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LEGENDSOF JAPANESE RACING
The grey Oguri Cap at Yushun Stallion Station

REAL RACING ARCHIVE(documented racing history)

LEGEND · 1980s

Oguri Cap

オグリキャップ

1985–2010THOROUGHBRED“The Grey Monster”

From the local track at Kasamatsu to the national stage — a grey who became a social phenomenon as one of the “Heisei Big Three”.

Oguri Cap at Yushun Stallion Station — Public domain / CC0 / CC0

02

Horse profile

Fields that could not be verified are omitted.
Sex
Colt / Horse
Coat
Grey
Foaled
27 Mar 1985
Died
3 Jul 2010
Sire
Dancing Cap
Dam
White Narubi
Damsire
Silver Shark
Breeder
Inaba Bokujō
Owner
Koichi Oguri → Isoo Sahashi → Toshinori Kondo
Trainer
Masao Sumi (Kasamatsu) → Tsutomu Setoguchi (Ritto)
Career
32 starts, 22 wins — Local (NAR) 12 starts, 10 wins; JRA 20 starts, 12 wins

03

Career overview

32
Starts
22
Wins
4
G1 wins
29
Top-three finishes

Racing career 1987–1990

04

Major victories

Grades as printed for each year’s running.
  1. 01 · 25 Dec 1988

    Arima Kinen

    有馬記念

    GI · Nakayama · Turf 2500m · Yukio Okabe · 2:33.9

  2. 02 · 19 Nov 1989

    Mile Championship

    マイルCS

    GI · Kyoto · Turf 1600m · Katsumi Minai · 1:34.6

  3. 03 · 13 May 1990

    Yasuda Kinen

    安田記念

    GI · Tokyo · Turf 1600m · Yutaka Take · 1:32.4

  4. 04 · 23 Dec 1990

    Arima Kinen

    有馬記念

    GI · Nakayama · Turf 2500m · Yutaka Take · 2:34.2

FILM

On film

Films published by the JRA official YouTube channel, shown through YouTube’s embedded player.

06

The story

He debuted in May 1987 at Kasamatsu, a local track in Gifu Prefecture, and won ten of twelve starts there before moving to the JRA in January 1988.

In the JRA he won twelve graded races, four of them at Grade 1. With Super Creek and Inari One he formed the “Heisei Big Three”, and his popularity reached far beyond racing fans. He was Horse of the Year in 1990 and entered the Hall of Fame in 1991.

07

Career timeline

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. “R” marks a record time at the time.

1987

  1. 19 MayNewcomer raceKasamatsu · Dirt 800m · 青木達彦2nd0:50.1
  2. 02 JunJuvenile race (Kasamatsu)Kasamatsu · Dirt 800m · 加藤一成1st0:51.1
  3. 15 JunJuvenile race (Kasamatsu)Kasamatsu · Dirt 800m · 青木達彦1st0:49.8
  4. 26 JulJuvenile race (Kasamatsu)Kasamatsu · Dirt 800m · 加藤一成2nd0:50.3
  5. 12 AugJuvenile race (Kasamatsu)Kasamatsu · Dirt 800m · 加藤一成1st0:49.7
  6. 30 AugAkikaze JuniorKasamatsu · Dirt 1400m · Katsumi Ando1st1:30.3
  7. 04 OctJunior Crown重賞Kasamatsu · Dirt 1400m · Katsumi Ando1st1:29.4
  8. 14 OctChukyo Hai重賞Chukyo · Turf 1200m · Katsumi Ando1st1:10.8
  9. 04 NovChunichi Sports Hai重賞Nagoya · Dirt 1400m · Katsumi Ando1st1:29.8
  10. 07 DecShiwasu TokubetsuKasamatsu · Dirt 1600m · Katsumi Ando1st1:44.4
  11. 29 DecJunior Grand Prix重賞Kasamatsu · Dirt 1600m · Katsumi Ando1st1:45.0

1988

  1. 10 JanGold Junior重賞Kasamatsu · Dirt 1600m · Katsumi Ando1st1:41.8
  2. 06 MarPegasus StakesGIIIHanshin · Turf 1600m · Hiroshi Kawachi1st1:35.6
  3. 27 MarMainichi HaiGIIIHanshin · Turf 2000m · Hiroshi Kawachi1st2:04.8
  4. 08 MayKyoto Yonsai TokubetsuGIIIKyoto · Turf 2000m · Katsumi Minai1st2:03.6
  5. 05 JunNew Zealand Trophy Yonsai StakesGIITokyo · Turf 1600m · Hiroshi Kawachi1st1:34.0 R
  6. 10 JulTakamatsunomiya HaiGIIChukyo · Turf 2000m · Hiroshi Kawachi1st1:59.0 R
  7. 09 OctMainichi OkanGIITokyo · Turf 1800m · Hiroshi Kawachi1st1:49.2
  8. 30 OctTenno Sho (Autumn)GITokyo · Turf 2000m · Hiroshi Kawachi2nd1:59.0
  9. 27 NovJapan CupGITokyo · Turf 2400m · Hiroshi Kawachi3rd2:25.8
  10. 25 DecArima KinenGINakayama · Turf 2500m · Yukio Okabe1st2:33.9

