Katsuragi Ace

Katsuragi Ace was a dark bay Japanese stallion of the classic 1980 crop, foaled on 24 April 1980. He was by Boysie Boy out of Tanino Venture, a daughter of Venture, and was bred by Nishino Hanako. Racing in the colours of I. Node and trained at Ritto by Kazumi Domon, he developed into a high-class middle-to-long-distance performer whose best season made him one of the standout older horses in Japan.

His race record shows 22 starts and 10 wins, with JRA earnings listed at ¥372.50 million. Katsuragi Ace came from a family that also included Rabbit Ball, Namura Ace, and French Rouge, and his pedigree combined imported European influence through Boysie Boy and Venture with a Japanese racing career built entirely at home. That background helps explain the strong staying and middle-distance profile he showed at the top level.

The peak of his career came in 1984. That year he compiled a sequence of major wins that included the Sankei Osaka Hai, Keihan Hai, Takarazuka Kinen, Mainichi Okan, and, most memorably, the Japan Cup. In the 1984 Japan Cup at Tokyo over 2400 metres, ridden by K. Nishiura, Katsuragi Ace won as the 10th favourite, a result that stands out both for the calibre of the race and for the upset nature of the victory. He followed that with another excellent performance when second in the Arima Kinen over 2500 metres, having also finished fifth in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) earlier that same autumn campaign.

That 1984 season secured his place in Japanese racing history. The Japan Cup was already an international target, and Katsuragi Ace's victory gave him lasting distinction as a domestic star capable of prevailing on that stage. His season was recognized with the JRA Award for Best Older Male Horse, reflecting how thoroughly he established himself among the leading runners in training.

After retirement, Katsuragi Ace entered stud. His sire record, as summarized in the research, lists 580 progeny and 171 JRA wins, giving him a substantial aftercareers footprint even if his greatest fame rests on the racecourse. He died on 3 July 2000, but his name remains closely tied to that dramatic 1984 campaign and especially to his Japan Cup triumph.

Sources

• netkeiba profile
• JBIS horse page
• Wikipedia: Katsuragi Ace