Gentildonna, a Japanese thoroughbred racehorse and the first three-year-old filly to win the Japan Cup, has died. The 16-year-old broodmare passed away on November 25, according to local outlets.
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The daughter of Deep Impact and 2005 Cheveley Park Stakes winner Donna Blini, Gentildonna won Japan’s Filly Triple Crown in 2012. She was only the fourth filly (a female horse under 4) to win the Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas), Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), and the Shuka Sho, per Blood Horse.
She capped off her historic season with a victory against older males in the Japan Cup, narrowly defeating Orfevre in an exciting finish. In 2013, she made history by winning the race again, becoming the first horse to claim back-to-back victories. Gentildonna was honored as Japan’s Horse of the Year in both 2012 and 2014.
Her victories in the 2014 Dubai Sheema Classic and Arima Kinen earned her a second Horse of the Year honor.
Trainer Pays Tribute to Champion Racehorse Gentildonna
“This week is the Japan Cup, and she was a horse I would think about whenever the classics or the Arima Kinen came around,” trainer Sei Ishizaka said in a tribute, per Blood Horse.
“Those three or four years with Gentildonna were tough for me, but I’m sure the horse had it even tougher. When she retired, all I wished for was that she would live a long life. I feel nothing but sadness and regret,” Sei Ishizaka continued.
“She was tremendously strong as a 3-year-old as well. It’s the fate of a racehorse, but I believe she gave everything. She really ran her heart out. That’s why I hoped she could enjoy a long life afterwards. It hurts whenever any horse I trained passes away, but she was truly one of the special ones,” the veteran trainer concluded.
Gentildonna earned $18,468,392 in prize money and was inducted into the Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame in 2016. Bred by Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm, she retired with a career record of 10 wins, 4 seconds, and 1 third from 19 starts.
However, Gentildonna’s legacy continues through her successful career as a broodmare. She produced Geraldina, the winner of the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the Sankei Sho All Comers. Gentildonna was retired from broodmare duties in July.