Princely Gift Sire Line in Japan – Tesco Boy Sire Line
Posted in December 2022 – To be updated as needed (Latest update: December 2022)
- Princely Gift is a short-distance horse by Nasrullah.
Princely Gift went on to become a major stallion in Europe.
Princely Gift line was one of the main lines of Nasrullah line. - In 1968, Tesco Boy, a colt by Princely Gift, was imported to Japan and became a stallion.
Tesco Boy was very active and very successful in Japan in the 1970s. - The success of Tesco Boy led Japanese racehorse breeders to take a crazy action, what is sometimes called the “Princely Gift craziness”.
Due in part to the liberalization of stallion imports, Japanese breeders began importing stallions of the Princely Gift sire line one after another in order to obtain a second Tesco Boy or their own Tesco Boy.
The number of Princely Gift foals imported by Japan is 18, and if we include the grandfoals and great-grandfoals of Princely Gift, more than 20 stallions of the Princely Gift line have come to Japan. - Because of their actions, the Princely Gift line, which had been a major force in Europe during the 1960s and 1970s, was already on the verge of extinction by the 1980s.
The “Princely Gift craziness” of the Japanese was greatly disliked by the European horse racing community, and was almost a form of hate.
One of the reasons why Japan is derided as a graveyard of bloodlines is due to “Princely Gift craziness.
(Another reason is that the Never Say Die boom occurred in Japan and the Japanese breeders bought up many stallions of the Never Say Die line.)
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Apparently, there were also quite a few people in Japan at the time who accused people of buying up the Princely Gift line and the Never Say Die line.
But the voices of such people did not mean much.
There was probably some impatience with the liberalization of stallion imports and other measures that were making racehorse production less protected and more conscious of free capitalistic competition.
Also, Japan was the only country in Far East Asia that was active in racehorse production at that time, and there were not many countries in the neighborhood that produced racehorses.
Since there is no large framework such as Europe, North America, or South America, there is little land available and race tracks are standardized in Japan alone.
Therefore, a wide variety of stallions are unnecessary in Japan, and it is natural that only similar stallions are used.
Despite such circumstances, I feel that Japanese people’s awareness of preserving bloodlines and sirelines is low among developed horse racing countries, and it is natural in a sense that they are ridiculed as the graveyard of bloodlines. - Today, the sire line that continues from the Tesco Boy line is the oldest existing sire line in Japan.
It can be said that Japan is the only country where the Princely Gift line is still in place today.
(Perhaps there is a Princely Gift line remaining in South America that is connected to Adriatic, the leading sire in Uruguay.
However, Adriatic was born in 1972, and Adriatic’s foals were not very active as stallions, so there would be very few, if any, sire lines left.) - However, there used to be a large number of sires of the Princely Gift line in Japan, but now only Sakura Yutaka O – Sakura Bakushin O’s line is still alive.
Stallions active in 2022 were Sakura Zeus, Grand Prix Boss, Daishin Balkan, and Big Arthur.
Of these, only Big Arthur is in demand as a stallion and has been bred many times.
The survival of Princely Gift line, not only in Japan but in the world, now depends solely on Big Arthur. - ///Supplementary Information///
The Partholon line is older than the Tesco Boy line, but the Partholon line has less than 10 breedings per year.
(For this reason, the Tesco Boy line is often said to be the oldest in Japan.)
The Partholon line continues with two remaining stallions, Ginza Green Grass, by Mejiro McQueen, and Quite Fine, by Tokai Teio.
The reason why the Partholon line is still in existence may be due to the fact that Japan was ridiculed as a graveyard of bloodlines, which raised awareness for the survival of the sire line.
(Of course, it is also thanks to the popularity of Mejiro McQueen and Tokai Teio themselves.)
Quite Fine, in particular, has not only Symboli Rudolf and Tokai Teio but also Tosho Boy, Mr. C.B., and Shinzan in his pedigree list, making it possible to say that he is a horse with a pedigree that is the Japanese horse racing history, and I hope that the sire line will somehow be kept alive.
Tesco Boy sire line
- Tesco Boy is the culprit, in the best sense of the word, for causing “Princely Gift craziness” in Japan.
- There used to be two strong lines, Tosho Boy and Sakura Yutaka O, but now there is only Sakura Yutaka O line.
Sakura Yutaka O line remained because it became specialized in short-distance races.
Tesco Boy (by Princely Gift)
- Tesco Boy is a horse owned by Jack Cohen, founder of the British market chain company “Tesco.
He won the 1966 Queen Anne Stakes. - He was very successful as a stallion in Japan, becoming the leading sire in 1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979.
In addition, he was also JRA’s leading sire in 1980 and 1981. - He was a great stallion, but his stud fee was kept low.
Tesco Boy was called “お助けボーイ (Savior Boy / Helpful Boy)” and was like a god for breeders in the Hidaka region.
He died in 1987.
In honor of his great achievement, a statue of him was erected in a park in the Hidaka region. - In the past, it was often said that Tesco Boy’s weak point was that his chestnut foals were not successful.
It seems that his chestnut-haired foals were sometimes priced at a discount simply because they were chestnut-haired.
However, Sakura Yutaka O was successful, although he is chestnut hair.
(Sakura Yutaka O was also very disappointing when he was born because of the color of his hair.) - He was also a stallion in Ireland for only one year, sired by Super Honey, second in the British 1,000 Guineas, among others.
Super Honey won the Nell Gwyn Stakes, the G3 race, and besides Super Honey, there are two other Irish foals by Tesco Boy that have won the G3 races.
Therefore, it appears that there were negotiations to buy him back to Ireland from Japan.
