Details
| Name / Japanese | Rice Shower / ライスシャワー |
| Birth Year | 1989 |
| Sex | male |
| Earnings | 729,497,200 yen |
| Races-Win / G1-Win | 25-6 / 11-3 |
| Sire | Real Shadai |
| Dam (Sire) | Lilac Point (Maruzensky) |
| Other site link | JBIS / Umanity / en.netkeiba |
| Awards | JRA Special Award (1995) |
All G1 races
| Y D/M |
Track | Race | No. | Pl. |  |
| 1992 19/04 |
Nakayama T2000 |
Satsuki Sho (G1) | 9 | 8 | ◆ |
| 1992 31/05 |
Tokyo T2400 |
Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1) | 13 | 2 | ◆ |
| 1992 08/11 |
Kyoto T3000 |
Kikuka Sho (G1) | 8 | 1 | ◆ |
| 1992 27/12 |
Nakayama T2500 |
Arima Kinen (G1) | 16 | 8 | ◆ |
| 1993 25/04 |
Kyoto T3200 |
Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1) | 3 | 1 | ◆ |
| 1993 31/10 |
Tokyo T2000 |
Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) | 1 | 6 | ◆ |
| 1993 28/11 |
Tokyo T2400 |
Japan Cup (G1) | 1 | 14 | ◆ |
| 1993 26/12 |
Nakayama T2500 |
Arima Kinen (G1) | 6 | 8 | ◆ |
| 1994 25/12 |
Nakayama T2500 |
Arima Kinen (G1) | 10 | 3 | ◆ |
| 1995 23/04 |
Kyoto T3200 |
Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1) | 3 | 1 | ◆ |
| 1995 04/06 |
Kyoto T2200 |
Takarazuka Kinen (G1) | 16 |
- In the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), the second classic race, he finished 2nd.
Mihono Bourbon showed a perfect race and became an undefeated Double Crown horse. - Before the Kikuka Sho, the third classic race, a lot of people wanted Mihono Bourbon to win and become a Triple Crown horse.
In the race, Rice Shower passed Mihono Bourbon in the home stretch and won.
He broke the record time.
There was no applause and a strange atmosphere at the racecourse as most of the crowd was hoping for a victory for Mihono Bourbon. - Before the Tenno Sho (Spring, 1993), a lot of people wanted Mejiro McQueen to win the Tenno Sho (Spring) three times in a row.
(No horse has won the same G1 race three times in a row.)
In the race, Mihono Bourbon’s jockey, Hitoshi Matoba, marked Mejiro McQueen.
He passed Mejiro McQueen in the home stretch and won by 2.5 lengths.
He broke the record time.
//
The TV broadcast commentator called him “関東の刺客 (Kanto no Shikaku)”.
“関東 (Kanto)” means “Kanto region”. (Wikipedia)
“刺客 (Shikaku)” means “Assassin, Killer or Hitman”
“関東の刺客 (Kanto no Shikaku)” means “Assassin from Kanto, Assasin of Kanto”.
- He was treated as if he was a villain, just like his grand-sire Roberto because he thwarted Mihono Bourbon’s Triple Crown and Mejiro McQueen’s feats.
(Of course there were quite a few people who liked him.)
His jockey later wrote in his book that it was not pleasant to be called such as “Assassin from east” or “Mark man”.
///
— His grand-sire, Roberto —
Roberto won the Epsom Derby (Derby Stakes).
But his connections have changed his main jockey, who suffered a minor injury from a fallen horse 11 days ago.
The doctor had also diagnosed that there was nothing wrong with the ride on the day of the Derby, so Roberto and his connections were treated like villains.
It is said that when Roberto won the derby, there was no applause.
///
Roberto was also the only horse to defeat Britain’s national hero, Brigadier Gerard.
Brigadier Gerard was undefeated in 15 races at the time, and the British people were expecting him to win the race as it would equal to the record held by the Italian horse Ribot.
Roberto broke Brigadier Gerard’s winning streak, making him the villain.
///
On a completely different subject, Blame, the only horse to beat Zenyatta, is his great-grand-crop.
Blame may be taken a little bit like a villain in terms of the meaning of the name.
— End — - After that, rice Shower was unable to win for a while.
- In the Tenno Sho (Spring, 1995), he was in good shape.
He showed motivation 800m before the finish-line, so his jockey thought the chances of winning would be slightly higher if he did this way.
His jockey made a movement 800m before the finish-line.
He won the race by 10cm.
And it was his first win in two years.
He finally started to get popular by coming out of a slump. - Takarazuka Kinen is a race in which the top-ranked horses are voted on by the fans and given priority to run in the race.
After coming back from the brink and winning, he began to gain popularity among the fans and was voted number one in the fan votes.
His connections decided to run in the Takarazuka Kinen,
because- He was ranked first in the fan votes.
- Due to the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the race was to be held at his favorite track, Kyoto Racecourse.
- He needed a victory of middle distance race in order to be considered a good quality stallion.
- In the race, his jockey felt strange about him on the first corner.
His jockey gave up on winning and decided to run slowly.
At the third corner he made his own decision to go faster, but soon afterwards he fell.
The rescue team couldn’t even carry him because he had an open dislocation and a crush fracture.
The curtains were drawn up on the place and he was euthanized in them.
His jockey worshiped and saw his corpse carried away.
After his death
- JRA Special Award was given to him.
- His popularity was greatly enhanced by his death.
Until then, he was treated as a villain, but in many media, he was treated like as a hero.
This caused some fans to heavily criticize the stables and jockeys.
Some criticized the fact that he was suddenly treated as a hero, a complete change from what he had been before. - A stone monument was erected at the Kyoto Racecourse in memory of his death.
Many people still make offerings of flowers, carrots, apples, etc.
(quoted: jra.go.jp
url: http://www.jra.go.jp/facilities/race/kyoto/rcmap/ ) - Nowadays, some people call him “the Last Stayer” because of the decline in the prestige of long-distance racing and the quality of stayers.
- His catchphrase on the JRA’s poster for the biography of heroes was, “淀を愛した、孤高のステイヤー (A Solitary Stayer who loved Yodo).
Yodo is the name of the place where Kyoto Racecourse is located, and an alternative name for Kyoto Racecourse.
(JRA Hero Biography No.39)
Tags: Turf