Captain Thule went off the blocks, and he never looked back.
Another favorite went down in another Classic race as seventh choice Captain Thule led from start to finish in the Satsuki Sho, comfortably winning the Japanese 2,000 Guineas at Nakayama Racecourse on Sunday afternoon.
The Hideyuki Mori-trained Captain Thule touched the wire two-and-a-half lengths ahead of runner-up Take Mikazuchi, the sixth pick in the 18-horse field. The winning time was 2 minutes, 1.7 seconds.
Favorite Meiner Charles came in third, a nose behind Take Mikazuchi. Second choice Black Shell, ridden by Yutaka Take, took sixth, and third favorite Shonan Alba crashed and burned to 14th.
Jockey Yuga Kawada won the first Classic race of his career, while Mori picked up his second Satsuki Sho victory following the 2000 win with Air Shakur. Both jockey and trainer said a plan was always in the works to get Captain Thule to run an aggressive race.
"There wasn't a genuine pacesetter in the field, so I had every intention of pushing him toward the front," Kawada said. "He responded well throughout the trip, and I'm glad things turned out well.
"I just wanted to be aggressive. He trains hard during workouts, but doesn't bring the same edge in races for some reason, so I wanted to make sure he got his work in."
Said Mori: "I told the jockey he'd get caught if he waited for the race to come to him, so I told him to take the initiative. And he never looked back after the last turn. On heavy turf like today, it pays to be lightweight. If the conditions were good, I think the ones who like to come from behind would have come on late.
"I thought his best weight was in the 450-kg range, but he lost more than 10 kg from his last race. He's a very complete horse, capable of keeping up at any pace. I didn't think it was necessary to max him 100 out for the Yayoi Sho, so we had plenty of room for improvement for this race."
Captain Thule weighed in at 446 kilograms, 18 kg lighter from his previous race last month-the Yayoi Sho, run under the same terms as the Satuski Sho. While the turf was listed as firm, the actual conditions were anything but. The downpour over the weekend had cut up the track, and it was of no coincidence that the top finishers all like to run toward the front.
Captain Thule, who drew the No. 6 post, broke well as did the 17 other entries. Kawada rode the horse through the first 1,000 meters in 1 minute 1.4 seconds, setting a slow first half to the race.
The pace suited Captain Thule just fine as he stretched out his lead heading into the final turn. At that point, Kawada said he knew he had won the race.
"I looked over to the big screen and I was kind of surprised to see myself so far ahead," Kawada said. "I didn't hear any footsteps from behind so it was all good. I didn't sense anyone from the outside, and he was running well. I could tell by the reaction of the crowd that I had this one."
"In the Yayoi Sho, I rode a horrible race and it was his first time running at 2,000 meters. The turf wasn't in good condition, and I just focused on running him at a good rhythm. I wasn't worried about the pace; I just wanted to bring out the best in him.
"It feels really good. He was third in the [Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes], so I wanted to ride a good race. I think everything went well. His weight didn't worry me."
Kawada said he is not concerned about the extra two furlongs Captain Thule will have to cover in the second leg of the triple crown-the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) at Tokyo Racecourse next month.
"Judging by today, he could have kept going after the finish. I don't know what the extra two furlongs will do to this horse, but I'll have to come up with something," he said.
Captain Thule, by Agnes Tachyon out of Air Thule, is 3-for-7 for his career, and took his total earnings to more than 202 million yen after adding 97 million yen from Sunday.
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