1989

  1. 17 SepAll ComersGIIINakayama · Turf 2200m · Katsumi Minai1st2:12.4 R
  2. 08 OctMainichi OkanGIITokyo · Turf 1800m · Katsumi Minai1st1:46.7
  3. 29 OctTenno Sho (Autumn)GITokyo · Turf 2000m · Katsumi Minai2nd1:59.1
  4. 19 NovMile ChampionshipGIKyoto · Turf 1600m · Katsumi Minai1st1:34.6
  5. 26 NovJapan CupGITokyo · Turf 2400m · Katsumi Minai2nd2:22.2
  6. 24 DecArima KinenGINakayama · Turf 2500m · Katsumi Minai5th2:32.5

1990

  1. 13 MayYasuda KinenGITokyo · Turf 1600m · Yutaka Take1st1:32.4 R
  2. 10 JunTakarazuka KinenGIHanshin · Turf 2200m · Junichiro Oka2nd2:14.6
  3. 28 OctTenno Sho (Autumn)GITokyo · Turf 2000m · Sueo Masuzawa6th1:58.9
  4. 25 NovJapan CupGITokyo · Turf 2400m · Sueo Masuzawa11th2:24.1
  5. 23 DecArima KinenGINakayama · Turf 2500m · Yutaka Take1st2:34.2

08

Pedigree

Source: the pedigree table in Japanese Wikipedia, which cites JBIS-Search.

Horse

Parents

Grandparents

Great-grandparents

Dancing Capダンシングキャップ1968
White Narubiホワイトナルビー1974
Native Dancer1950
Merry Madcap1962
Silver Sharkシルバーシャーク1963
ネヴァーナルビー1969
Polynesian
Geisha
Grey Sovereign
Croft Lady
Bussion Ardent
Palsaka
ネヴァービート
センジュウ

Sire lineDam lineIn this archive (linked)Family 7号族

09 — MAJOR RACES

Great races contested

10 — JOCKEYS

Riders

  • Katsumi Ando7 rides · 7 wins
  • Hiroshi Kawachi7 rides · 5 wins
  • Katsumi Minai7 rides · 4 wins · G1 1
  • 加藤一成3 rides · 2 wins
  • 青木達彦2 rides · 1 wins
  • Yutaka Take2 rides · 2 wins · G1 2
  • Sueo Masuzawa2 rides · 0 wins
  • Yukio Okabe1 rides · 1 wins · G1 1
  • Junichiro Oka1 rides · 0 wins

11 — RIVALS

Grade 1 opponents

  • タマモクロスTenno Sho (Autumn) 1988 · Arima Kinen 1988
  • ヤエノムテキYasuda Kinen 1990 · Tenno Sho (Autumn) 1990
  • ペイザバトラーJapan Cup 1988
  • スーパークリークTenno Sho (Autumn) 1989
  • バンブーメモリーMile Championship 1989
  • ホーリックスJapan Cup 1989

Recorded as the winner (in defeat) or runner-up (in victory). Names as recorded in Japanese.

12

13

Legacy

  1. 1990Japanese Horse of the Year
  2. 1991JRA Hall of Fame

14 — CULTURAL CROSS REFERENCE

From racing history
to popular culture

Where the record meets the culture it inspired.

  1. REAL RACING ARCHIVE(documented racing history)

    Oguri Cap

    オグリキャップ

    1985–2010 · 4 G1 wins

    A real racehorse. The records, pedigree and honours on this page are documented facts with sources.

  2. FICTION / POP CULTURE REFERENCE(a reference to a work of fiction)

    UMA MUSUME: PRETTY DERBY — A GAME

    オグリキャップ

    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.

  1. 01
    オグリキャップ — Wikipedia(日本語版)

    Wikipedia · Reference · Accessed 2026-09-26

  2. 02
    Oguri Cap — Wikipedia (English)

    Wikipedia · Reference · Accessed 2026-09-26

  3. 03
    オグリキャップ|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

  4. 04
    オグリキャップ:名馬の殿堂(顕彰馬)|JRA

    日本中央競馬会(JRA) · Official · Accessed 2026-09-26

  5. 05
  6. 06

IMAGE CREDITS

Image credits

Each photograph was checked on its individual Wikimedia Commons file page for author and licence.