The Kawasaki Kinen (Kawasaki Memorial) (川崎記念) is a Japanese thoroughbred horse race on dirt track for horses aged four years or older. It was graded as a domestic grade 1 race in 1998. It is held in early April, so it is the first (domestic) grade 1 race in Japanese horseracing season. Its name "Kawasaki" comes from that of the racecourse, Kawasaki Racecourse, which in turn is named after the city that it is situated in; Kawasaki city in Kanagawa prefecture.

Kawasaki Kinen
Domestic Grade I (JpnI) race
2020 Kawasaki Kinen winner, Chuwa Wizard
LocationKawasaki Racecourse, Kawasaki, Kanagawa
Inaugurated1951
Race typeThoroughbred flat racing
Race information
Distance2,100 meters (About 10and1/2 furlongs)
SurfaceDirt
TrackLeft-handed
Qualification4-y-o & up
Weight4-y-o horses & geldings 56kg/mares 54kg/5-y-o & up horses & geldings 57kg / mares 55 kg
Purse¥170,000,000 (as of 2024)
1st: ¥ 100,000,000

2nd: ¥ 35,000,000

3rd: ¥ 20,000,000

This race was formerly regarded as a preparation race for the Dubai World Cup, along with the February Stakes. Although some past winners (such as Smart Falcon [ja] and Vermilion) ran the Dubai World Cup after winning this race, only Ushba Tesoro won both the Kawasaki Kinen and the Dubai World Cup. But in 2024, the race schedule was moved from January to April, losing the race's status as a preparation race for the Dubai World Cup and February Stakes.[1]

Records

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Most successful horses (3 wins):

  • Countess Up – 1985, 1986, 1987
  • Hokko Tarumae – 2014, 2015, 2016

Other repeat winners (2 wins):

  • Ichi Kanto – 1958, 1959
  • Gold Spencer – 1980, 1981
  • Daring Grass – 1982, 1984
  • Hokuto Vega – 1996, 1997
  • Abukuma Poro – 1998, 1999
  • Vermilion – 2007, 2010
  • Chuwa Wizard – 2020, 2022

Winners since 2000

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Year
Winner
Age
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Organization
Time
2000 Intelli Power 5 Takashi Harita Shigemi Akiyama Iso-o Sahashi Kawasaki 2:14.5
2001 Regular Member 4 Mikio Matsunaga Yamamoto Syouji North Hills Ltd. JRA 2:12.9
2002 Regent Bluff 4 Yutaka Yoshida Youkichi Okubo Akihiro Ohara JRA 2:16.2
2003 Kanetsu Fleuve 6 Mikio Matsunaga Yamamoto Syouji Laurel Racing Co. JRA 2:14.8
2004 Esprit Thes 5 Hiroshi Morishita Ei-ichi Takei Yasuo Yoda Kawasaki 2:12.8
2005 Time Paradox 7 Yutaka Take Hiroyoshi Matsuda Shadai Racing Ltd. JRA 2:14.2
2006 Adjudi Mitsuo 5 Hiroyuki Uchida Masayuki Kawashima Masao Orudo Funabashi 2:12.8
2007 Vermillion 5 Christophe Lemaire Sei Ishizaka Sunday Racing Ltd. JRA 2:12.9
2008 Field Rouge 6 Norihiro Yokoyama Masato Nishizono Katsumi Chida JRA 2:13.1
2009 Kane Hekili 7 Christophe Lemaire Katsuhiko Sumii Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co. JRA 2:13.3
2010 Vermillion 8 Yutaka Take Sei Ishizaka Sunday Racing Ltd. JRA 2:12.7
2011 Furioso 7 Keita Tosaki Masayuki Kawashima Darley Japan K.K. Funabashi 2:14.2
2012 Smart Falcon 7 Yutaka Take Ken Kozaki Touru Okawa JRA 2:10.7
2013 Hatano Vainqueur 4 Hirofumi Shii Mitsugu Kon Good Luck Farm JRA 2:15.4
2014 Hokko Tarumae 5 Hideaki Miyuki Katsuichi Nishiura Koichi Yabe JRA 2:13.8
2015 Hokko Tarumae 6 Hideaki Miyuki Katsuichi Nishiura Koichi Yabe JRA 2:16.9
2016 Hokko Tarumae 7 Hideaki Miyuki Katsuichi Nishiura Koichi Yabe JRA 2:14.1
2017 All Blush 5 Christophe Lemaire Akira Murayama Shadai Racing Ltd. JRA 2:14.6
2018 K T Brave 5 Yuichi Fukunaga Tetsuya Meno Kazuyoshi Takimoto JRA 2:14.9
2019 Mitsuba 7 Ryuji Wada Tadashi Kayo K.K. Kyoei JRA 2:15.0
2020 Chuwa Wizard 5 Yuga Kawada Ryuji Okubo Shinobu Nakanishi JRA 2:14.1
2021 Casino Fountain 5 Kaoru Harita Takayuki Yamashita Kosei Yoshihashi Funabashi 2:14.9
2022 Chuwa Wizard 7 Yuga Kawada Ryuji Okubo Shinobu Nakanishi JRA 2:14.9
2023 Ushba Tesoro 6 Kazuo Yokoyama Noboru Takagi Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co., Ltd. JRA 2:16.0
2024 Light Warrior 7 Hiroto Yoshihara Katsuyoshi Uchida U Carrot Farm Kawasaki 2:15.5

Earlier winners

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  • 1951 - Ezo Tetsuzan
  • 1952 - Kiyofuji
  • 1953 - Ikaho dake
  • 1954 - Ichisachi Homare
  • 1955 - Asakuni
  • 1956 - Kane Eikan
  • 1957 - Sweetheart
  • 1958 - Ichi Kanto
  • 1959 - Ichi Kanto
  • 1960 - A Time
  • 1961 - Ichiasahide
  • 1962 - Asabue
  • 1963 - Sakimidori
  • 1964 - Galing
  • 1965 - Tetsuryu
  • 1966 - Eikozan
  • 1967 - Hello Time
  • 1968 - Marble Arch
  • 1969 - Ashiya Fuji
  • 1970 - Apo Speed
  • 1971 - Ryuto Kitsu
  • 1973 - Nero
  • 1974 - Golden Snap
  • 1975 - Maruichi Daio
  • 1976 - Hideno Arashi
  • 1977 - Plus One
  • 1978 - F.Chirin
  • 1979 - Tagawa Ace
  • 1980 - Gold Spencer
  • 1981 - Gold Spencer
  • 1982 - Daring Grass
  • 1983 - Kanesho Super
  • 1984 - Daring Grass
  • 1985 - Countess Up
  • 1986 - Countess Up
  • 1987 - Countess Up
  • 1988 - Tomihisa Dancer
  • 1989 - Aeroplane
  • 1990 - Rosita
  • 1991 - Daiko Galdan
  • 1992 - Toshin Eagle
  • 1993 - Hashiru Shogun
  • 1994 - Sakura High Speed
  • 1995 - Amazon Opera
  • 1996 - Hokuto Vega
  • 1997 - Hokuto Vega
  • 1998 - Abukuma Poro
  • 1999 - Abukuma Poro

References

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  1. ^ "全日本的なダート競走の体系整備 JRA". jra.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  2. ^ "川崎記念". Netkeiba.