Hishi Miracle (Japanese: ヒシミラクル, Hepburn: Hishi Mirakuru; foaled 31 March 1999) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and former sire. He competed from 2001 to 2005, recording six wins in twenty-eight starts, including the Kikuka Sho in 2002, and the Tenno Sho (Spring) and Takarazuka Kinen in 2003. He received the JRA Award for Best Japanese-Bred Horse in 2003.
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Background
Hishi Miracle is a gray horse bred in Mitsuishi, Hokkaido, by Otsuka Bokujo. He was sired by Soccer Boy, and his dam was Shunsaku Yoshiko, a daughter of Shady Heights. He was purchased for ¥6.5 million by Masaichiro Abe at the 2001 Hidaka Light Horse Agricultural Cooperative Training Sale and sent into training with Masaru Sayama at the JRA's Ritto Training Center.
Racing career
2001: Two-year-old season
Hishi Miracle debuted on August 11, 2001, in a maiden race on the turf at Kokura Racecourse, finishing seventh. He ran in three subsequent 1200-meter maiden races, finishing outside the top five. Transitioning to longer distances, he finished fifth over 2000 meters at Kyoto Racecourse in October, second over 1800 meters later that month, and third over 1800 meters in November.
2002: Three-year-old season
Hishi Miracle returned in April 2002, finishing fourth and sixth in two maiden races at Kyoto. He recorded his first victory on May 26 in a 2000-meter maiden race at Chukyo Racecourse. He subsequently won the Urafu Tokubetsu at Hanshin Racecourse in June and the Nowaki Tokubetsu at Hanshin in September.
On September 22, he contested the Kobe Shimbun Hai (GII) at Hanshin, finishing sixth. Failing to secure priority entry, his connections paid a supplementary entry fee to enter the Kikuka Sho (GI) at Kyoto on October 20. Starting as the 10th favorite, he advanced on the final turn and won by a nose over Fast Tateyama. He concluded his three-year-old season by finishing eleventh in the Arima Kinen (GI) at Nakayama Racecourse.
2003: Four-year-old season
Hishi Miracle began his 2003 campaign by finishing twelfth in the Hanshin Daishoten (GII) and seventh in the Sankei Osaka Hai (GII). On May 4, he entered the Tenno Sho (Spring, GI) at Kyoto. Starting as the 7th favorite, he rallied from the rear to win the 3200-meter race by 0.1 seconds over Sunrise Jaeger.
On June 29, he contested the Takarazuka Kinen (GI) at Hanshin. Ridden by Koichi Tsunoda, he tracked the leaders and won by a neck over Tsurumaru Boy, securing his third GI victory. In the autumn, he finished second in the Kyoto Daishoten (GII) behind Tap Dance City. Following the race, he was diagnosed with suspensory ligament desmitis in his right foreleg and was sidelined for the remainder of the year.
2004: Five-year-old season
Returning from a year-long layoff, Hishi Miracle finished sixteenth in the Tenno Sho (Autumn, GI) at Tokyo Racecourse in October. He subsequently finished ninth in the Japan Cup (GI) and fourteenth in the Arima Kinen (GI).
2005: Six-year-old season
Hishi Miracle finished third in the Kyoto Kinen (GII) in February. He made his final start in the Tenno Sho (Spring, GI) on May 1, finishing sixteenth. Following the race, a recurrence of his suspensory ligament injury was confirmed. He was officially retired from racing on May 20, 2005.
Statistics
The following table details all 28 starts of Hishi Miracle's racing career based on official netkeiba and JBIS records.
Stud career
Following his retirement, Hishi Miracle stood at Rex Stud in Shizunai, Hokkaido. He sired 30 registered foals over five seasons before retiring from stud duties in 2010. His most notable progeny was Hishi Diana, who won multiple regional stakes races in the NAR. He currently resides at Nakamura Masaaki Bokujo in Urakawa, Hokkaido, where he works as a teaser.
c = colt, f = filly
In popular culture
An anthropomorphized version of Hishi Miracle appears as a character in the Japanese multimedia franchise Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Sakura Kasuga. She is depicted as a lazy girl who wants to live up to her own expectations to make others happy, but also actively skips training and takes every opportunity she can to slack off and eat. She has a notably strong fondness for okonomiyaki, referencing the JRA running an advertisement in 2014 comparing her real-world counterpart's 2003 victory at the Takarazuka Kinen to an okonomiyaki made from shrimp, squid, Ezo scallop, and opilio crab. Hishi Miracle also has a strong hatred and aversion to swimming and regularly skips pool training, but is often forcibly dragged to them by her peers, reflecting her real-world counterpart's poor swimming skills.
Pedigree
Hishi Miracle is inbred 5 × 5 to Nasrullah.