Kyoto Kimpai

Kyoto Kimpai
京都金杯
Pax Americana wins the 2019 Kyoto Kimpai
ClassGrade 3
LocationKyoto Racecourse
InauguratedJanuary 3, 1963
Race typeThoroughbred Flat racing
Race information
Distance1600 metres
SurfaceTurf
TrackRight-handed
Qualification4-y-o+
WeightHandicap
Purse¥ 92,980,000 (as of 2025)
  • 1st: ¥ 43,000,000
  • 2nd: ¥ 17,000,000
  • 3rd: ¥ 11,000,000

The Kyoto Kimpai (京都金杯) is a Grade 3 (GIII) flat horse race in Japan.[1]

Background

The Kyoto Kimpai is a Grade III Thoroughbred handicap race in Japan, open to horses aged four years and older.[2] It is held annually on January 5 (or January 6 if the 5th falls on a Friday) at Kyoto Racecourse over a distance of 1,600 meters on turf (outer course).[2] Eligible entrants must have raced at least once and cannot be unraced or maiden horses.[2] The field includes JRA-trained horses, up to two certified NAR (local) horses, and foreign-trained horses with priority entry.[2] As a handicap race, weights are assigned based on each horse’s past performance.[1] The first-place prize in 2026 is ¥43 million.[2]

The race is officially titled the “Sports Nippon Sho Kyoto Kimpai”, sponsored by Sports Nippon newspaper, and the winner receives the Sports Nippon Newspaper Prize.[3]

History

The Kyoto Kimpai traces its origins to the “Geishun Sho (迎春賞)”, first run on January 3, 1963, for horses aged five and older over 2,000 meters on turf at Kyoto Racecourse.[2] In 1966, it was renamed “Kin Hai (金盃)”, and in 1970, the spelling was updated to “Kimpai (金杯)”.[2] From 1966 to 1995, it shared its name with the Nakayama Kimpai (run at Nakayama Racecourse), together forming Japan’s traditional New Year’s Day graded stakes doubleheader.[4] To distinguish the two, the Kyoto version was officially renamed “Sports Nippon Sho Kyoto Kimpai” in 1996.[5] Weight conditions shifted over time: it began as a handicap, switched to weight-for-age (別定) from 1966 to 1980, then reverted to handicap in 1981, where it has remained ever since.[6] A transformation occurred in 2000, when the distance was shortened from 2,000m to 1,600m, repositioning the race as a key early-season test for milers rather than stayers.[7]

The race was designated Grade III in 1984 under JRA’s grading system.[2] International participation expanded gradually: foreign-bred horses were allowed from 1993, foreign-trained horses from 2006 (initially 4 runners, later 8 in 2007 and 9 in 2015), and NAR horses from 2020.[8] Due to Kyoto Racecourse renovations, the race was temporarily relocated to Chukyo Racecourse from 2021 to 2023 and again in 2025.[2]

Like its Nakayama counterpart, it is affectionately known by the fan saying: “Ichinen no kei wa Kinpai ni ari” (“The year’s plan lies in the Kimpai”).[9]

