Kumohata (Japanese: クモハタ, Kumohata; 4 March 1936 – 10 September 1953) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He won the 8th Tōkyō Yūshun (Japanese Derby) in 1939, nine days after his racecourse debut. He was the Leading Sire in Japan for six consecutive years from 1952 to 1957, the first domestically-bred stallion to achieve this. He was inducted into the JRA Hall of Fame in 1984.
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Background
Kumohata was a chestnut colt bred at the government-operated Shimofusa Imperial Stud in Narita, Chiba Prefecture. He was sired by Tournesol, a British-bred stallion by Gainsborough, and his dam was Fairy Maiden (星旗), an American-bred mare by Gnome. His half-sister Cleopatra Thomas (クレオパトラトマス) won the Teishitsu Goshoten. He was sold at auction for ¥37,600, the highest price at the sale, to owner Yusaku Kato. He was trained by Waiichiro Tanaka at Tokyo Racecourse.
Racing career
1939: three-year-old season
Kumohata did not debut until 20 May 1939, having been delayed by thrush in all four hooves. He finished second in a newcomer race at Tokyo Racecourse over 2300 metres. Six days later, he won a newcomer race over 1800 metres on heavy ground.
Two days after that, on 28 May, he contested the 8th Tōkyō Yūshun (Japanese Derby) over 2400 metres on heavy ground in a field of twenty. Ridden by Shōtarō Abe, he was the 8th choice in the betting. He raced at the rear before advancing on the inside rail on the final turn and overtook Richmond in the final 50 metres to win by 0.5 seconds. His debut-to-Derby interval of nine days remains the shortest in the race's history.
After the Derby, Kumohata finished seventh in a handicap at Yokohama in October, third in a four-year-old handicap, and third in the Yokohama Nōrinshō Shōten behind Sugenuma. He won two open races at Tokyo in November, finished second at Nakayama Racecourse, and won again at Nakayama. He finished the season with five wins from eleven starts.
1940: four-year-old season
Kumohata won a handicap at Hanshin Racecourse on 10 May and finished third in the Teishitsu Goshoten (Spring) over 3200 metres on dirt on 19 May. He won the Tokyo Five-Year-Old Special on 27 May and an open race at Tokyo on 9 June. In autumn, he won an open race at Yokohama on 14 October but finished second in the Yokohama Nōrinshō Shōten and second in the Teishitsu Goshoten (Autumn) over 3200 metres at Tokyo on 17 November. He was retired after the autumn race.
Statistics
The following table details all 21 starts of Kumohata's racing career. Times and margins were not officially recorded for all races in this era; unrecorded entries are shown as –.
Stud career
Kumohata stood as a government stallion at the Hidaka Stud Farm in Hokkaido. He was the Leading Sire in Japan for six consecutive years from 1952 to 1957, the first domestically-bred stallion to top the sire list. He sired seven Tennō Shō winners. He was also the Leading Broodmare Sire in Japan in 1964.
Kumohata contracted equine infectious anemia during an outbreak in the Hidaka region in the summer of 1953. He was euthanised on 10 September 1953 under the Livestock Infectious Disease Control Law. He was buried beneath the merit-horse memorial at Hidaka Stud Farm.
The Kumohata Kinen (クモハタ記念) was established at Nakayama Racecourse in 1951 in his honour and was run until 1980.
Pedigree
Kumohata is inbred 5 × 5 to Hampton (sire side) and 5 × 5 to St. Simon (sire side).
His sire Tournesol was imported from Britain and was one of the dominant stallions in Japan in the 1930s.
His dam Fairy Maiden was imported from the United States. His half-sister Cleopatra Thomas won the Teishitsu Goshoten.