REAL RACING ARCHIVE(documented racing history)
LEGEND · 2010s
Kitasan Black
キタサンブラック
Winner of the Kikuka Sho, both Tenno Sho, the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen; Horse of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
02
Horse profile
- Sex
- Colt / Horse
- Coat
- Bay
- Foaled
- 10 Mar 2012
- Sire
- Black Tide
- Dam
- Sugar Heart
- Damsire
- Sakura Bakushin O
- Breeder
- Yanagawa Bokujo
- Owner
- Ōno Shōji
- Trainer
- Hisashi Shimizu
- Career
- 20 starts, 12 wins
03
Career overview
- 20
- Starts
- 12
- Wins
- 7
- G1 wins
- 18
- Top-three finishes
Racing career 2015–2017
04
Major victories
01 · 25 Oct 2015
菊花賞
GI · Kyoto · Turf 3000m · Hiroshi Kitamura · 3:03.9
02 · 01 May 2016
天皇賞（春）
GI · Kyoto · Turf 3200m · Yutaka Take · 3:15.3
03 · 27 Nov 2016
ジャパンC
GI · Tokyo · Turf 2400m · Yutaka Take · 2:25.8
04 · 02 Apr 2017
Osaka Hai
大阪杯
GI · Hanshin · Turf 2000m · Yutaka Take · 1:58.9
05 · 30 Apr 2017
天皇賞（春）
GI · Kyoto · Turf 3200m · Yutaka Take · 3:12.5
06 · 29 Oct 2017
天皇賞（秋）
GI · Tokyo · Turf 2000m · Yutaka Take · 2:08.3
07 · 24 Dec 2017
有馬記念
GI · Nakayama · Turf 2500m · Yutaka Take · 2:33.6
FILM
On film
「2017年 有馬記念（GⅠ） | キタサンブラック | JRA公式」
Record: 24 Dec 2017 · Nakayama · 2500m · 1st · Yutaka Take
Source: YouTube / JRA公式チャンネル(official)Watch on YouTube ↗Kitasan Black
06
The story
He debuted at Tokyo in 2015 and won his first Grade 1 in that autumn’s Kikuka Sho.
Partnered by Yutaka Take from 2016, he won the Tenno Sho (Spring) twice, the Japan Cup, the Osaka Hai, the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and the Arima Kinen. He is also known for being owned by the enka singer Saburo Kitajima, and entered the JRA Hall of Fame in 2020.
07
Career timeline
2015
- 31 JanNewcomer raceTokyo · Turf 1800m · Hiroki GotoTokyoTurf 1800mHiroki Goto1st1:52.3
- 22 FebAllowance raceTokyo · Turf 2000m · Hiroshi KitamuraTokyoTurf 2000mHiroshi Kitamura1st2:01.4
- 22 MarSpring StakesGIINakayama · Turf 1800m · Hiroshi KitamuraNakayamaTurf 1800mHiroshi Kitamura1st1:49.1
- 19 AprSatsuki ShoGINakayama · Turf 2000m · Suguru HamanakaNakayamaTurf 2000mSuguru Hamanaka3rd1:58.8
- 31 MayTokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby)GITokyo · Turf 2400m · Hiroshi KitamuraTokyoTurf 2400mHiroshi Kitamura14th2:25.5
- 21 SepSt Lite KinenGIINakayama · Turf 2200m · Hiroshi KitamuraNakayamaTurf 2200mHiroshi Kitamura1st2:13.8
- 25 OctKikuka ShoGIKyoto · Turf 3000m · Hiroshi KitamuraKyotoTurf 3000mHiroshi Kitamura1st3:03.9
- 27 DecArima KinenGINakayama · Turf 2500m · Norihiro YokoyamaNakayamaTurf 2500mNorihiro Yokoyama3rd2:33.1
2016
- 03 AprSankei Osaka HaiGIIHanshin · Turf 2000m · Yutaka TakeHanshinTurf 2000mYutaka Take2nd1:59.3
- 01 MayTenno Sho (Spring)GIKyoto · Turf 3200m · Yutaka TakeKyotoTurf 3200mYutaka Take1st3:15.3
- 26 JunTakarazuka KinenGIHanshin · Turf 2200m · Yutaka TakeHanshinTurf 2200mYutaka Take3rd2:12.8
- 10 OctKyoto DaishotenGIIKyoto · Turf 2400m · Yutaka TakeKyotoTurf 2400mYutaka Take1st2:25.5
- 27 NovJapan CupGITokyo · Turf 2400m · Yutaka TakeTokyoTurf 2400mYutaka Take1st2:25.8
- 25 DecArima KinenGINakayama · Turf 2500m · Yutaka TakeNakayamaTurf 2500mYutaka Take2nd2:32.6
2017
- 02 AprOsaka HaiGIHanshin · Turf 2000m · Yutaka TakeHanshinTurf 2000mYutaka Take1st1:58.9
- 30 AprTenno Sho (Spring)GIKyoto · Turf 3200m · Yutaka TakeKyotoTurf 3200mYutaka Take1st3:12.5 R
- 25 JunTakarazuka KinenGIHanshin · Turf 2200m · Yutaka TakeHanshinTurf 2200mYutaka Take9th2:12.7
- 29 OctTenno Sho (Autumn)GITokyo · Turf 2000m · Yutaka TakeTokyoTurf 2000mYutaka Take1st2:08.3
