>>533971995
it was only during his senior years that Kitasan started to show what he had, while still having some difficulties. he won the spring tenno sho and later came 3rd in the takarazuka kinen, losing alongisde his rival Duramente who retired after this race, Kitasan went to win the japan cup and lose the arima kinen to Satono Diamond, a rivalry that was being developed in the anime for 2 seasons and putting an end to the "Satono curse"
Kitasan started the year winning the asaki hai and tenno sho but ending 9th in the takarazuka kinen, losing to Satono Crown, his team announcing his retirement after this race in a very controversial move that hasn't been forgiven by keiba fans to this day. Kitasan later won the autumn tenno sho and came 3rd in the japan cup losing against Cheval Grand, a horse who ran alongside him multiple times but never was able to beat him until this very important race, a cathartic moment developed during the entire run of S3. Kitasan came first in his retirement race the arima kinen, winning a total of 300M yen and his owner performed an original song made to celebrate all of his achievements. this was a major point of Kitasan in the anime as she always dreamed of performing a festival, a place where all the people who followed her career could celebrate and be happy regardless of their background or status