Narita Top Road

{{Infobox racehorse

|name = Narita Top Road
ナリタトップロード{{Cite web|url=https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0000304230/ |title=Narita Top Road(JPN) |website=JBIS-Search |accessdate=2024-05-13}}

|image = 250px

|caption = Narita Top Road at the 1999 Arima Kinen

|sex = Stallion

|color = Chestnut

|breed = Thoroughbred

|foaled = April 4, 1996

|death_date = {{death date and age|2005|11|7|1996|4|4|mf=yes}}

|sire = Soccer Boy

|grandsire = Dictus

|dam = Floral Magic

|damsire = Affirmed

|breeder = Sasaki Bokujo

|owner = Hidenori Yamaji

|trainer = Hideo Oki

|record = 30:8-6-16

|earnings = 990,112,000 JPY

|wins = Kikuka-shō (1999)
Yayoi Sho (1999)
Hanshin Daishoten (2001, 2002)
Kyoto Kinen (2002)
Kyoto Daishoten (2002)
Kisaragi Sho (1999)

|jockey=Kunihiko Watanabe}}

Narita Top Road ({{langx|ja|ナリタトップロード}}) was a Japanese thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1999 Kikuka-shō.

Racing career

= 1998: Two year old season =

Narita Top Road ran his maiden race at the Hanshin Racecourse in December 5, where he finished second behind Meiner Success. Later that month, she won her first race at another maiden race at Hanshin.{{Cite web |title=Race Records {{!}} Narita Top Road(JPN) |url=https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0000304230/record/?&sort=ymd&order=A |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=JBIS-Search}}{{Cite web |title=Narita Top Road Race Record and Form |url=https://en.netkeiba.com/db/horse/result/1996102442/ |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=netkeiba |language=en}}

= 1999: Three year old season =

File:1997-11-7-60th-kikkasyou.JPG

Narita Top Road won his first graded race when he won that year's Kisaragi Sho. The horse then went on to the Yayoi Sho, where he beat Admire Vega.{{Cite web |title=平成11年（1999年）第36回報知杯弥生賞（ＧII）ナリタトップロード　VS　アドマイヤベガ初めての"敗戦" |url=https://www.jra.go.jp/topics/column/meibamen/tme07_0305.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320015055/https://www.jra.go.jp/topics/column/meibamen/tme07_0305.html |archive-date=2007-03-20 |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=Japan Racing Association |language=ja}} He was then entered in to the Satsuki Sho, where he finished third behind T M Opera O and {{Interlanguage link|Osumi Bright|ja|オースミブライト}}. The horse also ran in the Tokyo Yushun, where he finished second behind Admire Vega.

After taking the summer off, the horse once again finished second behind Admire Vega at the Kyoto Shimbun Hai. Later, at the Kikuka-shō, the horse took the fourth position in the pack before taking the lead at the fourth corner. Narita Top Road held on to the lead from there and won the race, even as T M Opera O closed the gap. After winning the Kikuka-shō, he was entered in to that year's Arima Kinen but finished 7th.

= 2000: Four year old season =

Narita Top Road started the season off with the Kyoto Kinen, where he finished second behind T M Opera O; and later to the Hanshin Daishoten and Tenno Sho (Spring), both of which the horse finished third behind T M Opera O and {{Interlanguage link|Rascal Suzuka|ja|ラスカルスズカ}}. After a summer break, the horse was entered in to the Kyoto Daishoten, where he finished second behind T M Opera O and finished 5th at the Tenno Sho (Autumn). After finishing 4th at the Stayers Stakes, {{Interlanguage link|Kunihiko Watanabe|ja|渡辺薫彦}}, who had been the horse's jockey up to this point, resigned from the position, and the role went to {{Interlanguage link|Hitoshi Matoba|ja|的場均}}. However, the horse could not win the Arima Kinen, which was the horse's next race.

= 2001: Five year old season =

Narita Top Road started the season with the Kyoto Kinen, but finished third behind Maquereau. As Matoba retired around this time, Watanabe returned to jockey duty for the Hanshin Daishoten. Narita Top Road won the race with a course record of 3:02.5.