If Tesco Boy had returned to Ireland, he might have produced foals that would have won the big races in Europe. - As a characteristic of the Tesco Boy line sires, both Tesco Boy and Sakura Yutaka O and Sakura Bakushin O have a rapidly declining fertilization rate in their later years.
- The following is a list of his foals that have won races that would later become G1 class races.
Land Prince, Kitano Kachidoki, Tesco Gaby, Raijin, Tosho Boy, Hokuto Boy, Inter Gushiken, Oyama Tesco, Horsemen, Tesco, Lindo Taiyo, Agnes Tesco, Hagino Kamui O, Sakura Yutaka O - Tosho Boy and Sakura Yutaka O are well known as his successors, but besides them, Kitano Kachidoki and Hokuto Boy did quite well as sires.
Tosho Boy (by Tesco Boy)
- Tosho Boy was called the Flying Horse when he was a racehorse and was a popular and talented star horse.
The rivalry between him and Ten Point excited many fans. - He was also a successful stallion and became one of the top stallions of the 1980s.
Tosho Boy, like Tesco Boy, was also called “お助けボーイ (Savior Boy / Helpful Boy)”, and was very useful to breeders in the Hidaka region. - His most famous foal is undoubtedly the Triple Crown winner, Mr. C.B.
In addition to Mr. C.B., Daizen King, Ara Hotoku, Passing Shot, Sakura Hokuto O, Daiichi Ruby, and Sister Tosho have won G1-class races.
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- He was a Triple Crown winner who became popular for his flamboyant racing style.
- He did reasonably well as a stallion, but never produced a foal that won a G1 race.
- It is a great shame that the flashy star horses sire line from Tosho Boy to Mr. C.B. has been discontinued.
- If Yamanin Global had not been injured, had a successful racing career, and had become an early stallion, the Tosho Boy line might have lasted a little longer.
Sakura Yutaka O (by Tesco Boy)
- Sakura Yutaka O often had poor leg condition, but showed great speed, breaking the Japanese record in two consecutive races.
As a stallion, he passed on his great speed to his foals. - His foals Sakura Bakushin O, Sakura Candle, Air Jihad, and Umeno Fiber have won G1 races.
Merci Taka O won a J・G1 steeplechase race. - He was valued as a very good stallion.
However, in 1998, his fertilization rate dropped dramatically.
In 1999 he was bred 89 times, the most in his life, but none of them were successful.
In 2000, he retired from stud after 17 breeding attempts without a single success.
Sakura Bakushin O (by Sakura Yutaka O)
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- Sakura Bakushin O had an excellent record in sprint races and worked as a stallion at the Shadai Stallion Station.
His foals were very successful in short-distance races. - His foals Shonan Kampf, Grand Prix Boss, and Big Arthur have won G1 races.
Blandices won J・G1 steeplechase races. - Like Tesco Boy and Sakura Yutaka O, Sakura Bakushin O also had a drastic decline in fertilization rate in 2011.
(Note that Sakura Bakushin O died during the 2011 breeding season.) - Big Arthur is his successor and, as mentioned above, is the only Princely Gift line stallion in the world to have sired many broodmares.
Of Big Arthur’s foals, Toshin Macau has won a G3 race.
- Sakura Bakushin O had an excellent record in sprint races and worked as a stallion at the Shadai Stallion Station.
Air Jihad (by Sakura Yutaka O)
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- Air Jihad can be said to have failed as a stallion, but he did produce the G1 winner Showa Modern.
Stallions of Princely Gift sire line that came to Japan other than Tesco Boy
Berber (by Princely Gift)
- Berber was a stallion that came to Japan before Tesco Boy began to show good results.
- He was a successful stallion.
His foals Kane Minobu won the Arima Kinen.
Faberge (by Princely Gift)
- Faberge was a successful stallion in Europe and then in Japan.
- His most famous European foals are Gay Lussac, winner of the Italian Derby, and Rheingold, winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Gay Lussac and Rheingold were also working in Europe as stallions, and Rheingold was particularly successful.
However, Gay Lussac and Rheingold were also bought by the Japanese and came to Japan.
In my opinion, as a Japanese, the purchase of them and bringing them to Japan was an outrageous act, and it is only natural for Europeans to have antipathy toward Japan. - Of his Japanese foals, Hard Berge won the Satsuki Sho and Victoria Crown won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
Hard Berge is mentioned briefly in the post about Star Roch.
Gay Lussac (by Faberge)
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- His foal Long Grace won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
Floribunda (by Princely Gift)
- Floribunda was a successful stallion in Europe and came to Japan in his later years.
None of his Japanese foals are very famous. - The stallions he left in Europe were successful as stallions for a while, but their power declined in the 1980s, partly due to the rise of Northern Dancer line.
- Adriatic, the leading sire in Uruguay as mentioned above, is a Floribunda line stallion.
Boysie Boy (by King’s Troop)
- Katsuragi Ace, the first Japanese horse to win the Japan Cup, is by him.
Many other Princely Gift line stallions also came to Japan.
The Japanese consumed them as if they were used and discarded.
It will be very difficult to achieve, but I hope that the Princely Gift line will spread from Japan to the rest of the world in the future.
Thank you so for much for all the sire line articles you’ve written, they’re extremely fascinating!
It’s always a sad thing to see an entire bloodline disappear, so I hope the Princely Gift and Partholon lines continue to survive into the future too.
Thank you for your comment.
The Partholon line is now rare worldwide as it is the Byerley Turk – Herod – Tourbillon sire line.
However, the number of breeding is 0 to 2 horses per year and it is too hopeless for the sire line to survive.