Sprinters Stakes (G1) preview (1) - Scenic Blast ready to take on strong Japanese field

Scenic Blast

Australian Racehorse of the Year Scenic Blast will have to get past a strong domestic field in the Sprinters Stakes if the 5-year-old from Down Under is to wrap up the Global Sprint Challenge title - as well as the US$1 million bonus - in the sixth race of the series at Nakayama next weekend.

The Danny Morton-trained Scenic Blast - the only foreign entry for the Oct. 4 Sprinters Stakes after Hong Kong's Sacred Kingdom pulled out last week - holds a 17-point lead at the top of the table thanks to wins in the first two legs of the Global Sprint Challenge, the Coolmore Lightning Stakes at Flemington and the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Scenic Blast, who arrived in Japan on Wednesday after passing up on the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes last weekend won by Ultima Thule, is coming off a 10th-place finish among 13 in the Darley July Cup at Newmarket won by Fleeting Spirit, the Jeremy Noseda-trained filly currently at second place in the Global Sprint Challenge on 15 points.

Art Connoisseur, winner of the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, is fifth on 11 points behind J J The Jet Plane in third (14 points) and Cannonball in fourth (12 points).

Victory in the Sprinters Stakes - or the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint in December, the Global Sprint Challenge finale - would give Scenic Blast his third Grade 1 win in three different countries, making the connections eligible for the US$1 million bonus, US$750,000 of which goes to the owner, US$250,000 to the trainer.

The bonus would come on top of the Sprinters Stakes' first-place prize money of 95 million yen from a total purse of more than 202 million yen - the richest sum of the eight races in the Global Sprint Challenge.

Should Scenic Blast capture the Sprinters Stakes, the gelding will move up to 52 points - points are doubled for horses racing away - and qualify for the Global Sprint Challenge championship; a minimum of 42 points and entry in three different jurisdictions are needed to win the title. Hence, there was no champion last year or in 2007.

With Fleeting Spirit, J J The Jet Plane and Cannonball all unlikely to race in both the Patinack Farm Classic on Nov. 7 at Flemington and the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint, Scenic Blast can become the first Global Sprint Challenge winner since compatriot Takeover Target should he come in first in the Sprinters Stakes.

Yet Scenic Blast will have to overcome history as well as a tough group of Japanese horses to top the 43rd Sprinters Stakes. Since the Global Sprint Challenge was launched in 2005, only two horses from abroad have managed to win the Sprinters Stakes; Hong Kong star Silent Witness won it that year, followed by Takeover Target in 2006.

Ultima Thule

The best and brightest of the Japan Racing Association's sprinting circle will fill out the rest of the 16 gates to host Scenic Blast. From reigning Sprinters Stakes champion Sleepless Night to this year's Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Laurel Guerreiro, to Grade 3 Keeneland Cup holder B B Guldan to the new Centaur Stakes champion Ultima Thule, the opening race of the Japanese autumn Grade 1 season may not be kind to the lone visitor.

The 5-year-old, Shadai Race Horse-owned Ultima Thule turned in a superb performance to win the Centaur Stakes by more than two lengths ahead of Sleepless Night, in what is the only Grade 2 race of the Global Sprint Challenge. After the Sept. 13 victory at Hanshin Racecourse, Ultima Thule will undoubtedly be among the favorites in a very close competition along with the likes of 2008 Centaur Stakes winner Kanoya Zakura, 3-year-old filly Grand Prix Angel - third in this year's NHK Mile Cup - and the Sunday Silence-sired 7-year-old Soldier's Song, who took bronze in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen after Laurel Guerreiro.

Nakayama Racecourse

Whoever wins the Sprinters Stakes, however, will have to conquer a tough 1,200 meters at the Chiba Prefecture circuit. The race starts with a downhill of 200 meters to the first turn, which curves over 400 meters and leads into a sharper final bend heading into the 310-meter home stretch known for its steep uphill during the last 200 meters. While Nakayama tends to favor an inside draw, the Sprinters Stakes has proven to be a level playing field, with horses from the No. 1 post to No. 15 finishing inside the top three during the last decade.

The Sprinters Stakes was set up in 1967 as Japan's only handicapped race at 1,200 meters for 3-year-olds & up, and was given Grade 3 status in 1984. The race was bumped up to Grade 2 three years later to serve as a major prep race for the Yasuda Kinen.

The Sprinters Stakes joined Grade 1 company in 1990, when it was fixed a week ahead of the Arima Kinen in December as the finale to the sprint season. The Sprinters Stakes was opened to international entries in 1994, and was moved to its current slot on the calendar in 2000 to launch the JRA's fall Grade 1 campaign.

* The defending Champion, Sleepless Night, has been withdrawn from 2009 Sprinters Stakes due to a Tendon injury