Later that year, the horse ran in the Kyoto Daishoten. However, the horse did not finish the race as Stay Gold made physical contact with the horse, resulting in Watanabe to fall off and injuring both the horse and jockey. Subsequently, Stay Gold was disqualified as a result of this incident.{{Cite book |last=Ishida |first=Toshinori |title=黄金の旅路 : 人智を超えた馬・ステイゴールドの物語 |date=May 2014 |publisher=Kodansha |year=2014 |isbn=9784062189729 |page=69 |language=ja}}{{Cite book |last=Kimura |first=Shunta |title=テイエムオペラオー : 孤高の王者 |publisher=Kosaido Shuppan |year=2002 |isbn=9784331508893 |pages=223–224 |language=ja}}

= 2002: Six year old season =

Narita Top Road once again started the season with the Kyoto Kinen, where he managed to win the race after being nearly beaten by {{Interlanguage link|Matikane Kinnohosi|ja|マチカネキンノホシ}}. He was then entered in to the Hanshin Daishoten, where he easily beat Jungle Pocket. However, he finished third behind Manhattan Cafe and Jungle Pocket later at the Tenno Sho (Spring).

Following this race, the horse spent the summer off, returning victoriously at the Kyoto Daishoten, but was unable to secure a single victory until his retirement at the Arima Kinen that year.

Stud career

Following his retirement, Narita Top Road stood stud at the Shadai Stallion Station. His most successful progeny was {{Interlanguage link|Bella Rheia|ja|ベッラレイア}}, who won the Flora Stakes and finished second in the Yushun Himba in 2007.{{Cite web |title=Narita Top Road Progeny Stats {{!}} Horse Profile |url=https://en.netkeiba.com/db/horse/sire_detail.html?id=1996102442 |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=netkeiba |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Bella Rheia(JPN) {{!}} JBIS-Search |url=https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0000806564/ |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=www.jbis.jp}}

Narita Top Road died on November 7, 2005, 6 years to the day after his Kikuka-shō win after suffering a heart failure. He had been recovering from a bladder stone surgery at the time.{{Cite web |date=2005-11-07 |title=●● ナリタトップロード死亡 ●● |url=https://www.radionikkei.jp/keiba_article/news/entry-133066.html |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=ラジオNIKKEI |language=ja}}{{Cite web |date=2005-11-07 |title=菊花賞馬ナリタトップロード急死 |url=https://news.netkeiba.com/?pid=news_view&no=10440 |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=netkeiba |language=ja}}

Racing form

The following form is based on information available on JBIS Search and netkeiba.

class="wikitable" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap"

!Date

! nowrap="" |Track

!Race

!Grade

!Distance

(condition)

!Entry

!HN

!Odds

(favored)

!Finish

!Time

!Margin

!Jockey

!Winner

(Runner-up)

style="background-color:white"

| colspan="13" align="left" |1998 – two-year-old season

Dec 5

|Hanshin

|3yo Newcomer

|2000m (good)

|11

|2.6 (1st)

|{{color|darkblue|2nd}}

|2:06.2

|0.0

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Meiner Success

Dec 27

|Hanshin

|3yo Newcomer

|2000m (firm)

|13

|12

|1.9 (1st)

|{{color|darkred|1st}}

|2:04.0

| -0.2

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|(Miracle Gift)

style="background-color:white"

| colspan="13" align="left" |1999 – three-year-old season

Jan 10

|Kyoto

|Fukujuso Tokubetsu

|1 Win

|2000m (firm)

|15

|4.5 (3rd)

|{{color|darkgreen|3rd}}

|2:02.3

|0.4

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Thrilling Sunday

Feb 7

|Kyoto

|Kisaragi Sho

|GIII

|1800m (firm)

|15

|4.6 (2nd)

|{{color|darkred|1st}}

|1:49.1

|0.0

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|(Eishin Cameron)

Mar 7

|Nakayama

|Yayoi Sho

|GII

|2000m (good)

|15

|12

|4.0 (2nd)

|{{color|darkred|1st}}

|2:03.5

| -0.2

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|(Admire Vega)

