Espoir City (Japanese: エスポワールシチー, Hepburn: Espowaaru Shichii; foaled April 22, 2005) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 2010 February Stakes.

Background Espoir City was foaled out of Eminent City who won three out of 23 races. He was sired by Gold Allure who won the 2002 Japan Dirt Derby, 2002 Tokyo Daishoten and 2003 February Stakes.

In the beginning, his dam had some complications when giving birth to her first foal, causing her womb to get damaged. She got permission later from the veterinarian to continue her duties as a broodmare. At the order of Yushun Horse, Eminent City was scheduled to be slaughtered, but the breeder, Ikuchise kept her in secret as a riding horse for Scarlet Riding Club for several years. It wasn't until Espoir City's gradual success on the dirt when the details had been fully revealed to the public.

His name came from the French word for hope, Espoir and the Yushun Horse crown's name, City.

Racing career Espoir City debuted on March 9, 2008, at Hanshin, where he came in 3rd. He got his first win after six races on July 29, 2008, when he won at Kokura. He then picked up another win at Kokura on August 10, 2008. This sparked a 4 race winstreak.

2009 was a very successful year for Espoir City. He went on a 6 race winstreak. He picked up his first graded win on March 29, 2009, when he won the March Stakes. He then won his first Grade 1 race by winning the May 5th, 2009 Kashiwa Kinen. He also won both the JpnI Mile Championship Nambu Hai on October 12, 2009, and the G1 2009 Champions Cup in December.

He started off 2010 with another Grade 1 win, this time at the February 21st, 2010 February Stakes. He then successfully defended his Kashiwa Kinen title on May 5, 2010, to cap off his win streak.

His next win came on March 21, 2011, when he won the Nagoya Taishoten. He tried to defend his Kashiwa Kinen title for a 2nd time in May, but came in 3rd place. He was only able to win one more race in 2011, when he captured the November 2011 Miyako Stakes.

He returned to the Kashiwa Kinen on May 2, 2012, and won the race for the 3rd and final time. Later in October, he also re-captured the Mile Championship Nambu Hai.

2013 was Espoir City's final year in racing. He came in 2nd at the 2013 February Stakes and at the 2013 Kashiwa Kinen. He then won the Mile Championship Nambu Hai for the 3rd and final time in October. His last win was the November 4th, 2013 Japan Breeding farms' Cup Sprint. He finished his career with a 7th-place finish at the Champions Cup on December 1, 2013. After retirement, he became a breeding stallion at Yushun Stallion Station.

