He is from the fourth crop of foals sired by Deep Impact who was the Japanese Horse of the Year in 2005 and 2006, winning races including the Tokyo Yushun, Tenno Sho, Arima Kinen and Japan Cup.

[2] A Shin Hikari is the seventh foal of his dam Catalina who was bred in Florida and won three races in the United States[3] before being exported to Japan to become a broodmare.

[4] She was a great-granddaughter of Lea Lark, an American broodmare whose other descendants have included Tobougg, Miswaki, Almutawakel, Southern Halo, Peter Davies and White Muzzle.

On his final appearance of the year he stepped up to Grade 3 class and sustained his first defeat when he finished unplaced behind Tosen Stardom in the Challenge Cup at Hanshin on 13 December.

[7] On his return from the summer break A Shin Hikari made his first appearance at Grade 2 level in October when he contested the Mainichi Okan at Tokyo.

[8] On 1 November the colt was stepped up again in class for the autumn edition of the Tenno Sho and started second favourite, but finished ninth behind Lovely Day.

A Shin Hikari's final race of the year came in the Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse on 13 December in which he started a 25/1 outsider in a thirteen-runner field.

The Irish colt Free Eagle started favourite but faced a strong challenge from the Hong Kong runners who included Designs On Rome, Military Attack, Blazing Speed (Queen Elizabeth II Cup), Dan Excel (Singapore Airlines International Cup) and Beauty Only (Hong Kong Classic Mile).

A Shin Hikari broke quickly from his draw on the outside and took the lead soon after the start, setting a strong pace before accelerating three lengths clear of the field early in the straight.

A Shin Hikari started odds-on favourite for the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot on 15 June against five opponents including Found and The Grey Gatsby.