i'm really into horse racing, and i figured a sideblog would be the best way to post about it : )
i adore mares. especially regaleira. expect lots of yapping on here about nothing in particular on horse racing, me posting random regaleira fun facts, and celebrating mares.
currently on semi-hiatus~
due to school taking up most of my time, i don't have much time for archival work or writing. which i'm very sad about!!! i want to write!!! i want to research!!!! aaaaghhhhhhhhhh i'm so done with school
this will be a solo project because im VERY picky about how i label and organize, but i will take requests for mares or races to archive! (specifically jp, please! if i decide to do other countries' mares, that will be a very rare case and depends on whether i have the time and passion to do so). depending on my availability and how popular/documented a mare is, different mares will take longer. really depends. a mare like almond eye is heavily documented and will definitely take much longer compared to a mare like kurifuji or heavenly romance
ill post the link to the google drive when i have more than two mares archived : )
(also when i have time. i go to a very demanding school and barely have any free time)
The devaluation of fillies & mares (and filly & mare races) in thoroughbred horse racing in comparison to their colt & stallion peers is an extension of the same force of misogyny that affects human women, in sports & otherwise.
Almond Eye is still the only Japanese horse to have won nine G1 races. The only horses that come close are all tied at seven G1 races. There is an implied sentiment here that her nine G1 record is devalued due to four of those races being filly & mare-only races (the 2018 Triple Tiara and 2020 Victoria Mile), and discussion of her legacy has sprung up again following the recent 2025 Japan Cup.
Almond Eye is a racemare that has left her mark on the history of the Japan Cup, setting the record time for that race in 2018 with a 2:20.6 finish. This year, Calandagan (IRE) just barely beat that record with a 2:20.3 time, which is doubtlessly impressive. (Admire Terra, jockeyless and disqualified, has technically also beat this time this year, but cannot truly be compared, due to running the final stretch without the weight of an entire human being on his back.) However, that is still no reason to diminish Almond Eye's legacy. Even with the time record aside, notably, she still holds another Japan Cup record - being one of the only horses to have won it twice, in 2018 and 2020. The only other horse she's tied with? Gentildonna, another mare, having won the race in 2012 and 2013. Yet the running joke is still to laugh at Almond Eye for one fewer standing record from her illustrious career.
Time and time again has Japan shown us that fillies & mares can stand toe-to-toe (or, perhaps, hoof-to-hoof) with their male contemporaries. When will we learn to recognize this fact, as well as what the way we treat these equine athletes says about ourselves?
this is very true!!! mares are often overlooked, despite showing their prowess time and time again.
people tend to forget that the horse that currently holds the record for most g1s, IS A MARE. winx has 25 g1 victories to her name. when it comes to undefeated horses, who holds the top three spots? right. mares. kincsem undefeated in 54, black caviar undefeated in 25, and peppers pride 19. though not undefeated, i still feel zenyatta deserves a mention with her 19 wins out of 20 starts. another mare, honeysuckle, holds the record for g1s won in a row, at 11.
mares hold most of the records when it comes to g1s and wins. they deserve to be more respected in the horse racing sphere.
she currently holds the record for the hopeful stakes, at 2.00.2 ! she also beat agnes tachyon's time of 2.00.8 (being one of two to do so so far, the other being croix du nord with a time of 2.00.5, the year after regaleira's win ! (2024))
gorgeous girl. so pretty ! this is a picture of her during the hopeful stakes. the other horse pictured is shin emperor (^_^)
she's the only filly to have won a mixed 2yr old g1 race since tenmon in the asahi hai futurity stakes during 1980 ! wow ! what a strong mare ! she's so cool i love her...
she's also the only filly to have won the race since it became a mixed race for colts and fillies in 2000 (the same year tachyon ran!)
(Pictures from Netkeiba, info sourced primarily from Wikipedia)
gentildonna, regarded as one of japan's greatest mares. it's your birthday, isn't it ?
(2/ 20/ 2009 - 2/ 25/ 2025)
gentildonna won the fourth triple tiara in 2012, only a year after orfevre's triple crown win.
she was second favorite to verxina in the in the first leg of the triple tiara, the oka sho, but secured a win half a length ahead of her rival. she was third favorite in the second leg, the yushun himba (japanese oaks), with midsummer fair as the favorite and verxina as the second favorite. despite this, her odds were the best, and she took the second tiara with a five length lead, with verxina in second once again. in the last leg, the shuka sho, she was the favorite to win. she took the last tiara just a nose ahead of verxina, her fourth defeat over her rival.
her japan cup win is the other important part of her career. she was the first three year old filly to ever win the race, and she won it a by a nose, ahead of orfevre. she proceeded to win it the next year as well, becoming the first horse to win it twice. if you notice her death date, she died on the day she first won the japan cup, the 25th of november.
her last race, similar to orfevre, was the arima kinen. she may not have claimed it in such a spectacular fashion, as the margin for her win was only 3/4 of a length, but she claimed her last win over verxina, who had placed 14th, and beat horses like gold ship, just a way, epiphaneia, fenomeno, and win variation. her retirement ceremony was right after this win, at nakayama racecourse, the course where she had just run.
she finished her career with 7 g1 wins, and a form of 10 wins to 19 starts (19-10-4-1).
she has multiple awards, being: japanese horse of the year (2012, 2015), best 3yr old filly (2012), and best older filly or mare (2014,2015). she's also in the jra hall of fame.
she had a few progeny, with her most notable being geraldina. geraldina's sire is maurice, a g1 winner with many jra awards to his name. she won the queen elizabeth ii cup (2022), the sankei sho all comers (2022, g2), and placed third in the arima kinen (2022).
despite her reputation, she was an extremely sweet horse off the track. during her time as a broodmare, she was always sweet and protective towards her foals. during her retirement ceremony, they wanted to show her sweet side by having her wear a pink hat and pink halter. how cute !
rest easy, sweet girl. happy birthday.
(pictures from netkeiba, info found primarily on netkeiba and wikipedia.)
