Gran Alegria

Gran Alegria (Japanese: グランアレグリア foaled 24 January 2016) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning a minor race on her debut in 2018 she won the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup before running third in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. On her first appearance as a three-year-old she won the Oka Sho.

Gran Alegria
Gran Alegria in 2018
SireDeep Impact
GrandsireSunday Silence
DamTapitsfly
DamsireTapit
SexFilly
Foaled24 January 2016[1]
CountryJapan
ColourBay
BreederNorthern Farm
OwnerSunday Racing
TrainerKazuo Fujisawa
Record8: 5-1-1
EarningsJPY453,243,000
Major wins
Saudi Arabia Royal Cup (2018)
Oka Sho (2019)
Hanshin Cup (2019)
Yasuda Kinen (2020)
Awards
JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly (2019)

Background

Gran Alegria is a bay filly with a white star bred in Japan by Northern Farm. During her racing career she has carried the colours of Sunday Racing and has been trained by Kazuo Fujisawa. The filly has been ridden in most of her races by Christophe Lemaire.

She was from the ninth crop of foals sired by Deep Impact, who was the Japanese Horse of the Year in 2005 and 2006, winning races including the Tokyo Yushun, Tenno Sho, Arima Kinen and Japan Cup. Deep Impact's other progeny include Gentildonna, Harp Star, Kizuna, A Shin Hikari, Marialite and Saxon Warrior.[2] Gran Alegria's dam Tapitsfly was a top class American racemare whose wins included the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Just A Game Stakes and First Lady Stakes. She was exported to Japan after being sold for $1,850,000 at the Fasig-Tipton sale.[3] She was a female-line descendant of Pink Dove, who was a half-sister to Golden Pheasant.[4]

Racing career

2018: two-year-old season

Gran Alegria made her racecourse debut in a maiden race over 1600 metres at Tokyo Racecourse on 3 June and won by two lengths from fourteen opponents headed by Danon Fantasy.[5] After a four month break the filly returned for the Grade 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over the same course and distance on 6 October when she was matched against male opposition. Starting the 3/10 favourite she came home three and a half lengths clear of the colt De Gaulle.[6] Instead of contesting Japan's premier race for two-year-old fillies, the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (which was won in her absence by Danon Fantasy), Gran Alegria faced the colts again in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes over 1600 metres at Hanshin Racecourse on 16 December and was made the 1/2 favourite. After racing in second place for most of the way she disputed the lead with Admire Mars in the straight before fading in the final strides and coming home third behind Admire Mars and the 76/1 outsider Kurino Gaudi.[7]

2019: three-year-old season

Gran Alegria began her second campaign in the Grade 1 Oka Sho over 2000 metres at Hanshin on 6 April in which she started the 2.4/1 second favourite behind Danon Fantasy. The other sixteen runners included Chrono Genesis (Daily Hai Queen Cup) as well as No One and Pourville who had run a dead-heat in the Fillies' Revue). After racing in fourth behind the front-running Pourville, Gran Alegria took the lead entering the straight, broke clear of the field and came home two and a half lengths clear of Shigeru Pink Dia. Her winning time of 1:32.7 broke the race record set by Almond Eye in 2018. Christophe Lemaire commented "She certainly won strongly today. I was a little bit worried as it was her first time out after a long break. She was unable to make use of her speed in the Asahi Hai Futurity so I made sure this time to secure a good position early on and from there I had every confidence in her exceptional speed."[8]

On 5 May Gran Alegria was matched against colts again when she was dropped back in distance for the NHK Mile Cup over 1600 metres at Tokyo and started the odds-on favourite. After tracking the leaders she kept on the straight but was unable to quicken in the closing stages and came home fourth behind Admire Mars. She was subsequently relegated to fifth for causing interference. The filly did not return to the track until 21 December when she was matched against older horses in the 1400 metre Hanshin Cup and started the 1.1/1 favourite. Lemaire settled Gran Alegria in mid-division before moving to the front 200 metres from the finish and pulling clear to win by five lengths from the five-year-old Fiano Romano.[9]

In January 2020, at the JRA Awards for 2019, Gran Alegria took the JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly, taking 121 of the 274 votes to win from Loves Only You and Chrono Genesis.[10]

Pedigree
Pedigree of Gran Alegria (JPN), bay filly, 2016[1]
Sire
Deep Impact (JPN)
2002		 Sunday Silence (USA)
1986		 Halo Hail to Reason
Cosmah
Wishing Well Understanding
Mountain Flower
Wind In Her Hair (IRE)
1991		 Alzao (USA) Lyphard
Lady Rebecca (GB)
Burghclere (GB) Busted
Highclere
Dam
Tapitsfly (USA)
2007		 Tapit
2001		 Pulpit A P Indy
Preach
Tap Your Heels Unbridled
Ruby Slippers
Flying Marlin
1999		 Marlin Sword Dance
Syrian Summer
Morning Dove Fortunate Propect
Pink Dove (Family: 3-o)[4]
gollark: Who cares about that?
gollark: For seeing what the arguments are, decent IDEs show that on mouseover.
gollark: Look at it.
gollark: No, Haskell is basically bracket-free.
gollark: Not around function calls (spaces are better, see: haskell) but otherwise.

References
  1. "Gran Alegria pedigree". Equineline.
  2. "Deep Impact - Stud Record". Racing Post.
  3. "Fasig-Tipton sale: Switch to Moyglare Stud for $4.3 million | Daily Racing Form". Daily Racing Form. Retrieved 2017-05-22.
  4. "Black Corrie - Family 3-o". Thoroughbred Bloodlines. Retrieved 2013-07-05.
  5. "Race Records:Lifetime Starts - Gran Alegria(JPN) - JBIS-Search". www.jbis.jp.
  6. "Saudi Arabia Royal Cup result". Racing Post. 6 October 2018.
  7. "Admire Mars Pulls Away Strongly to Capture 70th Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes". Horse Racing in Japan. 16 December 2018.
  8. "Oka Sho Race Record Renewed Again With Gran Alegria's Overwhelming Victory". Horse Racing in Japan. 7 April 2019.
  9. "Hanshin Cup result". Racing Post. 21 December 2019.
  10. "Winners of the 2019 JRA Awards announced". Horse Racing in Japan. 8 January 2020.
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