# Gold City (ゴールドシチー) (horse) **Gold City** (ゴールドシチー; registered as Gold City(JPN)) was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse, a chestnut colt foaled on 16 April 1984, best known for winning the 1986 Hanshin 3-year-old Stakes (G1) and for finishing second in both the Satsuki Sho and the Kikuka Sho during the 1987 classic season.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) • [2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmPHkW6dmDY) | Key fact | Detail | |---|---| | Foaled | 16 April 1984, chestnut colt; bred by Shigekuni Tanaka in Mombetsu, Hokkaido[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) | | Pedigree | Sire Vice Regal (CAN); dam Italian City (1979, by Tesco Boy); second dam Rinnes[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) | | Connections | Owner Yuushun Horse Club Co., Ltd.; trainer Izumi Shimizu (Ritto); regular jockey Yuji Honda[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) | | Record | 20 flat starts, 3 wins [3-4-3-10]; total prize money 179,186,000 yen[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) | | Principal win | Hanshin 3-year-old Stakes (G1), 14 December 1986, 1600 m turf, 1:37.1[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmPHkW6dmDY) | | Classic placings | 2nd in the 1987 Satsuki Sho and Kikuka Sho, both behind Sakura Star O; 4th in the 1987 Japanese Derby[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) | | Retirement | Removed from the JRA register on 4 October 1989; died 2 May 1990[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) | ## Pedigree Gold City was sired by **Vice Regal** (ヴアイスリーガル), a Canadian-bred chestnut stallion of 1966 by [Northern Dancer](https://www.edgepedia.org/northern-dancer) out of Victoria Regina.[3](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000170831/pedigree/) In Japanese stud service Vice Regal sired 303 registered foals, of which 259 started and 180 won; his runners included 9 graded-stakes winners and earned a total of 4,137,625,000 yen, with an AEI (average earnings index) of 1.64.[4](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000170831/pedigree/sire/) The dam, **Italian City** (イタリアンシチー), a 1979 bay mare by the British sprint sire Tesco Boy, was out of Rinnes (1972, by Fidalgo).[3](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000170831/pedigree/) The family carries the number F4-m and traces to the imported foundation mare Chiptop (USA); the pedigree shows crosses of Nearco (S4 × M5 × M5) and Hyperion (M4 × S5).[3](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000170831/pedigree/) The Rinnes line later produced further racehorses carrying the "City" suffix, including Queens City (1995, by Real Shadai) and Chestnut City (2005, by Taiki Shuttle).[5](https://www.keibalab.jp/db/horse/1984105823/blood.html) ## Racing career **Two-year-old season, 1986.** Gold City debuted at Sapporo in June 1986, finishing second in a 1000 m dirt maiden and then a 1200 m maiden before breaking through in the 3-year-old maiden race on 12 July.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) He then won the Cosmos Sho at Hakodate on 20 September and closed the year with his only G1 victory, the Hanshin 3-year-old Stakes on 14 December, taking the 1600 m turf race at 1:37.1 under Yuji Honda as the 3rd favorite.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) • [2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmPHkW6dmDY) His season also included a second in the Sapporo 3-year-old Stakes.[5](https://www.keibalab.jp/db/horse/1984105823/blood.html) **Classic season, 1987.** As a three-year-old Gold City ran seven times without a win but placed repeatedly at the highest level. In the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) at Nakayama on 19 April he finished second behind Sakura Star O despite starting 11th favorite.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) In the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) on 31 May, run before a 24-horse field, he started 2nd favorite and finished fourth behind Merry Nice.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) After a third in the Kobe Shimbun Hai and a disqualification in the Kyoto Shimbun Hai, he returned to Kyoto for the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) on 8 November and again finished second to Sakura Star O, this time as the 2nd favorite, over 3000 m.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) A sixth in the Naruo Kinen behind Tamamo Cross closed the year.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) **Older career, 1988 to 1989.** At four he was third in the Sankei Osaka Hai and fifth in the [Tenno Sho](https://www.edgepedia.org/tenno-sho) (Spring) behind Tamamo Cross, and later third in the Kyoto Daishoten; he also ran twelfth in that year's [Japan Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/japan-cup) behind [Pay the Butler](https://www.edgepedia.org/pay-the-butler).[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) His final season brought a third in the 1989 Sankei Osaka Hai behind Yaeno Muteki, an eleventh in the Tenno Sho (Spring) behind Inari One, and a tenth of eleven favorites' worth of support in the Takarazuka Kinen, where he finished tenth behind Inari One.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) He was removed from the racing register on 4 October 1989 without having won again after his two-year-old season.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) ## Assessment and later significance Gold City's record, 3 wins from 20 starts, understates his standing: he was placed in four of the era's premier races, and his two classic seconds came against Sakura Star O, the horse that also beat him in the Satsuki Sho.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) His total earnings of 179,186,000 yen, of which 57,000,000 yen counted as acquired prize money, reflect consistent performance in major races rather than frequent winning.[1](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) The name Gold City has since been carried by other Japanese horses, including a later Gold City(JPN) listed in JBIS sire-line records in connection with the Japan Dirt Derby, and a horse of Yasuji Yamauchi's stable that failed to win in JRA company before transferring to Iwane racing, where it won twice.[6](https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0001192622/pedigree/sire/) The 1984 colt remains the G1 winner of the name. ## References 1. [競走馬情報：ゴールドシチー (Gold City), JRA](https://sp.jra.jp/JRADB/accessU.html?CNAME=sj01ude101984105823%2FE9) 2. [1986年 阪神3歳ステークス（GⅠ）｜ゴールドシチー, JRA公式 YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmPHkW6dmDY) 3. [5代血統表｜ゴールドシチー, JBISサーチ](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000170831/pedigree/) 4. [父馬情報｜ゴールドシチー, JBISサーチ](https://www.jbis.or.jp/horse/0000170831/pedigree/sire/) 5. [ゴールドシチーの血統データ, 競馬ラボ](https://www.keibalab.jp/db/horse/1984105823/blood.html) 6. [Sire Line: Gold City(JPN), JBIS-Search](https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0001192622/pedigree/sire/) --- *Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Equestrian and animal sports › Horse racing › Racehorses and breeding › Individual Thoroughbred flat racehorses* *Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026* *Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.* License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license