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Strong Return makes strong come-back to take revenge of last year's second place

Second favorite and last year's runner-up Strong Return drew away from 13th pick Grand Prix Boss in the last strides to capture the Yasuda Kinen this year in a record time of 1:31.3, capturing his first G1 title and seventh career win. After being sidelined with a fractured right foreleg last autumn, his first and latest outing this year was a fourth-place finish in the Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2) last month. The six-year-old Symboli Kris S horse gave his trainer Nobuyuki Hori his second consecutive Yasuda Kinen victory after his stablemate Real Impact took home the title last year, making Hori the fourth trainer in history to do so. Jockey Yuichi Fukunaga's first G1 title this season made for 16 career G1 wins overall. The Hori-Fukunaga pair topped off their jubilant day by also capturing the following race, the Unicorn Stakes (G3). In second was two-time G1 mile champion Grand Prix Boss, while race favorite Sadamu Patek finished ninth.

Cosmo Sensor surrendered his brief lead after a smooth start and sitting on the rails in fourth to Silport, defending champion Real Impact and Eishin Apollon who led the field, while Garbo, Grand Prix Boss and Strong Return traveled in mid-field close together in that order a few lengths from that. Danon Yoyo saved ground another two lengths behind as the field cruised down the backstretch. Brett Prebble reserved Lucky Nine near the rail in sixth to seventh, as Douglas Whyte and Glorious Days took a wide trip behind Strong Return.

While Silport, first to enter the straight, stubbornly held on to his lead dueling with Real Impact and being pursued closely by Cosmo Sensor up the grueling hill, Grand Prix Boss and Strong Return, who were both late making the final turn, commenced a fierce duel down the middle of the stretch and easily picked off the tiring leaders at the furlong pole. The pair battled it out until Strong Return finally wore down Grand Prix Boss in the final strides to prevail just by a neck, as longshot Cosmo Sensor, who also overtook the frontrunners at the furlong pole but was unable to join the final rally, was two lengths from that in third. Making the final turn near the rear, lightly regarded Danon Yoyo showed an unexpected strong drive to finish 1/2 length behind in fourth, while Garbo, who took a ground saving trip and overcame traffic in upper stretch, was a neck from that in fifth.

Lucky Nine, turning for home in sixth and within easy striking distance, showed effort up to the furlong pole, however the uphill climb sapped his stamina as he had nothing left and finished 11th. After the race, jockey Brett Prebble commented, "I was able to place him in a good position and he was traveling well. He gave a short burst in the straight which died quickly. Maybe the long season caught up with him." Trainer Caspar Fownes also noted "he was in a good position and he ran well until perhaps the last 150 meters where he was a bit wanting. It's a tough race to come out to because it's the end of our season and he's been out for a long time―he still ran a good race. He'll have a well-deserved break now and I will absolutely bring him back for the Sprinters Stakes because he'll be a fresh horse then."

Unable to keep with the strong pace, Glorious Days entered the lane near the rear and never reached contention for a disappointing 14th. Douglas Whyte stated afterwards "the horse was immature coming into the race. Everything was totally new to this inexperienced horse and while I tried to urge him forward to around fifth or sixth position, he just didn't travel. Starting from stall 14 didn't help. But he's a clever horse and will improve from this experience." "His training went well but he's never run in a race with such pace—he didn't travel" commented trainer John Size.

Other Horses:
6th: (15) Real Impact―chased frontrunner in 2nd, dueled for lead up to final furlong, ran out of steam.
7th: (9) Fifth Petal―third from rear up to last corner, showed good drive down middle of stretch.
8th: (6) Smile Jack―was off slow, trailed in far rear, threaded and improved position taking inner route.
9th: (7) Sadamu Patek―sat 3-wide in mid-field, showed little in final furlong.
10th: (12) Donau Blue—nicely placed around 5th, even paced.
12th: (13) Silport—rallied and made solid pace, used up and outrun 200m out.
13th: (16) Rose Kingdom—second from last early, failed to threaten.
15th: (11) Eishin Apollon—tracked leaders, outrun after uphill faded.
16th: (10) Apapane—traveled mid-field, no response at stretch.
17th: (17) Marcellina—well off the pace, wide turning for home, never a factor.
18th: (18) Pelusa—traveled outside race favorite (Sadamu Patek), never near.

Post race interview of winning connections

Jockey: Yuichi Fukunaga
I knew that there was no room for mistakes in this race as the competition was really close. I was aware of the horse having finished second last year, and that I was given the ride in his last start with high expectations towards the Yasuda Kinen. Having finished in record time was probably due to the very strong early pace, but nevertheless Strong Return certainly has grade-race quality with still much room for improvement.

Assistant Trainer: Kazunari Suzuki
Having finished second to stablemate Real Impact last year, it felt great to see Strong Return crossing the wire first this time. He injured his leg last fall and only came back for his first race of this season in May. He was in great condition once in training and we had high hopes in his last start, but he showed a tendency to lean which prevented to give his best run in the race. We had been working on improving that up to this race with the help of Fukunaga riding him in his speed work. Regarding his future plans, we will see how he pulls up from this race then discuss his next step with his owner depending on his condition.

