Meisho Hario (Japanese: メイショウハリオ, Hepburn: Meishō Harīo; 25 February 2017) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. He competed from 2020 to 2025, recording ten wins in thirty-two starts, including the Teio Sho (JpnI) in 2022 and 2023, the Kashiwa Kinen (JpnI) in 2023, the Kawasaki Kinen (JpnI) in 2025, the Miyako Stakes (GIII) in 2021, and the March Stakes (GIII) in 2022. He is the half-brother of T O Royal, winner of the 2024 Tennō Shō (Spring).

Background Meisho Hario is a chestnut horse bred in Urakawa, Hokkaido, by Mishima Bokujo. He was sired by Pyro, an American-bred son of Pulpit, and his dam was Meisho Ohi, a daughter of Manhattan Cafe. His dam's half-son T O Royal (by Leontes) won the 2024 Tennō Shō (Spring) and three other graded stakes. His racing name combines the "Meisho" prefix used by owner Yoshio Matsumoto with "Hario," derived from the white-throated needletail (ハリオアマツバメ), the world's fastest bird in level flight. He was sent into training with Inao Okada at the JRA's Ritto Training Center.

Racing career

2020: Three-year-old season Meisho Hario debuted on April 5, 2020, in a maiden race on the dirt at Hanshin Racecourse, finishing fifth. He won a maiden race at Fukushima Racecourse on April 18. He won a 1-win-class race at Kyoto Racecourse on October 17.

2021: Four-year-old season Meisho Hario won the Kokurajo Tokubetsu (Allowance) at Kokura Racecourse in January and the Kunpu Stakes (Allowance) at Tokyo Racecourse in May. He finished second in the July Stakes (Listed) at Fukushima and the Uzumasa Stakes (Open) at Hanshin. On November 7, he won the Miyako Stakes (GIII) at Hanshin, defeating Lord Bless by a nose. He finished seventh in the Champions Cup (GI) at Chukyo Racecourse in December.

2022: Five-year-old season On March 27, Meisho Hario won the March Stakes (GIII) at Nakayama Racecourse, defeating Kenshinko by 0.1 seconds. He finished third in the Heian Stakes (GIII) at Chukyo in May.

On June 29, he contested the Teio Sho (JpnI) at Oi Racecourse, his first start in NAR competition. Ridden by Suguru Hamanaka, he won by a neck over Chuwa Wizard, recording his first Grade 1-level victory. He finished fifth in the JBC Classic (JpnI) at Morioka Racecourse in November and third in the Tokyo Daishoten (GI) at Oi in December.

2023: Six-year-old season Meisho Hario finished third in the February Stakes (GI) at Tokyo in February. On May 4, he won the Kashiwa Kinen (JpnI) at Funabashi Racecourse, defeating Tagano Beauty by 0.1 seconds. On June 28, he won the Teio Sho (JpnI) at Oi for a second consecutive year, defeating Crown Pride by a nose, becoming the first horse to win consecutive runnings of the race. He finished fourth in the JBC Classic (JpnI) at Oi in November and fifth in the Champions Cup (GI) at Chukyo in December.

2024: Seven-year-old season Meisho Hario was scratched from the Saudi Cup (G1) at King Abdulaziz Racetrack on February 24 due to a gait abnormality, which also forced him to miss the Dubai World Cup. He finished ninth in the Teio Sho (JpnI) at Oi in June. He finished third in the Nippon TV Hai (JpnII) at Funabashi in September and second in the JBC Classic (JpnI) at Saga Racecourse in November. He was withdrawn from the Champions Cup (GI) one week before the race due to left hindlimb muscle soreness.

2025: Eight-year-old season and retirement Meisho Hario finished sixth in the February Stakes (GI) at Tokyo in February. On April 9, he won the Kawasaki Kinen (JpnI) at Kawasaki Racecourse, defeating Dicteon by 0.75 lengths, recording his fourth JpnI victory. He finished seventh in the Heian Stakes (GIII) at Kyoto in May. He was scheduled to run the Teio Sho (JpnI) at Oi on July 2, but while en route to Oi, the horse choked on his feed inside the horse van, developing an esophageal obstruction as a result. The horse was rushed to a gas station inside a service area on the Shin-Tōmei Expressway where his groom cleared his throat using a water hose that was available there. The horse was successfully resuscitated, but was withdrawn from the race as a result.

He finished second in the JBC Classic (JpnI) at Funabashi in November. On December 7, he finished fourth in the Champions Cup (GI) at Chukyo, ridden by Yutaka Take for the first time. He was deregistered from JRA competition on December 12, 2025.

Statistics The following table details all 32 starts (plus 2 scratches) of Meisho Hario's racing career based on official netkeiba and JBIS records.

