Daiwa El Cielo retires]. ラジオNIKKEI (in Japanese). 15 March 2006. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  5. ↑ ロンドンブリッジ [London Bridge (JPN)]. www.jbis.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  6. ↑ ドクターデヴィアス (IRE) [Dr. Devious (IRE)]. www.jbis.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  7. ↑ サンデーサイレンス (USA) [Sunday Silence (USA)]. www.jbis.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  8. ↑ 大城敬三のプロフィール [Keizo Oshiro’s Profile]. netkeiba (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  9. ↑ ダイワエルシエーロ [Daiwa El Cielo (JPN)]. sp.jra.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  10. ↑ 【新馬戦】（阪神５Ｒ）〜良血ダイワエルシエーロ人気に応える [[Newcomer Race] (Hanshin Race 5) - Well-bred Daiwa El Cielo lives up to expectations]. ラジオNIKKEI (in Japanese). 28 December 2003. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  11. ↑ 紅梅S、スイープトウショウが貫禄勝ち [Sweep Tosho wins the Kobai Stakes convincingly.]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 18 January 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  12. ↑ 【クイーンＣ】栗東レポート〜ダイワエルシエーロ [[Queen Cup] Ritto Report ~ Daiwa El Cielo]. ラジオNIKKEI (in Japanese). 20 February 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  13. ↑ クイーンC、ダイワエルシエーロが快勝 [Daiwa El Cielo wins the Queen Cup convincingly.]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 21 February 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  14. ↑ 【桜花賞】（４月１１日）登録馬〜出走馬決定順も [[Oka Sho (Japanese Oaks)] (April 11th) Registered horses - Order of entry also]. ラジオNIKKEI (in Japanese). 28 March 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  15. ↑ 桜花賞、全着順 [Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), all finishing positions]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 11 April 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  16. ↑ 【オークス】登録馬〜桜花賞馬ダンスインザムードなど２０頭 [[Oaks] Registered horses - including Oka Sho winner Dance in the Mood and 20 others]. ラジオNIKKEI (in Japanese). 9 May 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  17. ↑ 【オークス（GI）】（東京）〜ダンスインザムード2冠ならず、ダイワエルシエーロが逃げ切りV [[Oaks (GI)] (Tokyo) - Dance in the Mood fails to achieve a second Triple Crown, Daiwa El Cielo wins by leading from start to finish.]. ラジオNIKKEI (in Japanese). 23 May 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  18. ↑ オークス、ダイワエルシエーロ快勝 [Oaks: Daiwa El Cielo wins convincingly]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 23 May 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  19. ↑ ローズS、レクレドール快勝 [Rose Stakes, Le Clefs d'Or wins convincingly.]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 19 September 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "京阪杯、ダイワエルシエーロ逃げ切り" [Daiwa El Cielo wins the Keihan Cup by leading from start to finish.]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 27 November 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  21. ↑ 【京阪杯】（京都）〜レース後のコメント [[Keihan Cup] (Kyoto) - Post-race comments]. ラジオNIKKEI (in Japanese). 27 November 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "【阪神牝馬Ｓ】（日曜阪神）〜前日オッズ" [[Hanshin Fillies' Stakes] (Sunday Hanshin) - Pre-race odds]. ラジオNIKKEI (in Japanese). 18 December 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  23. ↑ 阪神牝馬S、ヘヴンリーロマンス快勝 [Heavenly Romance wins the Hanshin Fillies' Stakes convincingly.]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 19 December 2004. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  24. ↑ ハットトリック、大外一気で重賞初制覇 [Hat-trick, a powerful surge from the outside to win his first graded stakes race.]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 5 January 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  25. ↑ 川崎記念、ダイワエルシエーロ7枠10番 [Kawasaki Memorial, Daiwa El Cielo, stable 7, gate 10.]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 23 January 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  26. ↑ 川崎記念、タイムパラドックス快勝 [Kawasaki Memorial, Time Paradox wins convincingly.]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 26 January 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  27. ↑ ダービー卿CT全着順、払戻金 [Lord Derby CT full results and payouts]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 3 April 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  28. ↑ 愛知杯全着順、払戻金 [Aichi Cup: Full results and payouts]. netkeiba (in Japanese). 5 June 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  29. ↑ 【マーメイドＳ（GIII）】（阪神）〜ダイワエルシエーロ 格の違い見せて完勝 [[Mermaid Stakes (GIII)] (Hanshin) - Daiwa El Cielo shows its class and wins convincingly.]. ラジオNIKKEI (in Japanese). 10 July 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  30. ↑ "Race Records | Daiwa el Cielo (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  31. ↑ @Shi_mo_ko_be (October 11, 2022). ダイワエルシエーロは繁殖を引退してお母さんのロンドンブリッジと同じ放牧地で過ごすことになりました [Daiwa El Cielo has retired from breeding and is now spending her days in the same pasture as her mother, London Bridge] (Tweet) (in Japanese) – via Twitter.
  32. ↑ 功労馬 | ダイワエルシエーロ [Distinguished Racehorse | Daiwa El Cielo]. meiba.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  33. ↑ "Family | Daiwa el Cielo (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  34. ↑ "Daiwa Hermosa (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  35. ↑ "__________________". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  36. ↑ "Speir (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  37. ↑ "Casa del Cielo (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  38. ↑ "Haurvatat (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  39. ↑ "Lonsdale Belt (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  40. ↑ "Pleasant London (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  41. ↑ "Ho O Amoureuse (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  42. ↑ "Thriving Road (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
  43. 1 2 3 "Five-generation Pedigree Table | Pedigree | Daiwa el Cielo (JPN)". www.jbis.jp. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  44. 1 2 3 "Daiwa el Cielo Pedigree". netkeiba. Retrieved 2026-08-12.
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