Introduction to the Great Horse: Deep Sky

Today, I would like to introduce a horse I personally like very much,Deep Sky (born 2005, colt).I will introduce him.

◆ What attracted me to him
・Above all, he is beautiful
First and foremost, he has an outstanding appearance, with a beautiful chestnut coat and a magnificent physique weighing over 500kg.

・Above all, he is sharp
The powerful and razor-sharp finishing kick unleashed from his magnificent and beautiful body is also very attractive.

・Above all, he is humble
He possesses an inner humility, always finishing just behind the superstars of the time in legendary races, effectively highlighting the main protagonists.

・Above all, he is polite
In his four races before retirement, he always treated his seniors, who were a year older, with respect and helped set the stage for their victories.

・Above all, he is calm
He remains calm even before a race. Also, in his off-time, he is friendly and full of service spirit.

・Above all, he is cute
Such a personality is also reflected in his facial features, giving him a cute eclair-like face.

◆ His race record
His greatest honor is achieving the irregular double crown of the NHK Mile and the Japanese Derby.
The irregular double crown is a great achievement that onlyKing KamehamehaandDeep Skyhave ever accomplished.

Another thing often mentioned when talking about him is that it took him six races to break his maiden.
I imagine that when he was a young horse, he had no interest in running the fastest, and he just enjoyed running around happily with everyone else.

◆ The turning point in March of his 3-year-old year
In the Mainichi Hai, he teamed up for the first time with jockey Shii, who would ride him in all his subsequent races.
I think jockey Shii taught him the fun and pleasure of running fast.

It might just be my imagination, but when he was about to take the lead halfway through the Mainichi Hai, it looked like he glanced around and almost stopped running for a moment.
He accelerated again when jockey Shii urged him on. I imagine that was when he first learned the joy of sprinting at full speed on the green turf.

◆ Irregular double crown
(1) NHK Mile
During the race, he was near third from the back. Many fans thought he was too far behind.

The track at Fuchu that day was yielding, and the inside of the straight was rough, so the horses that had been leading sought a path to the outside. However, as they turned into the straight,Deep Skychose the wide-open inside path.

Taking advantage of his cornering, he caught up to the leading group, accelerated without worrying about the poor footing, and in the end, showed the leeway to ease up as he crossed the finish line in first place.

(2) Japanese Derby
In the Derby, he also traveled around third from the back.
This time, he sought a path to the far outside while rounding the fourth corner.
Once he secured his path, he unleashed a powerful kick from there. He swept past all the horses running ahead of him.
The sharpness of that finishing kick captivated those who watched.

Also, jockey Shii achieved a second consecutive Japanese Derby victory followingVodkathe previous year. At the time, only jockey Yutaka Take had achieved this.

Winning two G1 races with completely different characteristics, 1600m and 2400m, in a short period is an incredible record, I think.
Every year when early summer arrives, I remember those two horses who achieved such great feats.

◆ The rare 'good fight' boy
After winning his first race of the autumn, the Kobe Shimbun Hai, he chose to fight against older horses instead of heading to the Kikuka Sho.

・ Tenno Sho (Autumn)
His first race was the Autumn Tenno Sho, which is passed down as a legendary battle. He chased the front-runningDaiwa Scarletalong withVodkain the straight, but finished 3rd with the same time.

I feel like he realized that the protagonists of the day were the two senior fillies and held back.
Even so, he finished ahead ofCompany, who won the Autumn Tenno Sho and Mile Championship the following year, so he certainly made his presence known.

・ Japan Cup
This time, he finished ahead of Vodka. However, in a slow-paced race, he could not quite catch Screen Hero, who had broken away earlier, and finished in second place by half a length.

For Screen Hero, who was one year his senior, this marked his only G1 victory.

・ Sankei Osaka Hai
He turned four. He was ambushed by Dream Journey, also one year his senior, who had been marking him throughout the race.
Although he rallied again at the end, he was defeated by a neck in the same time.

・ Yasuda Kinen
Vodka and his third showdown in the Yasuda Kinen was also a great race that will be passed down to future generations.

Deep Sky ran a perfect race and succeeded in containing Vodka, but Vodka showed a demonic turn of foot that surpassed that, overpowering Deep Sky and the rest of the field.

・ Takarazuka Kinen
Perhaps due to the fatigue of consecutive races, his usual sharp finishing kick was not seen, and he was overtaken again in the straight by Dream Journey, finishing third.

And, as it turned out, the Takarazuka Kinen became his final race.

◆ Retirement
During his summer campaign in Hokkaido, he was diagnosed with the same superficial digital flexor tendonitis as his sire, Agnes Tachyon, and was retired immediately.

Although he could not win a big title after becoming an older horse, his record of achieving the irregular double crown will never fade.
Furthermore, every race he ran was a magnificent battle, making him a famous horse that remains in both records and memories.