How Japan Cup hero Kitasan Black was bred

Favourite Kitasan Black used his stamina to make all the running in the Japan Cup in Tokyo on Sunday and score decisively by two and a half lengths under jockey Yutaka Take.

The four-year-old colt, trained by Hisashi Shimizu for popular Japanese singer Saburo Kitajima, was third to Duramente in last year's Japanese 2,000 Guineas and developed into a leading stayer, winning the Japanese St Leger and finishing third in the prestigious Arima Kinen last term.

This year Kitasan Black won the Tenno Sho (Spring) over 2m and the Grade 2 Kyoto Daishoten over 1m4f, and also finished third in the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen.

Iquitos, trained by Hans-Jurgen Groschel in Germany, did best of the European raiders with a running-on seventh, with fellow Group 1 winners Nightflower in 12th and Erupt two places further behind.

Kitasan Black is a son of Black Tide, a son of Sunday Silence and brother to brilliant Japanese performer and perennial champion sire Deep Impact who was the leading first-season sire in Japan in 2012.

Black Tide, winner of the Grade 2 Fuji TV Sho Spring Stakes over 1m1f in his own racing career, is also the sire of two winners of the Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes, Tagano Espresso and T M Inazuma, and other stakes winners Meiner Frost and Shiny Girl.

Kitasan Black was bred by Yanagawa Bokujo out of Sugar Heart, a daughter of Sakura Bakushin O who has also produced Grade 2-placed Shonan Bach, a son of Stay Gold who finished 12th in last year's Japan Cup.

Sugar Heart is a half-sister to the dam of Grade 2-placed Admire Flight out of the Judge Angelucci mare Otome Gokoro, a half-sister to Grade 1-placed Cee's Tizzy, who found fame as the sire of dual Breeders' Cup Classic hero and major-league sire Tiznow.

Kitasan Black's fourth dam is Tizna, the Chilean-bred winner of the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap in 1974 and 1975.

His trainer Shimizu said after the Japan Cup that international races including the Dubai Sheema Classic and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe would come under consideration in the future.