Cervinia (horse)

Cervinia (Japanese: チェルヴィニア, foaled February 3, 2021) is an active Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. She won the Artemis Stakes in 2023 and the Yushun Himba in 2024.

She was named after Breuil-Cervinia, a town at the foot of mount Matterhorn.

2023: two-year-old season
Cervinia debuted at the Tokyo Racecourse on June 4, 2023, in a two-year-old newcomer race on turf at a distance of 1,600 meters. After a good start, she took the lead in the final straight but was caught by Bond Girl at the end, finishing second place. Two months later, she returned in a maiden race at Niigata Racecourse at a distance of 1,800 meters. She settled second place early on and broke away in the final straight, winning the race by six lengths.

On October 28, she ran in the Artemis Stakes, her first graded stakes race challenge. She settled in a good position up front. Turning into the final straight, she burst forward to take the lead and win the race by one and three-quarter lengths ahead of Safira.

She was scheduled to run in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies but was forced to cancel her registration due to lameness in her left hind leg.

2024: three-year-old season
On January 28, 2024, it was announced that Cervinia would go straight to Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) without running a prep race, with Bauyrzhan Murzabayev on her saddle, replacing Christophe Lemaire after the latter fell off from his horse at the Dubai World Cup Night on March 30. On April 7, she ran in Oka sho as scheduled. She was the fourth favored horse to win the race. Settling near the front, she made her way in the final straight but was never in contention to win. She ended up finishing in thirteenth place.

She was scheduled to run in Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) on May 19, with Christophe Lemaire returning to ride on her saddle. She was the second favored horse to win the race, behind the Oka Sho winner, Stellenbosch. She settled near the back of the midfield throughout the early and middle parts of the race. On the final straight, she moved from the outside while pushing forward and overtaking several horses. She won the race by half a length after passing over Stellenbosch with less than 50 meters left from the finish line, achieving her first grade one win. Her dam, Cecchino, finished second in the same race back in 2016.

Racing statistics
Below data is based on data available on JBIS Search, and NetKeiba.

Legend:

Pedigree

 * Her dam, Cecchino, won the 2016 Flora Stakes, placed second in the Yushun Himba right after.
 * Her granddam, Happy Path, won the 2003 Kyoto Himba Stakes. Her half-sister, Shinko Lovely, won the 1993 Mile Championship.
 * Her older half-brother, Nocking Point, won the 2023 Niigata Kinen.