Racing form Espoir City won 17 and placed 13 races in 40 starts. The data available is based on JBIS and netkeiba. Date Race Grade Distance Surface Condition Track Entry Finish Time Margin Jockey Winner (Runner-up)2008 – three-year-old season Mar 9 3YO debut 1600m Turf Firm Hanshin 163rd 1:37.9 -0.3 Tetsuzō Satō Agnes Minuet Mar 29 3YO maiden 1400m Turf Firm Hanshin 182nd 1:23.0 0.0 Tetsuzō Satō Blast Off Apr 20 3YO maiden 1800m Turf Heavy Fukushima 16 5th 1:54.7 0.6 Eiji Nakadate Southern General May 3 3YO maiden 1600m Turf Firm Kyoto 14 6th 1:35.6 0.6 Tetsuzō Satō Tagano Erushiko Jun 21 3YO maiden 1400m Turf Good Hanshin 172nd 1:22.7 0.4 Tetsuzō Satō Tamamo Nice Play Jul 20 3YO maiden 1200m Turf Firm Kokura 181st 1:08.5 0.0 Tetsuzō Satō (Danon Perth) Aug 10 Akiyoshidai Tokubetsu ALW (1W) 1200m Turf Firm Kokura 18 7th 1:09.2 0.5 Tetsuzō Satō Fixias Aug 30 3YO maiden 1700m Dirt Good Kokura 161st 1:42.4 -1.1 Kōichi Tsunoda (Professional) Sep 27 Nishiwaki Tokubetsu ALW (2W) 1800m Dirt Fast Hanshin 151st 1:51.6 -0.3 Tetsuzō Satō (Clean) Nov 2 Kinshu Stakes ALW (3W) 1600m Dirt Fast Tokyo 161st 1:35.3 -0.8 Masami Matsuoka (Epsom Auron) Nov 24 Topaz Stakes OP 1800m Dirt Good Kyoto 161st 1:50.8 -0.3 Tetsuzō Satō (Dark Message)2009 – four-year-old season Jan 25 Heian Stakes G3 1800m Dirt Good Kyoto 162nd 1:50.4 0.0 Tetsuzō Satō Wonder Speed Feb 22 February Stakes G1 1600m Dirt Good Tokyo 16 4th 1:34.8 0.2 Tetsuzō Satō Success Brocken Mar 29 March Stakes G3 1800m Dirt Fast Nakayama 161st 1:51.9 -0.2 Masami Matsuoka (Daisho Jet) May 5 Kashiwa Kinen Jpn1 1600m Dirt Sloppy Funabashi 131st 1:35.9 -0.1 Tetsuzō Satō (Kane Hekili) Oct 12 Mile Championship Nambu Hai Jpn1 1600m Dirt Fast Morioka 151st 1:35.4 -0.7 Tetsuzō Satō (Success Brocken) Dec 6 Champions Cup G1 1800m Dirt Fast Hanshin 161st 1:49.9 -0.6 Tetsuzō Satō (Silk Mobius)2010 – five-year-old season Feb 21 February Stakes G1 1600m Dirt Fast Tokyo 161st 1:34.9 -0.4 Tetsuzō Satō (Testa Matta) May 5 Kashiwa Kinen Jpn1 1600m Dirt Fast Funabashi 141st 1:36.8 -0.2 Tetsuzō Satō (Furioso) Oct 11 Mile Championship Nambu Hai Jpn1 1600m Dirt Good Morioka 122nd 1:35.3 0.5 Tetsuzō Satō Oro Meister Nov 6 Breeders Cup Classic G1 1 1⁄4 miles Dirt Fast Churchill Downs 11 10th – – Tetsuzō Satō Blame2011 – six-year-old season Mar 21 Nagoya Daishoten Jpn2 1900m Dirt Muddy Nagoya 121st -0.4 Tetsuzō Satō (Wonder Acute) May 5 Kashiwa Kinen Jpn1 1600m Dirt Good Funabashi 133rd 1:38.6 0.4 Tetsuzō Satō Furioso Jun 29 Teio Sho Jpn1 2000m Dirt Fast Ohi 112nd 2:02.9 1.8 Tetsuzō Satō Smart Falcon Oct 10 Mile Championship Nambu Hai Jpn1 1600m Dirt Fast Tokyo 15 4th 1:35.1 0.3 Masami Matsuoka Transcend Nov 6 Miyako Stakes G3 1800m Dirt Good Kyoto 151st 1:48.4 -0.6 Tetsuzō Satō (Tosho Freak) Dec 4 Champions Cup G1 1800m Dirt Fast Hanshin 163rd 1:50.9 0.3 Tetsuzō Satō Transcend2012 – seven-year-old season Jan 22 Heian Stakes G3 1800m Dirt Muddy Kyoto 162nd 1:48.3 0.2 Tetsuzō Satō Hiraboku King Feb 19 February Stakes G1 1600m Dirt Fast Tokyo 16 5th 1:36.0 0.6 Yutaka Take Testa Matta May 2 Kashiwa Kinen Jpn1 1600m Dirt Sloppy Tokyo 131st 1:36.5 -0.5 Tetsuzō Satō (Furioso) Jun 27 Teio Sho Jpn1 2000m Dirt Fast Ohi 132nd 2:03.7 0.7 Tetsuzō Satō Gold Blitz Aug 25 Elm Stakes G3 1700m Dirt Fast Sapporo 112nd 1:42.2 0.0 Tetsuzō Satō Roman Legend Oct 8 Mile Championship Nambu Hai Jpn1 1600m Dirt Fast Morioka 131st 1:35.9 -0.6 Tetsuzō Satō (Daisho Jet) Dec 2 Champions Cup G1 1800m Dirt Fast Hanshin 16 10th 1:50.4 1.6 Yutaka Take Nihonpiro Ours Dec 29 Tokyo Daishoten G1 2000m Dirt Sloppy Ohi 12 5th 2:07.6 1.7 Masami Matsuoka Roman Legend2013 – eight-year-old season Feb 17 February Stakes G1 1600m Dirt Fast Tokyo 162nd 1:35.2 0.1 Masami Matsuoka Grape Brandy May 6 Kashiwa Kinen Jpn1 1600m Dirt Fast Funabashi 112nd 1:38.1 0.3 Suguru Hamanaka Hokko Tarumae Oct 14 Mile Championship Nambu Hai Jpn1 1600m Dirt Fast Morioka 131st 1:34.1 -0.2 Hiroki Goto (Hokko Tarumae) Nov 4 Japan Breeding Farms' Cup Sprint Jpn1 1400m Dirt Muddy Kanazawa 121st 1:27.1 -0.3 Hiroki Goto (Dream Valentino) Dec 1 Champions Cup G1 1800m Dirt Fast Hanshin 16 7th 1:51.4 1.0 Hiroki Goto Belshazzar indicated that it was a record run All Jpn graded races are labeled as "Listed" in international scale.

Stud career Espoir City's descendants include:

c = colt, f = filly

Foaled Name Sex Major Wins 2015 Yamano Fight c Haneda Hai 2015 Eternal Mall f Jungfrau Sho 2015 Cornus Florida c Hyogo Derby, Sonoda Junior Cup2017Keiai DoriecHokkaido Sprint Cup2017Smile WecTeletama Hai Oval Sprint2017VacationcZen-Nippon Nisai Yushun 2018 Igniter c Japan Breeding farms' Cup Sprint, Sakitama Hai 2019 Peisha Es c Nagoya Grand Prix, Elm Stakes

In popular culture An anthropomorphized version of the horse appears as a character in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Asaka.

Pedigree

References