Apr 18

|Nakayama

|Satsuki Sho

|GI

|2000m (firm)

|17

|3.3 (2nd)

|{{color|darkgreen|3rd}}

|2:00.7

|0.0

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|T M Opera O

June 6

|Tokyo

|Tokyo Yushun

|GI

|2400m (firm)

|18

|11

|3.9 (1st)

|{{color|darkblue|2nd}}

|2:25.4

|0.1

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Admire Vega

Oct 17

|Kyoto

|Kyoto Shimbun Hai

|GII

|2200m (firm)

|18

|2.8 (1st)

|{{color|darkblue|2nd}}

|2:12.3

|0.0

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Admire Vega

Nov 7

|Kyoto

|Kikuka-shō

|GI

|3000m (firm)

|15

|4.1 (3rd)

|{{color|darkred|1st}}

|3:07.6

| -0.1

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|(T M Opera O)

Dec 26

|Nakayama

|Arima Kinen

|GI

|2500m (firm)

|14

|6.8 (4th)

|7th

|2:37.8

|0.6

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Grass Wonder

style="background-color:white"

| colspan="13" align="left" |2000 – four-year-old season

Feb 20

|Kyoto

|Kyoto Kinen

|GII

|2200m (firm)

|11

|2.6 (2nd)

|{{color|darkblue|2nd}}

|2:13.8

|0.0

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|T M Opera O

Mar 19

|Hanshin

|Hanshin Daishoten

|GII

|3000m (good)

|2.9 (3rd)

|{{color|darkgreen|3rd}}

|3:09.8

|0.4

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|T M Opera O

Apr 30

|Kyoto

|Tenno Sho (Spring)

|GI

|3200m (firm)

|12

|11

|3.5 (2nd)

|{{color|darkgreen|3rd}}

|3:17.8

|0.2

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|T M Opera O

Oct 8

|Kyoto

|Kyoto Daishoten

|GII

|2400m (firm)

|12

|10

|2.6 (2nd)

|{{color|darkblue|2nd}}

|2:26.0

|0.0

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|T M Opera O

Oct 29

|Tokyo

|Tenno Sho (Autumn)

|GI

|2000m (soft)

|16

|4.9 (3rd)

|5th

|2:00.5

|0.9

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|T M Opera O

Dec 2

|Nakayama

|Stayers Stakes

|GII

|3600m (firm)

|11

|1.3 (1st)

|4th

|3:45.9

|0.3

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Hot Secret

Dec 24

|Nakayama

|Arima Kinen

|GI

|2500m (firm)

|16

|7.6 (3rd)

|9th

|2:35.1

|1.0

|Hitoshi Matoba

|T M Opera O

colspan="13" align="left" |2001 – five-year-old season

Feb 17

|Kyoto

|Kyoto Kinen

|GII

|2200m (firm)

|14

|11

|2.3 (1st)

|{{color|darkgreen|3rd}}

|2:12.5

|0.2

|Hitoshi Matoba

|Maquereau

Mar 18

|Hanshin

|Hanshin Daishoten

|GII

|3000m (good)

|12

|2.5 (1st)

|{{color|darkred|1st}}

|{{color|darkred|R3:02.5}}

| -1.3

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|(Erimo Brian)

Apr 29

|Kyoto

|Tenno Sho (Spring)

|GI

|3200m (firm)

|12

|3.4 (2nd)

|{{color|darkgreen|3rd}}

|3:16.4

|0.2

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|T M Opera O

Oct 8

|Kyoto

|Kyoto Daishoten

|GII

|2400m (firm)

|2.4 (2nd)

|DNF

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|T M Opera O

Nov 25

|Tokyo

|Japan Cup

|GI

|2400m (firm)

|15

|10

|14.4 (5th)

|{{color|darkgreen|3rd}}

|2:24.4

|0.6

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Jungle Pocket

Dec 23

|Nakayama

|Arima Kinen

|GI

|2500m (firm)

|13

|7.5 (4th)

|10th

|2:33.9

|0.8

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Manhattan Cafe

colspan="13" align="left" |2002 – five-year-old season

Feb 16

|Kyoto

|Kyoto Kinen

|GII

|2200m (firm)

|5.1 (3rd)

|{{color|darkred|1st}}

|2:11.8

|0.0

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|(Matikane Kinnohosi)

