Air Groove

Air Groove (Japanese: エアグルーヴ; April 6, 1993 - April 23, 2013) was a Japanese racehorse and broodmare.

She won the 1996 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) after her mother, Dyna Carle, won it in 1983. In 1997, Air Groove won the Grade 1 Autumn Tenno Sho and became the first mare chosen for Japanese Horse of the Year in 26 years. She was nicknamed the Empress for how she competed on par with male horses. Her other wins included the 1996 Tulip Sho (G3), the 1997 Sapporo Kinen (G2) and Mermaid Stakes (Japan) (G3), and the 1998 Sapporo Kinen (G2) and Sankei Ōsaka Hai (G2).

After retirement, she became a broodmare. Her foals included two G1 winners: Admire Groove (winner of the 2003 and 2004 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, fathered by Sunday Silence) and Rulership (winner of the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, fathered by King Kamehameha).

She was born on April 6th, 1993 at Shadai Farm Hayakita in Hayakita Town, Hokkaido. Her father, Tony Bin, was a major winner in Europe and her mother, Dyna Carle, won the Japanese Oaks. Upon her birth, the farm contacted Ito, who spent over an hour staring at her because he was impressed. According to Yutaka Take, Ito said to farm manager Katsumi Yoshida that the foal Air Groove would be a derby winning horse if she was male. Yutaka Take would become Air Groove's jockey later on.

Air Groove made her debut on July 8th, 1995 over 1200m on turf. Although she was the favorite, she came in second by a neck behind Meiner Ransom. She entered her second race 3 weeks later on June 30th, 1994 again over 1200m on turf and again the favorite. This time, she won by 0.8 seconds over Daiwa Texas.

Air Groove's third race was on October 29, 1995, at the Ichō Stakes, a 1600m open race on turf. She was blocked in the final straight, putting her at a disadvantage, but she overcame this and finished in first by a large margin. Yutaka Take said about her performance that no other horse could have done what she did. Ito said, "normally you can't win from that position. That was the moment I became convinced that this was no ordinary filly, but a filly who could beat male horses."

In the Grade 1 1995 Hanshin Sansai Himba Stakes over 1600m on turf, Yutaka Take chose to ride Ibuki Persive so European jockey Michael Kinane rode Air Groove instead. The pace was slow, allowing Biwa Heidi to take the lead and win. Air Groove came in second. Kinane said that he was afraid of Biwa Heidi. He said about Air Groove that she could have won, but he didn't let her.

She started off the 1996 season with a win at the 1996 Tulip Sho on March 2nd as the second favorite. Facing off against Biwa Heidi again, Air Groove entered this time with a new jockey named Olivier Peslier. This time, Air Groove won by five lengths over Biwa Heidi.

Air Groove was scheduled to run in the Oka Sho but developed a fever during training. She recovered quickly but people around her decided it was best to not for her to run as the information had already spread around. Colds were common in Ritto training center at the time; another horse, Dance in the Dark, ended up in the same position as Air Groove where he had to withdraw from the Satsuki Sho.

After a break, she entered the 1996 Yushun Himba, a 2400m race on turf for her longest race yet. In the final stretch of the race, she gained and maintained a large lead over the Oka Sho winner Fight Gulliver. She finished well in first place for her first GI win. She and her mother became the second mother-daughter pair to both win the Japanese Oaks, 42 years after the first pair to do it.

Once she won the Oaks, she took a break, skipping the step races to go straight into the turf 2000m Shuka Sho. Ito believed that they had overprepared, so she was not in good condition to run. Before the start of the race, she was startled by the flashing light from being photographed. She stayed panicked throughout the warmup laps and into the gate. During the race, she ran well but did not respond to Yutaka Take. He had to whip her around the fourth corner but she still finished in tenth place, with the winner Fabulous la Fouine finishing almost 2 seconds before her. After the race, a fracture was discovered in her front right leg which lead to a long absence where she underwent surgery and returned to Ritto late in the year.

She returned to the track in June, where she entered the 2000m turf GIII Mermaid Stakes as the favorite where she won. This win was the first of a three win streak. Her second win in this streak occurred at the newly classified as GII, 2000m turf Sapporo Kinen. In this race, she would be facing Genuine. Her performance against Genuine, whether she won or lost the race, would decide if she could run in the Autumn Tenno Sho. Again the favorite, Air Groove broke away from the pack and maintained her lead over Genuine and Erimo Chic, winning the race and affirming her trainer's confidence in her ability to win the Tenno Sho.

At the 1997 Grade 1 Autumn Tenno Sho over 2000m on turf, she entered as the second favorite behind Bubble Gum Fellow, who had won the race the year prior. In the final stretch, Air Groove chased him when he tried to break away. They stayed in a one-on-one until the end where Air Groove won by a neck with Bubble Gum Fellow in second. Genuine came in third, five lengths behind Bubble Gum Fellow. Air Groove became the first mare in 17 years to win the Autumn Tenno Sho and the first mare to win since it became a 2000m race.

In that year's Japan Cup, she entered as the second favorite. She ran well but was overtaken by foreign horse Pilsudski at the end and finished second by a neck. Her last race of the year was the GI 2500m Arima Kinen, where she was the second favorite accompanied

Her 1998 season was also very successful, as she either won or placed on the podium at 6 of her 7 races. She started off the year with a win at the April Sankei Ōsaka Hai, and came in 2nd at the June 1998 Naruo Kinen. She came in 3rd at the July 1998 Takarazuka Kinen and got the last win of her career at the August 1998 Sapporo Kinen. Her final race of her career was on December 27, 1998, when she came in 5th at the Arima Kinen.

Air Groove won nine races out of 19 starts. This data is available on JBIS and netkeiba.

Legend:

Some of Air Groove's progeny include:

c = colt, f = filly

An anthropomorphized version of Air Groove appears in Umamusume: Pretty Derby, voiced by Ruriko Aoki.