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Majesty Bio sweeps to convincing victory in Nakayama Grand Jump

Last year's Nakayama Daishogai (J.G1, 4,100m) victor and 2011's Best Steeplechase Horse, Majesty Bio, lived up to his top billing as he rolled to victory by a more than convincing eight-length margin over the wet and soft turf in this year's Nakayama Grand Jump—it was the first in five years, since Karasi in 2007, in which the race favorite won the title. The five-year-old son of Opera House, who landed his second J.G1 win and fourth grade-race title overall in the race, becomes only the third horse in JRA history to claim both J.G1 titles after Blandices and Maruka Rascal who won the Nakayama Grand Jump in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

Meanwhile it was the second consecutive Nakayama Grand Jump title for jockey Daichi Shibata after he won on Meiner Neos last year. Tsuyoshi Tanaka claimed his first Nakayama Grand Jump title as a trainer although he had won the same race as a jockey three times (before it became an international event) in 1980, 1991 and 1998.
Basel River, sent to post second favorite, finished impressively in second while unable to match the winner in just his fifth career start over obstacles and is likely to become a promising jumper, trained by Hiroyoshi Matsuda who has also been extremely successful in flat racing with Buena Vista.

The race over the wet surface broke off with T M Buyuden taking command most of the way while Merci Mont Saint pressed the pace a length behind in second. Four to six lengths behind the leaders were Agnes Run Up, Basel River and Clan Emblem forming the second group. Tosen Opus followed another two lengths behind while Cosmo Soyuz and Majesty Bio was settled further back in mid-division.

Merci Mont Saint took over the lead before taking off over fence 7 (seventh obstacle) and attempted to open the gap as he sped over the next two jumps, but was caught again by T M Buyuden approaching the brush (fence 8; tenth obstacle), was visibly used up after that, dropped back and was overtaken by horses from behind. Meanwhile, Basel River made use of his stamina as he accelerated to second over fence 9 (11th obstacle) and was at the top of the field turning for home towards the final obstacle, but Majesty Bio had quickly closed the gap after making headway along the outside after fence 8 and was already at his side as the two horses jumped neck-and-neck over fence 10. With 200 meters to go, Majesty Bio continued to dig deep over the extremely soft going and was uncontested for the remaining strides as he cleared the wire eight lengths in front of Basel River. Cosmo Soyuz was another 3-1/2 behind in third.

Other Horses:
2nd: (7) Basel River—always in striking position, led briefly, but unable to match winner.
3rd: (6) Cosmo Soyuz—mid-division, advanced after fence 9, unable to reach leaders with late charge.
4th: (8) Tosen Opus—rated mid-field near winner, passed tired rivals for fourth.
5th: (2) T M Buyuden—led most of the journey while alternating lead with Mercy Mont Saint, tired from early efforts
6th: (3) Clan Emblem—maintained position to last fence, but fell out of contention at straight.
7th: (10) Seiei—trailed the field most of the journey, never a factor.
8th: (13) Morphe Silence—never a contender.
9th: (4) Agnes Run Up—prominent early, dropped out after fence 8.
10th: (5) King Joy—never near.
11th: (11) Dear My Horse—failed to reach contention.
12th: (12) Bashi Ken—brief move between last two corners from racing behind, no response when asked.
13th: (1) Merci Mont Saint—pressed pace, led midway, used up after fence 8.

THE 14TH NAKAYAMA GRAND JUMP (J.G1) 4-year-old & up, 4,250 meters (about 2 and 2/3 miles), turf Saturday, April 14, 2012   Nakayama Racecourse   11th Race   Post time: 15:40 Total prize money: ¥ 135,000,000 (about US$ 1,688,000 <US$1 = ¥80>) 4-y-o: 62kg (about 137 lbs), 5-y-o & up: 63kg (about 139 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares Safety factor: 16 runners

1. Majesty Bio (JPN), bay, horse, 5-year-old
   Opera House / High Grade Bio (Hector Protector)

   Breeder: Bio Co., Ltd.	Owner: Bio K.
   Trainer: Tsuyoshi Tanaka	Jockey: Daichi Shibata
   24 Starts, 7 Wins (Steeplechases only: 11 Starts, 6 Wins)
   Added money: ¥65,462,000	Career earnings: ¥269,338,000 (Steeplechases only: ¥ 258,438,000)
   Principal Race Performances:	'11 Nakayama Daishogai (J.G1)	1st
   	'11 Nakayama Daishogai (J.G1)	1st
   	'11 Nakayama Daishogai (J.G1)	1st

   
   
2. Basel River (JPN), bay, horse, 6-year-old
   Fuji Kiseki / Friend Lei (Danehill)

   Breeder: Shadai Corporation Inc.	Owner: Yoshimi Ichikawa
   Trainer: Hiroyoshi Matsuda	Jockey: Tadashi Kosaka

   
   
3. Cosmo Soyuz (JPN), chestnut, colt, 4-year-old
   Roses in May / Gingano Yume (Symboli Rudolf)
   

   Breeder: Mercury Bokujo	Owner: Big Red Farm
   Trainer: Yoshinami Shimizu	Jockey: Kenji Hirasawa

* Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1)
The Nakayama Grand Jump, the biggest steeplechase event in spring, span off from the biannual Nakayama Daishogai steeplechase races in 1999. The history of the Nakayama Daishogai dates back to 1934 when the two races, one each in spring and autumn, were created for the purpose of making them the most prestigious and attractive races in steeplechase racing, just like the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) is in flat racing. In 2000, one year after the Nakayama Grand Jump received its current name, the race also became an international event. In the same year, seven foreign runners from five countries took part. Boca Boca (IRE, by Mandalus) from France finished second to Gokai (JPN, by Judge Angelucci). Between 2000 and 2010 when the Nakayama Grand Jump was an invitational event, St. Steven (NZ, by Hula Town) became the first foreign contingent to claim the title in 2002. He finished third in the following year while Australian contender Karasi (IRE, by Kahyasi) became the only horse to win three consecutive titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In addition to the Nakayama Grand Jump, the Nakayama Daishogai (J.G1, 4,100m) also became an international event since 2011, opening its doors to foreign contenders.
After Ginolad (AUS, by Perugino), who replaced Karasi to represent Australia in 2009 and finished sixth after coming off a tenth place in his prep race (the Pegasus Jump Stakes) in Japan, the 2010 Nakayama Grand Jump took place without the participation of a foreign contender and no foreign jumpers have been included for three consecutive seasons.
The Nakayama Grand Jump features 12 jumps over the figure-of-eight-shaped course, which includes five up-and-downs over the banks and three hurdles set on the outside turf towards the final stretch. The 310-meter uphill stretch before the wire also is quite a test for many of the runners especially after running at a solid pace throughout the race.
Last year's Nakayama Grand Jump was postponed from April to July, owing to the Great East Japan Earthquake, and was won by Meiner Neos (JPN, by Stay Gold) who was unable to defend his title this year due to a tendon injury. Meanwhile, 2011 Best Steeplechase Horse Majesty Bio who claimed the Nakayama Daishogai in December continued to excel this season coming off a victory in the Pegasus Jump Stakes (3,350m) in March. Basel River won three of four starts since switching from flat racing to obstacles and had come off his first grade-race win in the Hanshin Spring Jump (J.G2, 3,900m) last month. The field also included three other proven J.G1 winners, Bashi Ken, King Joy, Merci Mont Saint, and Clan Emblem, winner of the 2011 Hanshin Jump Stakes (J.G3, 3,140m).
Blandices (JPN, by Sakura Bakushin O) set the record when winning the 2004 Nakayama Grand Jump in 4:47.0.