# Cesario (シーザリオ) (horse)
**Cesario** (シーザリオ) was a Japanese-bred Thoroughbred racehorse, a filly by [Special Week](https://www.edgepedia.org/special-week) out of Kirov Premiere (GB), who won the 2005 Japanese Oaks and then the Grade 1 American Oaks at [Hollywood Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-park), becoming the first Japanese-bred horse to win a Grade 1 race in North America.[1](https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/pdf/tdn/2005/tdn050705.pdf) • [2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) • [3](https://chrb.ca.gov/DocumentRequestor2.aspx?Category=REPORTS&DocumentID=40713&SubCategory=ANNUAL)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Breeding | By Special Week (JPN); first dam Kirov Premiere (GB), a graded stakes winner by Sadler's Wells; bred by Northern Farm (JPN)[1](https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/pdf/tdn/2005/tdn050705.pdf) |
| Connections | Owned by Carrot Farm; trained by Katsuhiko Sumii; regularly ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga[1](https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/pdf/tdn/2005/tdn050705.pdf) • [2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) |
| Japanese Oaks | Won the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) on May 22, 2005 in Tokyo, by a neck[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-04-sp-oaks4-story.html) |
| American Oaks | Won the Grade 1, $750,000 American Oaks Invitational, July 3, 2005, Hollywood Park, by four lengths[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) |
| Stakes record | 1:59.03 for 1 1/4 miles on turf, a stakes record in the fourth running of the race[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) |
| Career record | 6 starts, 5 wins, 1 second; earnings $2,578,568[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) |
| 2005 rating | Rated 120 by the IFHA in the Japan country rankings (116 in the Top 10 Japanese-trained list), on turf, with an intermediate (I) aptitude[5](https://www.ifhaonline.org/resources/2005Rankings/2005_Top10cnty_JPN.asp) • [6](https://www.ifhaonline.org/resources/2005Rankings/2005_Top10JAPN_B.asp) |
## Racing career
Cesario ran six times, winning five and finishing second once, for earnings of $2,578,568.[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) In Japan's 2005 fillies' classics she was runner-up in the 1000 Guineas (Oka Sho) behind Rhein Kraft, then won the Oaks ([Yushun Himba](https://www.edgepedia.org/yushun-himba)) on May 22 in Tokyo, catching Sunday Silence's daughters Air Messiah and Dia De La Novia close home for a neck victory.[1](https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/pdf/tdn/2005/tdn050705.pdf) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-04-sp-oaks4-story.html)
**The American Oaks.** On July 3, 2005 she traveled to Hollywood Park in [Inglewood, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/inglewood-california) for the Grade 1, $750,000 American Oaks Invitational, then the richest race in the United States for 3-year-old fillies on turf, run at 1 1/4 miles.[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) She was the 5-2 second choice in a field of 12 that included five invaders from Europe and opposition from three continents.[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-03-sp-oaks3-story.html) Away quickly from the outside post under Yuichi Fukunaga, she tracked the pacesetter Isla Cozzene, took the lead along the backstretch without being asked, led by 2 1/2 lengths after a mile, and won by four lengths over the 6-5 favorite Melhor Ainda, with Singhalese third at 43-1.[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) Her time of 1:59.03 set a stakes record in the race's fourth running.[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) Fukunaga described it as the best race of her career, and trainer Katsuhiko Sumii called it the first step in a dream of winning in American racing.[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks)
The win set off a large celebration in the winner's circle and drew extensive coverage from Japanese newspapers and television, whose representatives attended in force.[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks) • [7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-03-sp-oaks3-story.html) The California Horse Racing Board's annual report records that she dominated 11 rivals in becoming the first Japanese-bred to win a Grade I race in North America.[3](https://chrb.ca.gov/DocumentRequestor2.aspx?Category=REPORTS&DocumentID=40713&SubCategory=ANNUAL) The previous year the Japanese-bred filly Dance in the Mood had finished second in the same race as favorite.[2](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks)
