Gentildonna

Gentildonna
Gentildonna at the 2012 Japan Cup.
Sire	Deep Impact
Grandsire	Sunday Silence
Dam	Donna Blini
Damsire	Bertolini
Sex	Mare
Foaled	20 February 2009
Country	Japan
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Northern Racing Co Ltd
Owner	Sunday Racing Co Ltd
Trainer	Sei Ishizaka
Major wins
Oka Sho (2012) Yushun Himba (2012) Shuka Sho (2012) Japan Cup (2012, 2013) Dubai Sheema Classic (2014) Arima Kinen (2014)
Awards
JRA Award for Best Three-Year-Old Filly (2012) Japanese Horse of the Year (2012, 2014) JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare (2013, 2014)

Gentildonna (ジェンティルドンナ, Jentirudonna^?) is a Japanese thoroughbred racehorse. In 2012 she won the Japanese Fillies Triple Crown and was voted Japanese Horse of the Year. She was also the first three-year-old filly to win the Japan Cup, in 2012, and the following year became the first two-time winner of that race. In 2014 she added victories in the Dubai Sheema Classic and the Arima Kinen earning her a second Horse of the Year award.

Gentildonna is a bay filly bred in Japan by the Northern Racing Co Ltd. She was sired by the outstanding Japanese racehorse Deep Impact out of the British mare Donna Blini. Deep Impact was the Japanese Horse of the Year in 2005 and 2006, winning races including the Tokyo Yushun, Tenno Sho, Arima Kinen and Japan Cup. Donna Blini won the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes in 2005. Her full sister Donau Blue won Grade 3 Kyoto Himba Stakes and Sekiya Kinen.

Gentildonna began her career by finishing second in a newcomers race but then won a maiden race to finish the season.

Gentildonna began her three-year-old season by winning the Grade 3 Shinzan Kinen against male horses over one mile at Kyoto in January and then finished fourth to Hana's Goal in the Tulip Sho at Hanshin Racecourse in March.

On 8 April, Gentildonna contested the first leg of the Fillies' Triple Crown, the Oka Sho over one mile at Hanshin. Starting at odds of 3.9/1, she won by half a length from Verxina. Gentildonna and Verxina met again in the Yushun Himba (the Japanese Oaks) on 20 May at Tokyo Racecourse. As Gentildonna's regular jockey Yasunari Iwata was on a 4-day suspension in NHK Mile Cup he was replaced by Yuga Kawada. Verxina was preferred in the betting, But Gentildonna won by five lengths to claim the second leg of the Triple Crown.