Mar 17

|Hanshin

|Hanshin Daishoten

|GII

|3000m (good)

|1.9 (1st)

|{{color|darkred|1st}}

|3:07.9

| -0.3

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|(Jungle Pocket)

Apr 28

|Kyoto

|Tenno Sho (Spring)

|GI

|3200m (firm)

|11

|2.7 (1st)

|{{color|darkgreen|3rd}}

|3:19.6

|0.1

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Manhattan Cafe

Oct 6

|Kyoto

|Kyoto Daishoten

|GII

|2400m (firm)

|1.7 (1st)

|{{color|darkred|1st}}

|2:23.6

| -0.4

|Hirofumi Shii

|(Tsurumaru Boy)

Oct 27

|Nakayama

|Tenno Sho (Autumn)

|GI

|2000m (firm)

|18

|4.9 (2nd)

|{{color|darkblue|2nd}}

|1:58.6

|0.1

|Hirofumi Shii

|Symboli Kris S

Nov 24

|Nakayama

|Japan Cup

|GI

|2200m (firm)

|16

|13

|3.9 (2nd)

|10th

|2:13.1

|0.9

|Hirofumi Shii

|Falbrav

Dec 22

|Nakayama

|Arima Kinen

|GI

|2500m (good)

|14

|11

|10.6 (4th)

|4th

|2:33.4

|0.8

|Kunihiko Watanabe

|Symboli Kris S

Legend:

Pedigree

{{pedigree

|name = Narita Top Road{{cite web|title=Five-generation Pedigree Table|url=https://www.jbis.jp/horse/0000304230/pedigree/|website=JBIS-search|accessdate=2024-05-13}}{{cite web|title=PEDIGREE (5-GEN)|url=https://en.netkeiba.com/db/horse/ped/1996102442/|website=netkeiba|accessdate=2024-05-13}}

|f = Soccer Boy
1985 d.ch.

|ff = Dictus
1967 ch.

|fff = Sanctus

|ffff = Fine Top

|fffm = Sanelta

|ffm = Doronic

|ffmf = Worden

|ffmm = Dulzetta

|fm = Dyna Sash
1979 b.

|fmf = Northern Taste

|fmff = Northern Dancer

|fmfm = Lady Victoria

|fmm = Royal Sash

|fmmf = Princely Gift

|fmmm = Sash of Honour

|m = Floral Magic
1985 dk.b.

|mf = Affirmed
1975 ch,

|mff = Exclusive Native

|mfff = Raise a Native

|mffm = Exclusive

|mfm = Won't Tell You

|mfmf = Crafty Admiral

|mfmm = Scarlet Ribbon

|mm = Rare Lady
1974 dk.b.

|mmf = Never Bend

|mmff = Nasrullah

|mmfm = Lalun

|mmm = Double Agent

|mmmf = Double Jay

|mmmm = Conniver

}}

In popular culture

An anthropomorphized version of the horse makes an appearance in Uma Musume Pretty Derby, with the horse being the featured character in the anime Uma Musume Pretty Derby: Road to the Top.{{Cite web |last=Loo |first=Egan |date=2022-05-04 |title=Uma Musume Pretty Derby Franchise Gets New Streaming Anime |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-05-04/uma-musume-pretty-derby-franchise-gets-new-streaming-anime/.185314 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504115315/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-05-04/uma-musume-pretty-derby-franchise-gets-new-streaming-anime/.185314 |archive-date=2022-05-04 |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=Anime News Network |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Mateo |first=Alex |date=2024-05-13 |title=Uma Musume Pretty Derby Season 3 Anime's Trailer Reveals 2023 Premiere |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-02-22/uma-musume-pretty-derby-season-3-anime-trailer-reveals-2023-premiere/.195183 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231016141003/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-02-22/uma-musume-pretty-derby-season-3-anime-trailer-reveals-2023-premiere/.195183 |archive-date=2023-10-16 |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=Anime News Network |language=en}}