## Ratings and recognition
In the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities' 2005 rankings, Cesario appears among the top Japanese-trained horses. The country-by-country page for Japan lists her at a rating of 120 for her win in the American Oaks Invitational on July 3, while the Top 10 Japanese-trained horses list gives 116 for the same race; both list her as a 3-year-old filly on turf with an intermediate aptitude.[5](https://www.ifhaonline.org/resources/2005Rankings/2005_Top10cnty_JPN.asp) • [6](https://www.ifhaonline.org/resources/2005Rankings/2005_Top10JAPN_B.asp) In the Top 10 list she ranked fourth among Japanese-trained horses for 2005, behind Deep Impact (120), Asakusa Den'en (119), and Heart's Cry (117).[6](https://www.ifhaonline.org/resources/2005Rankings/2005_Top10JAPN_B.asp) The Japan Racing Association's world top-50 listing for 2005 also includes her for the American Oaks Invitational win.[8](https://www.jra.go.jp/datafile/ranking/top50wrh/pdf/20051116-top50.pdf)
## Pedigree and family
Cesario was sired by Special Week, Japan's leading earner by a sizable margin in 1999, whose six victories that year from eight starts included both versions of the [Tenno Sho](https://www.edgepedia.org/tenno-sho) and the [Japan Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/japan-cup).[1](https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/pdf/tdn/2005/tdn050705.pdf) Her dam, Kirov Premiere (GB), was a graded stakes winner who earned $136,072 and was purchased by Katsumi Yoshida for $280,000 at Keeneland's 1994 November Sale; she was by Sadler's Wells out of Querida (Ire), by Habitat.[1](https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/pdf/tdn/2005/tdn050705.pdf) The JBIS pedigree database records Cesario's family number as F16-a, with Kirov Premiere as the imported foundation mare of her line.[9](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000743110/pedigree/) Her family traces back four generations to Pia, winner of the [Epsom Oaks](https://www.edgepedia.org/epsom-oaks) in 1967.[10](https://www.drf.com/news/japanese-ought-adjust-their-stakes-restrictions)
## Broodmare record
After her racing career Cesario became a broodmare, and JBIS maintains her as a broodmare with a recorded produce record.[11](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000743110/broodmare/info/)
## References
1. [American Oaks Invitational S. result and pedigree commentary, Thoroughbred Daily News, July 5, 2005](https://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/pdf/tdn/2005/tdn050705.pdf)
2. [Steve Andersen, "Cesario best in American Oaks," Daily Racing Form, July 3, 2005](https://www.drf.com/news/cesario-best-american-oaks)
3. [35th Annual Report of the California Horse Racing Board](https://chrb.ca.gov/DocumentRequestor2.aspx?Category=REPORTS&DocumentID=40713&SubCategory=ANNUAL)
4. ["Japan Breaks Through With Win by Cesario," Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2005](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-04-sp-oaks4-story.html)
5. [The 2005 Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings by Country: Japan, IFHA](https://www.ifhaonline.org/resources/2005Rankings/2005_Top10cnty_JPN.asp)
6. [Top 10 Japanese Trained Horses, 2005, IFHA](https://www.ifhaonline.org/resources/2005Rankings/2005_Top10JAPN_B.asp)
7. ["Cesario Captures Japan's Attention," Los Angeles Times, July 3, 2005](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-jul-03-sp-oaks3-story.html)
8. [JRA World Top 50 Racehorses, May 1 to November 2, 2005](https://www.jra.go.jp/datafile/ranking/top50wrh/pdf/20051116-top50.pdf)
9. [Cesario (JPN) pedigree, JBIS-Search](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000743110/pedigree/)
10. ["Japanese ought to adjust their stakes restrictions," Daily Racing Form, 2005](https://www.drf.com/news/japanese-ought-adjust-their-stakes-restrictions)
11. [Cesario (JPN) broodmare information, JBIS-Search](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000743110/broodmare/info/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Equestrian and animal sports › Horse racing › Racehorses and breeding › Individual Thoroughbred flat racehorses*
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