Details
| Name / Japanese | Deep Impact / ディープインパクト |
| Birth Year | 2002 |
| Sex | horse |
| Earnings | 1,454,551,000 yen |
| Races-Wins / G1-Wins | 14-12 / 9-7 |
| Sire | Sunday Silence |
| Dam (Sire) | Wind In Her Hair (Alzao) |
| Other site link | JBIS / Umanity / en.netkeiba |
| Awards | JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Colt (2005) JRA Award for Horse of the Year (2005, 2006) JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse (2006) Leading Sire in Japan (2012-2020) |
| Honours / Honors | Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame (2008) |
All G1 Races + grade races he won
| Y D/M | Track | Race | No. | Pl. |  |
| 2005 06/03 |
Nakayama T2000 |
Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho (G2) | 10 | 1 | G |
| 2005 17/04 | Nakayama T2000 | Satsuki Sho (G1) | 14 | 1 | ◆ |
| 2005 29/05 | Tokyo T2400 | Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1) | 5 | 1 | ◆ |
| 2005 25/09 |
Hanshin T2000 |
Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2) | 9 | 1 | G |
| 2005 23/10 | Kyoto T3000 | Kikuka Sho (G1) | 7 | 1 | ◆ |
| 2005 25/12 | Nakayama T2500 | Arima Kinen (G1) | 6 | 2 | ◆ |
| 2006 19/03 |
Hanshin T3000 |
Hanshin Daishoten (G2) | 2 | 1 | G |
| 2006 30/04 | Kyoto T3200 | Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1) | 7 | 1 | ◆ |
| 2006 25/06 | Kyoto T2200 | Takarazuka Kinen (G1) | 8 | 1 | ◆ |
| 2006 01/10 | Longchamp T2400 | Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) | 1 | DSQ | G |
| 2006 26/11 | Tokyo T2400 | Japan Cup (G1) | 6 | 1 | ◆ |
| 2006 24/12 | Nakayama T2500 | Arima Kinen (G1) | 4 | 1 | ◆ |
- In many races, he stayed off the pace and came from behind.
His jockey, Yutaka Take, said “I feel like he is flying rather than running”.
His amazing performance attracted many fans.
His finishing kick was something that overturned common sense.
Many people went to the racecourses to see him.
Even a person not interested in horse racing knew his name.
From the time of his debut, he was an astounding favorite, with his win ticket was by less than 1.3x in every Japanese race he ran.
He continued to make an impact on horse racing fans.
You can see how amazing his running is in the race videos.
- In the Satsuki Sho, the first classic race, he won by 2+1/2 lengths.
- In the Tokyo Yushun, the second classic race, he won by 5 lengths.
- In the Kikuka Sho, the third classic race, the win ticket of him was 1.0x, which means the money spent would be returned.
He won by 2 lengths.
He became a first triple crown horse since Narita Brian 11 years earlier.
Undefeated achievement was the first time in 21 years since Symboli Rudolf.
- In the Arima Kinen (2005), he couldn’t catch up with Heart’s Cry and finished 2nd.
It was his first loss.
- In the Tenno Sho (Spring), he was easy to win.
He showed a great performance as usual.
He broke the record time by 1 second. - In the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, many fans from Japan went to France to cheer him on.
He finished in third place.
However, he tested positive for ipratropium and was disqualified.
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Ipratropium was an available drug in Japan at the time.
Deep Impact had been coughing since September 13.
Ipratropium was used to treat bronchial tubes and was available in France.
But in France, it was forbidden to run a race with that component still on horse’s body.
The following year, it was also forbidden in Japan to run a race with that component still on horse’s body.
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The disqualification was controversial.
Criticisms gathered against JRA and his trainer.
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His trainer didn’t explain much after the problem was discovered.
Many people thought as if JRA did not work to get to the truth.
And there was criticism of JRA’s excessive favoritism toward Deep Impact.
Since JRA is also the gambling authority, some people thought that favoring one horse over another hindered fair gambling.
JRA had already erected a statue of Deep Impact at Tokyo Racecourse even before he won the Derby, and placed many advertisements in the mass media.
(However, the statue at that time was a mere facade, and a proper bronze statue was erected at Kyoto Racecourse after he won the Triple Crown.
It was after he had won the Triple Crown, but he was still active, so a few people thought it would be better to wait until after he retired.)
Before the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, JRA ran commercials with catchphrases such as “凱旋門に衝撃が走る (Arc de Triomphe is going to be shocked)” and “世界のディープを見逃すな (Don’t miss the world’s Deep)”.
These actions by JRA was perceived as giving him special treatment.
Even though it was not a banned drug in Japan at the time, the question of whether he has been drugged in other races in Japan remains a murky issue. - After that, he won the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen.
And he succeeded very well as a stallion.
Fortunately, his own honor was considerably restored.
Stud Career
- He was also very successful as a stallion.
He won the leading sire multiple times. - He has been the sire of more than 40 G1 horses and more than 120 Grade-Race-winners.
The numbers of victories by his crops has exceeded 2000. - Gentildonna, Satono Diamond, Fierement, Kizuna, Contrail and etc.
Tags: Derby Horse, Triple Crown, Turf