Rice Shower
Rice Shower was a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse who won multiple Group 1 titles.
History
His name refers to the tradition of throwing rice at weddings for good luck.Rice Shower's first race was on September 21, 1991, when he won the 1991 Fuyo Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse.
On November 8, 1992, Rice Shower captured the first major win of his career by winning the 1992 Kikuka-shō, defeating the favored Mihono Bourbon in the process. This was the horse's only win of 1992, though he came in second at the 1992 Tokyo Yūshun.
Rice Shower had a strong 1993 season. He captured the Nikkei Sho on March 21, then followed it up by winning a second Group 1 title, the April 23 Tenno Sho, dashing hopes for Mejiro McQueen to win the race three times in a row. This race, as well as the 1992 upset against Mihono Bourbon, earned Rice Shower the nickname 'Black Assassin'.
He was winless in 1994, but in 1995, he captured the Tenno Sho for a second time on April 23.
After that, Rice Shower entered Takarazuka Kinen on June 4, 1995. In this race, the majority of the runners in the field are selected by a vote from racing fans. That time, Rice Shower was running the race as a vote leader. Rice Shower stumbled and fell at the third corner, suffering a fatal open fracture and dislocation of his left foreleg. With no hope of recovery and unable to even be transported to a clinic, he had to be euthanized on the track itself at the age of 6.
Racing Form
The following racing form is based on information available on JBIS search and netkeiba.com.Legend:
- on the time indicates that this was a record time