- 26 NovJapan CupGITokyo · Turf 2400m · Yutaka TakeTokyoTurf 2400mYutaka Take3rd2:23.9
- 24 DecArima KinenGINakayama · Turf 2500m · Yutaka TakeNakayamaTurf 2500mYutaka Take1st2:33.6
08
Pedigree
09 — MAJOR RACES
Great races contested
- Tokyo Yushun2015(14)
- Arima Kinen2015(3) 2016(2) 2017(1)
- Tenno Sho (Spring)2016(1) 2017(1)
- Tenno Sho (Autumn)2017(1)
- Japan Cup2016(1) 2017(3)
- Takarazuka Kinen2016(3) 2017(9)
- Kikuka Sho2015(1)
- Satsuki Sho2015(3)
10 — JOCKEYS
Riders
- Yutaka Take12 rides · 7 wins · G1 6
- Hiroshi Kitamura5 rides · 4 wins · G1 1
- Hiroki Goto1 rides · 1 wins
- Suguru Hamanaka1 rides · 0 wins
- Norihiro Yokoyama1 rides · 0 wins
11 — RIVALS
Grade 1 opponents
- ドゥラメンテSatsuki Sho 2015 · Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) 2015
- シュヴァルグランTenno Sho (Spring) 2017 · Japan Cup 2017
- サトノクラウンTakarazuka Kinen 2017 · Tenno Sho (Autumn) 2017
- リアルスティールKikuka Sho 2015
- ゴールドアクターArima Kinen 2015
- カレンミロティックTenno Sho (Spring) 2016
Recorded as the winner (in defeat) or runner-up (in victory). Names as recorded in Japanese.
12
Gallery
13
Legacy
- 2016, 2017Japanese Horse of the Year
- 2020JRA Hall of Fame
14 — CULTURAL CROSS REFERENCE
From racing history
to popular culture
Where the record meets the culture it inspired.
REAL RACING ARCHIVE(documented racing history)
Kitasan Black
キタサンブラック
2012– · 7 G1 wins
A real racehorse. The records, pedigree and honours on this page are documented facts with sources.
FICTION / POP CULTURE REFERENCE(a reference to a work of fiction)
UMA MUSUME: PRETTY DERBY — A GAME
キタサンブラック
The game “Umamusume: Pretty Derby” features a character who bears the name of this racehorse. The character is fictional; details of the game’s story are not part of the horse’s documented history.
Official character list ↗
This site is not affiliated with the game’s rights holders. Character artwork is not shown because permission has not been confirmed. Sources: Wikipedia / Cygames
SOURCES & REFERENCES
Sources & References
Race records are taken from the “Racing record” tables of each horse’s Japanese Wikipedia article (which cite netkeiba.com and JBIS-Search) and cross-checked against the career start count. Grades are shown as printed for that year’s running — current grades are never applied retroactively.
- 01キタサンブラック — Wikipedia（日本語版）
Wikipedia · Reference · Accessed 2026-09-26
- 02Kitasan Black — Wikipedia (English)
Wikipedia · Reference · Accessed 2026-09-26
- 03キタサンブラック｜JBISサーチ
公益社団法人 日本軽種馬協会（JBIS-Search） · Racing record · Accessed 2026-09-26
- 04キタサンブラック：名馬の殿堂（顕彰馬）｜JRA
日本中央競馬会（JRA） · Official · Accessed 2026-09-26
- 05ウマ娘 プリティーダービーの登場キャラクター — Wikipedia（日本語版, revision 111119000）
Wikipedia · Reference · Accessed 2026-09-26
- 06CHARACTER｜ウマ娘 プリティーダービー 公式ポータルサイト
Cygames · Official · Accessed 2026-09-26
IMAGE CREDITS
Image credits
Each photograph was checked on its individual Wikimedia Commons file page for author and licence.
Kitasan Black at Tokyo Racecourse, 2015
Photo: Nadaraikon · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Kitasan Black and Yutaka Take — Japan Cup, Tokyo Racecourse, 26 November 2017
Photo: nakashi from Chofu, Tokyo, JAPAN · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Kitasan Black in the Japan Cup paddock, Tokyo, 2017
Photo: nakashi from Chofu, Tokyo, JAPAN · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Kitasan Black, winner of the 62nd Arima Kinen — Nakayama, 24 December 2017
Photo: フランケル · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons