The is a Grade 2

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 flat

Flat racing

Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...

 horse race

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 for three-year-old and above thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

s run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) at Hanshin Racecourse

Hanshin Racecourse

is located in Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan. It is used for horse racing. The land was originally owned by Kawanishi Aircraft Company, which manufactured combat planes during World War II. After the WWII, GHQ ordered the company to stop manufacturing combat planes, which ended in closing the factory. In...

 in September.

It was first run in 1987 and takes its name from a statue at the racecourse in the form of the mythological creature Centaur

Centaur

In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...

.

Prior to 2000 the race was run over a distance of 1,400 metres (7 furlongs), and having originally been classed as a Domestic Grade 3 race, it was promoted to Domestic Grade 2 status in 2006 and it was promoted to International Grade 2 status in 2007.

From 2005 to 2010 it was a leg of the Global Sprint Challenge

Global Sprint Challenge

The Global Sprint Challenge is a Thoroughbred horse racing series inaugurated in 2005 as a series of six sprint races run across three racing jurisdictions in Australia, England and Japan. In 2006 the series expanded to seven races across four racing jurisdictions with the inclusion of a race in...

 series. It has now been replaced as a Japanese leg of the series by the Takamatsunomiya Kinen

Takamatsunomiya Kinen

The is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1,200 metres at Chukyo Racecourse in late March.The forerunner of this race was the...

.

Winners

Year	Winner	Age	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
1987	Mr. Boy	5	Hiroshi Kawachi	Tadashi Nakao	Iwao Obara	1:22.5
1988	Sankin Hayate	4	Hiroshi Kawachi	Kōjirō Hashiguchi	Sakino Kawahara	1:21.7
1989	Hoei Sovereign	5	Yoshiyuki Muramoto	Tetsuya Meno	Suetsugu Kitagawa	1:20.9
1990	Eiko Caesar	5	Nobuyuki Tajima	Isao Yasuda	Ken'ichi Ikeuchi	1:08.5
1991	Nifty Niece	4	Keiji Takehara	Yasuhisa Matsuyama	Zen'ya Yoshida	1:07.9
1992	My Superman	6	Katsumi Minai	Yukiharu Shikato	Goichi Sugawara	1:07.6
1993	Elizabeth Rose	4	Hiroshi Kawachi	Sakae Watanabe	Katsumi Yoshida	1:22.1
1994	Eishin Washington	3	Shigefumi Kumazawa	Shigeharu Naitō	Toyomitsu Hirai	1:08.7
1995	Biko Pegasus	4	Yutaka Take Yutaka Take is a Japanese jockey who is a multiple champion in his homeland and won the Japan Cup in 1999 on the horse Special Week...	Tsugio Yanagida	Legend	1:21.2
1996	Fujino Makken O	5	Yutaka Take	Yoshio Nakamura	Hirotoshi Nakamura	1:21.0
1997	Osumi Tycoon	6	Kōshirō Take Koshiro Take is a Japanese jockey. He is the younger brother of Yutaka Take.-Major wins: Japan* Kikuka Sho - - Song of Wind * NHK Mile Cup - - Win Kluger * Shuka Sho - - Tico Tico Tac ...	Kunihiko Take	Hidenori Yamaji	1:21.0
1998	Meiner Love	3	Yutaka Take	Ryūichi Inaba	Thoroughbred Club Ruffian	1:21.3
1999	Eishin Guymon	6	Jun'ichi Serizawa	Tadashi Kayō	Toyomitsu Hirai	1:20.7
2000	Behind the Mask	4	Yūichi Fukunaga	Shūji Kitahashi	Sunday Racing Co; Ltd.	1:07.6
2001	Tennessee Girl	4	Kazuhiro Yamada	Masanao Tsubo	Toyomitsu Hirai	1:08.1
2002	Believe	4	Yasunari Iwata Yasunari Iwata is a Japanese jockey who rode the winner of the 2006 Melbourne Cup, Delta Blues. It was Iwata's first race outside of Japan.In 2005, Iwata won the 19th World Super Jockey Series .-Major wins: Australia...	Shigeki Matsumoto	Kōji Maeda	1:07.1
2003	Tenshino Kiseki	5	Norihiro Yokoyama	Kōjirō Hashiguchi	Masuo Sugitani	1:07.8
2004	Golden Cast	4	Yutaka Take	Kōjirō Hashiguchi	Kōji Maeda	1:08.2
2005	Golden Cast	5	Futoshi Komaki	Kōjirō Hashiguchi	Kōji Maeda	1:08.3
2006	She Is Tosho *	6	Ken'ichi Ikezoe	Akio Tsurudome	Tōshō Sangyō Corporation	1:08.6
2007	Sans Adieu	5	Yūga Kawada	Hidetaka Otonashi	Takao Matuoka	1:07.1
2008	Kanoya Zakura	4	Futoshi Komaki	Kōjirō Hashiguchi	Kaoru Kanda	1:07.3
2009	Ultima Thule	5	Masami Matsuoka	Masashi Okuhira	Shadai Race Horse	1:07.8
2010	Dasher Go Go	3	Yūga Kawada	Takayuki Yasuda	Shin Ashida	1:08.0
2011	A Shin Virgo	4	Hironobu Tanabe	Ken Kozaki	Eishindō Co; Ltd. Eishindo KK Eishindo is a Japanese manufacturer of model railroad products, including the smallest commercially made trains, T scale ....	1:08.5

* The 2006 race took place at Chukyo Racecourse

Chukyo Racecourse

is located in Toyoake, Aichi, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It was built in 1994. It has a capacity of 58,400. It has 8,795 seats.-Physical attributes:Chukyo Racecourse has a grass courses, a dirt course.The turf's measures 1600m...

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