Past winners

Year Winner Age Length (in m) Jockey Trainer Owner Time
1963 Suzu Riu 5 T2000 Zenji Matsumoto Seisaku Hashimoto Shoko Miyoshi 2:07.4
1964 Katsura Ace 5 T2000 Zenji Matsumoto Seisaku Hashimoto Maki Ichitaro 2:05.9
1965 Korai O 5 T2000 Michio Ueda Saburo Yoshida Masayoshi Takada 2:04.7
1966 Keystone 4 T2000 Masashi Yamamoto Yutaro Matsuda Yugoro Ito 2:05.8
1967 Yama Niryu 4 T2000 Shigeo Takahashi Tomoe Kashiwagi Motoo Kitazawa 2:04.7
1968 Atlas 4 T2000 Kunihiko Take Tameo Toyotani Shigeo Matsuoka 2:03.4
1969 Fine Rose 4 T2000 Yoshinori Yana Heibei Tsubo Hisahiro Yoshida 2:03.4
1970 Houun 4 T2000 Taro Ikegami Keizo Umeuchi Choichi Nakai 2:03.9
1971 Kei Takashi 6 T2000 Taro Ikegami Kunikuni Asami Keiji Uchida 2:07.2
1972 Fidole 4 T2000 Hiroshi Takeda Fumio Takeda Ohara Kikue 2:07.8
1973 Yumond 4 T2000 Yoichi Fukunaga Bungo Takeda Masayuki Arako 2:08.3
1974 Naoki 5 T2000 Shoji Sasaki Kozo Tanaka Sakurayama Hose Co. Ltd. 2:01.4
1975 Hakusan Homare 5 T2000 Akihiko Kubo Takeshi Yoshinaga Fuwakatsu 2:04.0
1976 Three York 5 T2000 Ryugi Deguchi Ichi Suwa Nagai Shoji Co. Ltd. 2:04.4
1977 Koichi Saburo 4 T2000 Zenji Matsumoto Hozumi Shono Katsura Land Co. Ltd. 2:02.8
1978 Linear Queen 4 T2000 Yukiharu Matsuda Yutaro Matsuda Tatsuzo Okeya 2:04.0
1979 Inter Gushiken 4 T2000 Kunihiko Take Ryoichi Hirasako Masao Matsuoka 2:02.7
1980 Great Titan 5 T2000 Kunihiko Take Saburo Yoshida Sadajiro Nagasoko 2:03.4
1981 Western George 5 T2000 Masaru Kato Shuji Kitahashi Nishikawa Shoji Co. Ltd. 2:00.9
1982 Tama Top 5 T2000 Shigeo Kosakai Tsunao Natsumura Masao Tamai 2:03.2
1983 Miss Radical 4 T2000 Hideaki Otanishi Ryohei Tanaka Yuichi Odagiri 2:02.5
1984 Long Grace 4 T2000 Shigeaki Tanahara Minoru Kobayashi Choichi Nakai 2:03.6
1985 Mejiro Thomas 4 T2000 Yoshinori Muramoto Taro Ikegami Mejiro Farm Ltd. 2:02.3
1986 Echo French 5 T2000 Nobuyuki Tajima Izaofu Yasuda Kenichi Ikeuchi 2:03.8
1987 Doukan Yashima 7 T2000 Eiji Shimizu Akira Shika Arai Kogyo Co. Ltd. 2:03.2
1988 Tamamo Cross 4 T2000 Katsumi Minai Isami Kohara Tamamo Co. Ltd. 2:03.7
1989 Katsu Tokushin 4 T2000 Mikio Matsunaga Izaofu Yasuda Noriroku Watanabe 2:00.5
1990 Osaichi George 4 T2000 Katsuhiko Maruyama Kumimi Tsuchikado Choichi Node 2:01.9
1991 Daiyu Sak 6 T2000 Shigeyuki Kumazawa Haruharu Uchino Kohei Hashimoto 2:00.1
1992 White Arrow 5 T2000 Shigeaki Tanahara Yukiji Ono Higashiyama Hose Co. Ltd. 2:02.2
1993 El Casa River 4 T2000 Yasunari Yamada Ryohei Tanaka Clear Co. Ltd. 2:01.4
1994 Aisin Tennessee 5 T2000 Shigeaki Tanahara Masanori Sakaguchi Toyomitsu Hirai 2:02.8
1995 Wako Chikako 5 T2000 Olivier Peslier Yuji Ito Takao Ishida 1:59.7
1996 T.M. Jumbo 5 T2000 Hiroshi Kawachi Tadashi Fuse Masaaki Takezono 1:59.7
1997 Ishino Sunday 4 T2000 Yoichi Shibata Kenji Yamauchi Ishijima Co. Ltd. 2:02.3
1998 Midnight Bet 4 T2000 Olivier Peslier Hiroyuki Nagahama Shadai Race Horse Ltd. 2:00.6
1999 Hikari Sarment 5 T2000 Hiroshi Kawachi Jiro Yanagida Takanori Toyama 1:59.5
2000 Kyoei March 6 T1600 Shinichiro Akiyama Akihiko Nomura Tomoe Matsuoka 1:33.4
2001 Daitaku Riva 4 T1600 Mikio Matsunaga Kojiro Hashiguchi Taiyo Farm Ltd. 1:33.4
2002 Daitaku Riva 5 T1600 Yutaka Take Kojiro Hashiguchi Taiyo Farm Ltd. 1:33.8
2003 Sidewinder 5 T1600 Hirofumi Shii Shuji Kitahashi Kyoei Co. Ltd. 1:33.7
2004 My Sole Sound 5 T1600 Masaru Honda Katsuichi Nishiura Kiyoshi Sano 1:33.3
2005 Hat Trick 4 T1600 Yutaka Take Katsuhiko Sumii Carrot Farm Ltd. 1:34.0
2006 Big Planet 4 T1600 Ryuji Wada Katsumi Minai Big Co. Ltd. 1:34.0
2007 Meiner Scherzi 4 T1600 Yoshitomi Shibata Ryuichi Inaba Thoroughbred Club Ruffian Co. Ltd. 1:33.9
2008 Eishin Deputy 6 T1600 Yasunari Iwata Akira Nomoto Toyomitsu Hirai 1:33.6
2009 Tamamo Support 6 T1600 Akihide Tsumura Kenichi Fujioka Tamamo Co. Ltd. 1:32.9
2010 Live Concert 6 T1600 Yasunari Iwata Toshiaki Shirai Green Fields Co. Ltd. 1:34.1
2011 Silport 6 T1600 Futoshi Komaki Masato Nihizono Takeo Hyakuman 1:33.4
2012 Meiner Lacrima 6 T1600 Masami Matsuoka Hiryuki Uehara Thoroughbred Club Ruffian Co. Ltd. 1:32.9
2013 Danon Shark 5 T1600 Christophe Lemaire Ryuji Okubo Danox Co. Ltd. 1:33.5
2014 Extra End 5 T1600 Christophe Lemaire Katsuhiko Sumii Shadai Race Horse Ltd. 1:32.5
2015 Win Full Bloom 4 T1600 Kenichi Ikezoe Hiroshi Miyamoto Win Co. Ltd. 1:32.8
2016 Win Primera 6 T1600 Yuga Kawada Ryuji Okubo Win Co. Ltd. 1:33.0
2017 Air Spinel 4 T1600 Yutaka Take Kazuhide Sasada Lucky Field Co. Ltd. 1:32.8
2018 Black Moon 6 T1600 Yutaka Take Katsuichi Nishiura Him Rock Racing 1:34.3
2019 Pax Americana 4 T1600 Yuga Kawada Mitsumasa Nakauchida Sanshisuimei Co. Ltd. 1:34.9
2020 Sound Chiara 5 T1600 Kohei Matsuyama Akio Adachi Yuichi Masuda 1:34.0
2021[a] Cadence Call 5 T1600 Yasunari Iwata Takayuki Yasuda Sunday Racing Ltd. 1:33.1
2022[a] Zadar 6 T1600 Kohei Matsuyama Masahiro Otake Carrot Farm Ltd. 1:32.9
2023[a] Elusive Panther 5 T1600 Mirai Iwata Takashi Kubota Tsunefumi Kusama 1:32.7
2024 Corepetiteur 4 T1600 Yasunari Iwata Kazuya Nakatake Makoto Kato 1:33.8
2025[b] Sakura Toujours 8 T1600 Rachel King Noriyuki Hori Sakura Commerce Co. Ltd. 1:33.5
2026 Buena Onda 5 T1600 Yuga Kawada Naosuke Sugai Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co. Ltd. 1:33.7

