Heart's Cry (horse)

Background

Heart's Cry was a bay horse with a narrow white blaze and a white sock on his left hind leg, bred by the Yoshida family's Shadai Farm. He was sired by Sunday Silence, who won the 1989 Kentucky Derby, before retiring to stud in Japan where he was champion sire on thirteen consecutive occasions. His dam Irish Dance was a successful racemare who won the Niigata Daishoten and Niigata Kinen, both Grade III races in Japan. The horse was named after a number from the show Riverdance, in reference to his dam's name.

Racing career

2004: three-year-old season

Heart's Cry began his racing career by winning a ten furlong race at Kyoto Racecourse on 5 January 2004. A month later he was moved up to Group Three level and finished third in the Kisaragi Sho at the same course. He then won a ten furlong race at Hanshin Racecourse before finishing unplaced in the Satsuki Sho, the first leg of the Japanese Triple Crown. In May Heart's Cry won his first important race when he took the Group Two Kyoto Shimbun Hai, a trial race for the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), beating Suzuka Mambo by half a length. In the Tokyo Yushun four weeks later, Heart's Cry finished second of the eighteen runners, one and a half lengths behind the winner King Kamehameha.

Heart's Cry returned after a summer break to finish third to King Kamehama in the Kobe Shimbun Hai, but then finished unplaced in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger), Japan Cup and Arima Kinen.

2005: four-year-old season

In his first five starts as a four-year-old, Heart's Cry ran well without winning. In Spring he finished second in the Group Two Osaka Hai and then ran fifth of the eighteen runners behind Suzuka Mambo in the two mile Tenno Sho. In June he finished strongly to take second place, a neck behind Sweep Tosho in the Takarazuka Kinen, beating major winners such as Zenno Rob Roy and Tap Dance City. He was then off the course for more than four months.

Heart's Cry returned in October to finish sixth in the Autumn Tenno Sho, in which he was ridden for the first time by Christophe Lemaire, before running in the Japan Cup a month later. Held up in the early stages, he was still fourteenth of the eighteen runners turning into the straight but then finished strongly and failed by a nose to catch the British runner Alkaased who won in a record time of 2:22.1. The beaten runners included Zenno Rob Roy, Ouija Board, Warrsan, Bago and Better Talk Now. On 25 December, Heart's Cry was one of sixteen runners invited to contest the Arima Kinen. The colt had gone ten races and nineteen months since his last win and started at odds of 16.1/1 while the undefeated three-year-old champion Deep Impact was made the 3/10 favourite. Lemaire rode the horse close to the lead before moving to the front in the straight and holding off the late challenge of Deep Impact to win by half a length.

2006: five-year-old season

In 2006, Heart's Cry was campaigned internationally. In March he was sent to Dubai to contest the Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba. Ridden by Lemaire he contested the lead from the start, tactics which surprised his trainer Kojiro Hashiguchi. He went clear of the field in the straight and won by four and a quarter lengths from Collier Hill with the multiple Group One winners Ouija Board and Alexander Goldrun in fourth and fifth. In the August 2006 edition of the World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings, Heart's Cry was ranked the equal second best horse in the world, a pound behind Makybe Diva and equal with Electrocutionist and David Junior.

Four months after his run in Dubai, Heart's Cry appeared at Ascot Racecourse in England for Britain's most prestigious all-aged race, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Lemaire claimed to be full of confidence before the race and Heart's Cry's participation attracted a large Japanese media contingent. Starting the 3/1 second favourite, he took the lead in the straight but was overtaken in the final furlong and finished third behind Hurricane Run and Electrocutionist. After his race at Ascot, Heart's Cry did not run again until the Japan Cup on 29 November. He started the 5.8/1 second favourite but ran disappointingly, finishing tenth of the eleven runners behind Deep Impact. After the race the Japan Racing Association announced that the horse had developed breathing problems which may have affected his performance, and his retirement was announced in early December.

Stud record

Heart's Cry was retired to become a stallion at his owners' Shadai Stallion Station on Hokkaido. He sired 44 individual group or graded race winners, 13 of them at Group 1 level. In addition, Heart's Cry is the damsire of Efforia, who was named the Japanese Horse of the Year of 2021, and Tagaloa, who won the Blue Diamond Stakes in 2020. He was retired from stud duties in 2021 at the age of 20. On March 9, 2023, staff of Shadai Stallion Station found Heart's Cry unable to stand. He died later the same day.

Major winners

c = colt, f = filly, g = gelding

bold = grade 1 stakes

File:Admire-Rakti Meguro-Kinen 2013.jpg|Admire Rakti File:Just-A-Way Tenno-Sho(Autumn) 2013(IMG1).jpg|Just A Way File:Nuovo Record Rose Stakes 2014(IMG1).jpg|Nuovo Record File:One-And-Only Tokyo-Yushun 2014(IMG1).jpg|One and Only File:Cheval Grand Japan Cup 2017(IMG1).jpg|Cheval Grand File:Suave Richard Japan Cup 2019(IMG1).jpg|Suave Richard File:Lys gracieux(JPN) IMG 1664-2 20190623.jpg|Lys Gracieux File:DSC 3425Yoshida.jpg|Yoshida File:Time Flyer (JPN) IMG 0746-1 20180317.jpg|Time Flyer File:Salios Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes 2019(IMG2).jpg|Salios File:Do Deuce Tokyo Yushun 2022(IMG2).jpg|Do Deuce File:Notturno 220713.jpg|Notturno

Pedigree

1986 1990 1969 1975 1983 1983

References

References

1. "ハーツクライの情報".
2. "Heart's Cry(JPN)".
3. "Heart's Cry stallion page". Jbis.or.jp.
4. "ハーツクライの情報". Shadai Thoroughbred Club.
5. "Tokyo Yushun result". [[Racing Post]].
6. "Takarazuka Kinen result". Racing Post.
7. "Japan Cup result". Racing Post.
8. "Arima Kinen result". Racing Post.
9. (27 December 2005). "Heart's Cry upsets Deep Impact at Arima Kinen". Asian Economic News.
10. (2006-03-27). "Japan's Heart's Cry wins Dubai Sheema Classic". Japan Times.
11. "Dubai Sheema Classic result". Racing Post.
12. "Australian Mare Makybe Diva Tops IFHA Rankings". BloodHorse.
13. (2006-07-30). "Heart's Cry so close to the Diamonds!". Japanracing.jp.
14. "King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes". Racing Post.
15. (2006-12-05). "Heart's Cry retired to Shadai Stallion Station". Thoroughbred Times.
16. (2012-02-15). "Heart's Cry Stud Record .". Racing Post.
17. (2018-05-05). "Sunday Silence Grandson Yoshida Takes Turf Classic At Churchill". Paulick Report.
18. TDN, The. (2023-02-14). "Japanese Horse Of The Year Efforia Retired To Stand At Shadai".
19. Smith, Mark. (2020-02-22). "Lord Kanaloa's Tagaloa Strikes in the Blue Diamond {{!}} Breednet".
20. Trice, Kitty. (21 June 2021). "Japanese Champion Sire Heart's Cry Pensioned at 20". BloodHorse.
21. (2023-03-10). "ハーツクライが死亡".
22. (2023-03-10). "ハーツクライ死す ０５年有馬記念、０６年ドバイシーマクラシック制覇".
23. (2012-05-08). "Heart's Cry pedigree".
24. "Thoroughbred Bloodlines – Cream Cheeks – Family 6-a". Bloodlines.net.