Tesco Boy
Tesco Boy was a British thoroughbred racehorse and sire. While only moderately successful in racing, he became a major breeding sire in Japan in the 1970s and was on six occasions the leading sire in the country.
Overview
Tesco Boy was foaled in 1963. He was owned by Sir Jack Cohen, the founder of Tesco, who named the horse after the supermarket chain. As a race horse, Tesco Boy started in 11 races, winning five. His most notable result was a win in the 1966 Queen Anne Stakes, while also taking victories in lesser races, such as the Rose of York Stakes. He also placed in the Sussex Stakes, Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, and Champion Stakes the same year.Tesco Boy was retired from racing in 1967, and was initially sent to stud in Ireland. At the end of 1967, he was exported to Japan to stand stud at the Hidaka Light Stallion Agricultural Cooperative's Monbestu Stud Farm in the Hokkaido region. In Japan, Tesco Boy saw massive success as a sire and became a major part of the Japanese horse racing bloodline. In six different years, Tesco Boy was the leading sire in Japan and his offspring would win nearly all of Japan's major races. Included among his most notable progeny are Kitano Kachidoki, Tosho Boy, Tesco Gaby, and Hagino Kamui O, all of whom won major races that would later be considered Grade 1 when grading was introduced to horse racing. Tosho Boy himself also became a successful sire after his racing career. As a broodmare sire, Tesco Boy was also highly successful, with his daughters producing such successful race horses as Ines Fujin, the 1990 Tōkyō Yūshun winner, Trot Thunder, the 1996 Yasuda Kinen and Mile Championship winner, and Nehai Caesar, the 1994 Autumn Tenno Sho winner. He is also the grandsire of Mr. C. B., who won the Japanese Triple Crown in 1983.
Another of Tesco Boy's grandsons, Sakura Bakushin O, became a successful sire in his own right, and Tesco Boy's bloodline continues in the 21st century mainly through descendants of Sakura Bakushin O. This includes Kitasan Black, of whom Sakura Bakushin O is the damsire of.
Tesco Boy died on 25 October 1987, aged 24.
Notable progeny
c = colt, f = filly, g = geldingbold = grade 1 stakes
| Foaled | Name | Sex | Major Wins |
| 1968 | Lord David | c | 1972 Rosebery Handicap |
| 1968 | Rotisserie | f | 1971 Fred Darling Stakes |
| 1968 | Super Honey | f | 1971 Princess Elizabeth Stakes |
| 1968 | Whats-a-Name | f | 1970 Testimonial Stakes |
| 1969 | Kamino Chidori | f | 1974 Himba Tokyo Times Hai |
| 1969 | Land Prince | c | 1972 Satsuki Shō |
| 1970 | Fujino Takawashi | c | 1974 Swan Stakes |
| 1970 | Rinne Rund | f | 1974 Himba Tokyo Times Hai |
| 1970 | Yama Tesco | f | 1973 Niigata Kinen |
| 1971 | Kitano Kachidoki | c | 1973 Hanshin Sansai Stakes, Daily Hai Nisai Stakes, 1974 Satsuki Shō, Kikuka-shō, Kyoto Shimbun Hai, Spring Stakes, Kobe Shimbun Hai, Kisaragi Sho, 1975 Yomiuri Milers Cup |
| 1971 | Western Dash | c | 1975 Nikkan Sports Sho Kimpai, |
| 1972 | Raijin | c | 1974 Hanshin Sansai Stakes |
| 1972 | Tesco Gaby | f | 1974 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes, 1975 Yushun Himba, Oka Sho, Fillies' Revue, Keisei Hai |
| 1972 | Three Flam | c | 1975 Kisaragi Sho |
| 1973 | Furokan Boy | c | 1977 Swan Stakes |
| 1973 | Hokuto Boy | c | 1976 Hanshin Daishōten, 1977 Tenno Sho , Kyoto Kinen, Asahi Challenge Cup, 1979 Swan Stakes |
| 1973 | Tosho Boy | c | 1976 Satsuki Shō, Arima Kinen, Kyoto Shimbun Hai, Kobe Shimbun Hai, 1977 Takarazuka Kinen, Takamatsunomiya Kinen |
| 1974 | Daiwa Tesco | f | 1977 Hanshin Himba Stakes, |
| 1974 | Three Fire | f | 1978 Kinko Sho, Hankyu Hai, 1979 Kitakyushu Kinen, Chunichi Shimbun Hai |
| 1975 | Inter Gushiken | c | 1978 Kikuka-shō, NHK Hai, Kisaragi Sho, 1979 Kyoto Kimpai |
| 1975 | Oyama Tesco | f | 1978 Oka Sho |
| 1975 | Tanino Tesco | f | 1981 Hanshin Himba Stakes |
| 1976 | Horsemen Tesco | f | 1979 Oka Sho |
| 1976 | Marry Joy | f | 1980 CBC Sho, Kinko Sho |
| 1977 | Lindo Taiyo | c | 1979 Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes, 1980 Tokyo Yonsai Stakes |
| 1978 | Agnes Tesco | f | 1981 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Kobe Shimbun Hai |
| 1978 | Calstone Tesco | f | 1983 Hanshin Himba Stakes |
| 1978 | Takeno Dia | f | 1980 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes |
| 1979 | Hagino Kamui O | c | 1982 Kyoto Shimbun Hai, Spring Stakes, Kobe Shimbun Hai, 1983 Takarazuka Kinen, Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Swan Stakes |
| 1981 | Sette Juno | f | 1987 Niigata Daishoten |
| 1982 | Dokan Tesco | c | 1986 Sprinters Stakes |
| 1982 | Sakura Yutaka O | c | 1985 Kyodo Tsushin Hai, 1986 Tenno Sho , Mainichi Okan, Sankei Osaka Hai |
| 1983 | Pot Tesco Lady | f | 1986 Hanshin Himba Stakes, 1987 Swan Stakes, Kyoto Himba Stakes |
Broodmare sire
Tesco Boy is also the broodmare sire of several grade-1 winning horses. These horses include the following:- Bamboo Atlas, 1982 Tōkyō Yūshun
- Kushiro King, 1986 Spring Tenno Sho
- Gold City, 1986 Hanshin Sansai Stakes
- Ines Fujin, 1989 Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes and 1990 Tōkyō Yūshun
- Isono Roubles, 1991 Yushun Himba
- Trot Thunder, 1995 Mile Championship and 1996 Yasuda Kinen
- Nehai Caesar, 1994 Autumn Tenno Sho
- Daitaku Yamato, 2000 Sprinters Stakes
- Erimo Chic, 1997 Queen Elizabeth II Cup
- Narita Homare, 1998 Derby Grand Prix
Pedigree