a The 2020, 2021 and 2022 runnings took place at Chukyo while Kyoto was closed for redevelopment.
b The 2025 runnings took place at Chukyo while Hanshin was closed for redevelopment.

See also

Netkeiba

Source:[10][11]

References

  1. ^ a b "List of JRA Graded Races 2026｜List of JRA Graded Races｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "京都金杯". ahonoora.com. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
  3. ^ "International Federation of Horseracing Authorities". www.ifhaonline.org. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
  4. ^ "Kyoto Kimpai". Horse Racing in Japan.
  5. ^ https://jra.jp/keiba/program/2026/pdf/bangumi/kyoto1.pdf
  6. ^ "歴史・コース：スポーツニッポン賞京都金杯　今週の注目レース　JRA". www.jra.go.jp. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  7. ^ "2023.04.22 Newly remodeled Kyoto Racecourse grand opening - News - Horse Racing in Japan". japanracing.jp. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
  8. ^ https://jra.jp/keiba/program/2025/pdf/jusyo_kansai.pdf#page=1
  9. ^ https://www.jra.go.jp/gallery/column/hanamuke/pdf/2026-01.pdf
  10. ^ "京都金杯". Netkeiba.
  11. ^ "Sports Nippon Sho Kyoto Kimpai". Netkeiba.
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