Kabutoyama (Japanese: カブトヤマ, Hepburn: Kabutoyama; 5 March 1930 – 13 August 1951) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He competed from 1933 to 1934, recording twelve wins in twenty-nine starts. He won the second running of the Tōkyō Yūshun Dai Kyoso (Japanese Derby) in 1933. He was sired by Shian Mor, a British-bred son of Buchan who had finished third in the Epsom Derby before being imported to Japan as a stallion at Koiwai Farm. His dam was Astral, a winner of the 1927 Tokyo Teishitsu Goshoten (Imperial Prize). His full brothers include Governor (Tōkyō Yūshun Dai Kyoso winner) and Rocky More (Teishitsu Goshoten winner).
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Background
Kabutoyama was a bay horse bred at Koiwai Farm in Shizukuishi, Iwate Prefecture. He was purchased for ¥20,150 at a yearling sale by Dohei Maekawa, the president of Isetan department store, and sent into training with Fusamatsu Okubo at the Meguro Racecourse. Okubo served as both trainer and jockey, riding Kabutoyama in all twenty-nine of his races.
Racing career
1933: three-year-old season
Kabutoyama debuted on March 25, 1933, at Nakayama Racecourse, winning a newcomer race on heavy ground by a neck. He finished third in a subsequent race before contesting the second Tōkyō Yūshun Dai Kyoso on April 30 at the Meguro Racecourse. Ridden by Okubo, he was positioned in a favourable position before accelerating in the straight to defeat Merry Utopia by four lengths.
He went on to win three more races in 1933, including the Shin Ko Oba (New/Old Colt) at Hanshin Racecourse and the Nosho (Agricultural Prize) at Hanshin, setting a course record in the latter.
1934: four-year-old season
Kabutoyama won eight races in 1934, including the Fukushima Teishitsu Goshoten (Imperial Prize) at Fukushima Racecourse in June, the Meguro Kinen (Meguro Memorial) at Tokyo in November, and the Nakayama 5-Year-Old Tokubetsu at Nakayama in December. His retirement race was the Nakayama 5-Year-Old Tokubetsu on December 7, 1934, which he won by a large margin on heavy ground.
Statistics
The following table details all 29 starts of Kabutoyama's racing career based on netkeiba and JBIS records. Times marked N/A were not recorded in available sources.
Stud career
Following his retirement, Kabutoyama became a stallion at Tohoku Bokujo (Northeast Farm) in Shichinohe, Aomori Prefecture. His first foals were born in 1936 and began racing in 1938. His most successful offspring was Mats Midori, who won the 1947 Tōkyō Yūshun (Japanese Derby), achieving the first father-son Derby victory in Japanese racing history. To commemorate this achievement, the Kabutoyama Kinen was established in 1947 as a graded stakes race for Japanese-bred horses; it was discontinued in 2003 after its original purpose of promoting domestic-bred stallions had been achieved, and was replaced by the Fukushima Himba Stakes. Kabutoyama died of old age on August 13, 1951, at the age of 21, and was buried at the Tohoku Bokujo Shichinohe branch.
Pedigree
Kabutoyama's sire Shian Mor finished third in the Epsom Derby before being imported to Japan.
His grandsire Buchan won the Eclipse Stakes, Champion Stakes, and Doncaster Cup.
His dam Astral won the 1927 Tokyo Teishitsu Goshoten (Imperial Prize).
His full brothers Governor and Rocky More both won major races in Japan.