# Kawasaki Kinen

The Kawasaki Kinen (Kawasaki Memorial) (川崎記念) is a Japanese thoroughbred horse race on dirt track for horses aged four years or older. It was graded as a domestic grade 1 race in 1998. Held in early April, it is the first (domestic) grade 1 race in Japanese horseracing season. Its name comes from its venue, theKawasaki Racecourse, which in turn is named after the city that it is situated in; Kawasaki city in Kanagawa prefecture.
This race was formerly regarded as a preparation race for the Dubai World Cup, along with the February Stakes. Although some past winners (such as Smart Falcon [ja] and Vermilion) ran the Dubai World Cup after winning this race, only Ushba Tesoro won both the Kawasaki Kinen and the Dubai World Cup. But in 2024, the race schedule was moved from January to April, losing the race's status as a preparation race for the Dubai World Cup and February Stakes.

## Records

Most successful horses (3 wins):
* Countess Up – 1985, 1986, 1987
* Hokko Tarumae – 2014, 2015, 2016
Other repeat winners (2 wins):
* Ichi Kanto – 1958, 1959
* Gold Spencer – 1980, 1981
* Daring Grass – 1982, 1984
* Hokuto Vega – 1996, 1997
* Abukuma Poro – 1998, 1999
* Vermilion – 2007, 2010
* Chuwa Wizard – 2020, 2022

## Winners since 2000

| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Organization | Time |
| 2000 | Intelli Power | 5 | Takashi Harita | Shigemi Akiyama | Iso-o Sahashi | Kawasaki | 2:14.5 |
| 2001 | Regular Member | 4 | Mikio Matsunaga | Yamamoto Syouji | North Hills Ltd. | JRA | 2:12.9 |
| 2002 | Regent Bluff | 4 | Yutaka Yoshida | Youkichi Okubo | Akihiro Ohara | JRA | 2:16.2 |
| 2003 | Kanetsu Fleuve | 6 | Mikio Matsunaga | Yamamoto Syouji | Laurel Racing Co. | JRA | 2:14.8 |
| 2004 | Esprit Thes | 5 | Hiroshi Morishita | Ei-ichi Takei | Yasuo Yoda | Kawasaki | 2:12.8 |
| 2005 | Time Paradox | 7 | Yutaka Take | Hiroyoshi Matsuda | Shadai Racing Ltd. | JRA | 2:14.2 |
| 2006 | Adjudi Mitsuo | 5 | Hiroyuki Uchida | Masayuki Kawashima | Masao Orudo | Funabashi | 2:12.8 |
| 2007 | Vermillion | 5 | Christophe Lemaire | Sei Ishizaka | Sunday Racing Ltd. | JRA | 2:12.9 |
| 2008 | Field Rouge | 6 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Masato Nishizono | Katsumi Chida | JRA | 2:13.1 |
| 2009 | Kane Hekili | 7 | Christophe Lemaire | Katsuhiko Sumii | Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co. | JRA | 2:13.3 |
| 2010 | Vermillion | 8 | Yutaka Take | Sei Ishizaka | Sunday Racing Ltd. | JRA | 2:12.7 |
| 2011 | Furioso | 7 | Keita Tosaki | Masayuki Kawashima | Darley Japan K.K. | Funabashi | 2:14.2 |
| 2012 | Smart Falcon | 7 | Yutaka Take | Ken Kozaki | Touru Okawa | JRA | 2:10.7 |
| 2013 | Hatano Vainqueur | 4 | Hirofumi Shii | Mitsugu Kon | Good Luck Farm | JRA | 2:15.4 |
| 2014 | Hokko Tarumae | 5 | Hideaki Miyuki | Katsuichi Nishiura | Koichi Yabe | JRA | 2:13.8 |
| 2015 | Hokko Tarumae | 6 | Hideaki Miyuki | Katsuichi Nishiura | Koichi Yabe | JRA | 2:16.9 |
| 2016 | Hokko Tarumae | 7 | Hideaki Miyuki | Katsuichi Nishiura | Koichi Yabe | JRA | 2:14.1 |
| 2017 | All Blush | 5 | Christophe Lemaire | Akira Murayama | Shadai Racing Ltd. | JRA | 2:14.6 |
| 2018 | K T Brave | 5 | Yuichi Fukunaga | Tetsuya Meno | Kazuyoshi Takimoto | JRA | 2:14.9 |
| 2019 | Mitsuba | 7 | Ryuji Wada | Tadashi Kayo | K.K. Kyoei | JRA | 2:15.0 |
| 2020 | Chuwa Wizard | 5 | Yuga Kawada | Ryuji Okubo | Shinobu Nakanishi | JRA | 2:14.1 |
| 2021 | Casino Fountain | 5 | Kaoru Harita | Takayuki Yamashita | Kosei Yoshihashi | Funabashi | 2:14.9 |
| 2022 | Chuwa Wizard | 7 | Yuga Kawada | Ryuji Okubo | Shinobu Nakanishi | JRA | 2:14.9 |
| 2023 | Ushba Tesoro | 6 | Kazuo Yokoyama | Noboru Takagi | Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co., Ltd. | JRA | 2:16.0 |
| 2024 | Light Warrior | 7 | Hiroto Yoshihara | Katsuyoshi Uchida | U Carrot Farm | Kawasaki | 2:15.5 |

## Earlier winners

* 1951 - Ezo Tetsuzan
* 1952 - Kiyofuji
* 1953 - Ikaho dake
* 1954 - Ichisachi Homare
* 1955 - Asakuni
* 1956 - Kane Eikan
* 1957 - Sweetheart
* 1958 - Ichi Kanto
* 1959 - Ichi Kanto
* 1960 - A Time
* 1961 - Ichiasahide
* 1962 - Asabue
* 1963 - Sakimidori
* 1964 - Galing
* 1965 - Tetsuryu
* 1966 - Eikozan
* 1967 - Hello Time
* 1968 - Marble Arch
* 1969 - Ashiya Fuji
* 1970 - Apo Speed
* 1971 - Ryuto Kitsu
* 1973 - Nero
* 1974 - Golden Snap
* 1975 - Maruichi Daio
* 1976 - Hideno Arashi
* 1977 - Plus One
* 1978 - F.Chirin
* 1979 - Tagawa Ace
* 1980 - Gold Spencer
* 1981 - Gold Spencer
* 1982 - Daring Grass
* 1983 - Kanesho Super
* 1984 - Daring Grass
* 1985 - Countess Up
* 1986 - Countess Up
* 1987 - Countess Up
* 1988 - Tomihisa Dancer
* 1989 - Aeroplane
* 1990 - Rosita
* 1991 - Daiko Galdan
* 1992 - Toshin Eagle
* 1993 - Hashiru Shogun
* 1994 - Sakura High Speed
* 1995 - Amazon Opera
* 1996 - Hokuto Vega
* 1997 - Hokuto Vega
* 1998 - Abukuma Poro
* 1999 - Abukuma Poro