Date Distance (Condition) Race Class Course Odds(Favourite) Field Finish Time Jockey Winning(Losing)Margin Winner(2nd Place) Ref2020 – three-year-old season Dirt 1400 m (Firm) 3-Y-O Maiden Maiden Hanshin 50.2 (11th) 16 5th 1:25.9 Yuji Hishida 0.8 Wide Kant Dirt 1700 m (Good) 3-Y-O Maiden Maiden Fukushima 2.1 (1st) 15 1:49.2 Yuji Hishida –0.3 (Ryugu Hayabusa) Dirt 1800 m (Soft) 3-Y-O 1-Win Class Allowance Kyoto 52.5 (11th) 16 10th 1:51.5 Fuma Matsuwaka 1.2 Sunrise Hope Dirt 1700 m (Soft) 3-Y-O 1-Win Class Allowance Kokura 19.2 (7th) 16 1:43.8 Yuji Hishida 0.2 Lily Minister Dirt 1700 m (Soft) 3-Y-O 1-Win Class Allowance Kokura 6.1 (3rd) 15 5th 1:44.3 Manabu Sakai 1.1 Smart Ariel Dirt 1400 m (Good) 3-Y-O 1-Win Class Allowance Chukyo 2.6 (1st) 14 4th 1:24.6 Yuji Hishida 0.9 Sunrise Rapporte Dirt 1400 m (Soft) 3-Y-O 1-Win Class Allowance Kyoto 5.1 (2nd) 16 1:23.3 Kota Fujioka 0.0 (T Trap)2021 – four-year-old season Dirt 1700 m (Soft) Kokurajo Tokubetsu Allowance Kokura 10.0 (5th) 16 1:43.6 Atsuya Nishimura –0.1 (Meisho Yokaze) Dirt 1400 m (Good) Tenmabashi Stakes 3-Win Class Hanshin 16.3 (8th) 16 10th 1:24.7 Fuma Matsuwaka 0.8 Suzuka Festa Dirt 1600 m (Firm) Kunpu Stakes 3-Win Class Tokyo 15.9 (5th) 16 1:36.8 Kazuo Yokoyama –0.2 (Bambton Heart) Dirt 1700 m (Firm) July Stakes Listed Fukushima 5.6 (2nd) 15 1:44.8 Hironobu Tanabe 0.8 Kenshinko Dirt 1800 m (Firm) Uzumasa Stakes Open Hanshin 11.7 (8th) 16 1:51.3 Yasunari Iwata 0.0 Light Warrior Dirt 1800 m (Firm) Miyako Stakes GIII Hanshin 13.0 (5th) 16 1:50.8 Suguru Hamanaka 0.0 (Lord Bless) Dirt 1800 m (Firm) Champions Cup GI Chukyo 24.8 (10th) 16 7th 1:51.1 Suguru Hamanaka 1.4 T O Keynes2022 – five-year-old season Dirt 1800 m (Soft) March Stakes GIII Nakayama 5.8 (2nd) 16 1:50.2 Suguru Hamanaka –0.1 (Kenshinko) Dirt 1900 m (Firm) Heian Stakes GIII Chukyo 7.0 (3rd) 16 1:57.8 Suguru Hamanaka 0.8 T O Keynes Dirt 2000 m (Firm) Teio Sho JpnI Oi 19.2 (5th) 9 2:03.3 Suguru Hamanaka 0.0 (Chuwa Wizard) Dirt 2000 m (Firm) JBC Classic JpnI Morioka 5.7 (3rd) 15 5th 2:03.3 Suguru Hamanaka 1.2 T O Keynes Dirt 2000 m (Firm) Tokyo Daishoten GI Oi 2.3 (1st) 14 2:05.8 Suguru Hamanaka 0.8 Ushba Tesoro2023 – six-year-old season Dirt 1600 m (Firm) February Stakes GI Tokyo 10.7 (4th) 16 1:36.2 Suguru Hamanaka 0.6 Lemon Pop Dirt 1600 m (Firm) Kashiwa Kinen JpnI Funabashi 3.2 (2nd) 13 1:39.3 Suguru Hamanaka –0.1 (Tagano Beauty) Dirt 2000 m (Firm) Teio Sho JpnI Oi 3.9 (2nd) 12 2:01.9 Suguru Hamanaka 0.0 (Crown Pride) Dirt 2000 m (Firm) JBC Classic JpnI Oi 2.3 (1st) 10 4th 2:06.5 Suguru Hamanaka 1.4 King's Sword Dirt 1800 m (Firm) Champions Cup GI Chukyo 15.9 (6th) 15 5th 1:51.3 Suguru Hamanaka 0.7 Lemon Pop2024 – seven-year-old season Dirt 1800 m (Fast) Saudi Cup G1 KAA – 15 Scratched – Suguru Hamanaka – Senor Buscador Dirt 2000 m (Good) Teio Sho JpnI Oi 10.9 (5th) 13 9th 2:09.3 Suguru Hamanaka 2.4 King's Sword Dirt 1800 m (Firm) Nippon TV Hai JpnII Funabashi 15.3 (4th) 13 1:53.9 Suguru Hamanaka 1.1 William Barows Dirt 2000 m (Firm) JBC Classic JpnI Saga 6.4 (4th) 11 2:08.8 Suguru Hamanaka 0.8 Wilson Tesoro2025 – eight-year-old season Dirt 1600 m (Firm) February Stakes GI Tokyo 68.1 (11th) 16 6th 1:36.3 Suguru Hamanaka 0.8 Costa Nova Dirt 2100 m (Good) Kawasaki Kinen JpnI Kawasaki 6.3 (3rd) 13 2:18.0 Suguru Hamanaka –0.1 (Diktaean) Dirt 1900 m (Good) Heian Stakes GIII Kyoto 5.5 (3rd) 16 7th 1:57.8 Suguru Hamanaka 0.6 Outrange Dirt 2000 m (Firm) Teio Sho JpnI Oi – 14 Scratched – Suguru Hamanaka – Mikki Fight Dirt 1800 m (Good) JBC Classic JpnI Funabashi 39.2 (7th) 14 1:52.6 Suguru Hamanaka 0.6 Mikki Fight Dirt 1800 m (Firm) Champions Cup GI Chukyo 16.2 (8th) 16 4th 1:50.6 Yutaka Take 0.4 W Heart Bond

Post-racing career Following his retirement, Meisho Hario entered stud at East Stud in Urakawa, Hokkaido.

Pedigree

Meisho Hario is inbred 4 × 5 to Mr. Prospector and 5 × 5 to Hail to Reason. His half-brother T O Royal (by Leontes) won the 2024 Tennō Shō (Spring, GI) and three other graded stakes.

See also Thoroughbred racing in Japan Teio Sho Kawasaki Kinen

References