THE 62ND YASUDA KINEN (G1)
3-year-old & up, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, June 3, 2012   Tokyo Racecourse   11th Race   Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 208,000,000 (about US$ 2,600,000 <US$1 = ¥80>)
3-y-o: 54kg (about 119 lbs.), 4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs.)
2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares, 1kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2008,
2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2009
Safety Factor: 18 runners

1. Strong Return (JPN), bay, horse, 6-year-old
   Symboli Kris S / Caught Out (Smart Strike)

   Breeder: Shadai Farm	Owner: Teruya Yoshida
   Trainer: Noriyuki Hori	Jockey: Yuichi Fukunaga
   19 starts, 7 wins
   Added money: ¥103,780,000	Career earnings: ¥310,995,000
   Principal Race Performances:	'11 Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2)	1st
   	'11 Yasuda Kinen (G1)	2nd

   
   
2. Grand Prix Boss (JPN), bay, colt, 4-year-old
   Sakura Bakushin O / Rosy Mist (Sunday Silence)

   Breeder: Northern Racing	Owner: Grand Prix Co.,Ltd.
   Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi	Jockey: Hiroyuki Uchida

   
   
3. Cosmo Sensor (JPN), chestnut, horse, 5-year-old
   King Kamehameha / Keiai Ballade (Rivlia)

   Breeder: Kawagoe Farm	Owner: Big Red Farm
   Trainer: Masato Nishizono	Jockey: Masami Matsuoka

* Yasuda Kinen (G1)
The Yasuda Kinen, a race to determine the best miler of the spring season, has welcomed just under 50 foreign-trained horses since its designation as an international race in 1993, including 1995 champion Heart Lake (GB) from the UAE, 2000 winner Fairy King Prawn (AUS) from Hong Kong and the winner of the 2006 Champions Mile-Yasuda double, Bullish Luck (USA). In the course of JRA's move to internationalization and collaboration with fellow racing organizations overseas in their effort to offer attractive events at a global scale, the Yasuda Kinen became a part of the "Asian Mile Challenge" between 2005 and 2011.
Past Yasuda Kinen winners that have subsequently become the season's Horse of the Year include Oguri Cap (JPN, 1990), Taiki Shuttle (USA, 1998) and Vodka (JPN), whose wins in 2008 and 2009 contributed to her claiming the highest honor of the JRA Award for two consecutive years.
Last year's winner, Real Impact became the first three-year-old to have claimed the Yasuda Kinen title since 1984 when the new grading system was implemented, while Beauty Flash (NZ) and Thumbs Up (NZ), both from Hong Kong, finished ninth and 11th, respectively.
This year's line-up featured two runners from Hong Kong; Lucky Nine and Glorious Days. Lucky Nine had already proved competitive in Japan last season, having finished second by a head in the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1,200m) and a respectable fifth in the following Sprinters Stakes (G1, 1,200m). He proceeded to win the Hong Kong Sprint (G1, 1,200m), his comeback start back in Hong Kong, and continued to excel in his recent starts coming into his Yasuda Kinen start this year—he landed another G1 title in the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (HK-G1, 1,400m) while finishing third in two international G1 events in Dubai (Dubai Golden Shaheen; AW, 1,200m) and Hong Kong (Champions Mile; 1,600m). Meanwhile Glorious Days, trained by John Size whose best score in Japan was with Armada (NZ) who finished second to Vodka in the 2008 Yasuda Kinen, won five in a row since his debut in March 2011, and was second in his remaining three group-race starts which included the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup and the Champions Mile.
The Japanese field consisted of defending champion Real Impact, 2011 Mile Championship (G1, 1600m) winner Eishin Apollon and other multiple G1 winners such as Apapane and Grand Prix Boss. Other key runners coming off victories in their step races towards the Yasuda Kinen included Sadamu Patek who won the Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2, 1,400m) and Silport who succeeded in claiming his consecutive Milers Cup (G2, 1,600m) title this season. Marcellina, winner of the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) as a three-year-old, had finished within the money in her two grade-race starts this season and also came in good form while multiple G1 winner Rose Kingdom took a step down in distance in a bid to claim his third G1 title after the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (1,600m) in 2009 and the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) in 2010.

Results of other races ridden by Douglas Whyte on June 3

4th race: Three-Year-Olds (Maiden)—turf, 1,800m, 18 rns.
  9th on 6th favorite Cosmo Oasis (JPN, F3, by Stay Gold)
10th race: Hong Kong Jockey Club Trophy (Allowance (10Million & Less))—turf, 2,000m, 11 rns.:
  9th on 5th favorite Meiner Gibson (JPN, C4, by Tanino Gimlet)
12th race: Unicorn Stakes (G3)—dirt, 1,600m, 16 rns.:
  7th on 11th favorite Sammaru Duke (JPN, C3, by Roses in May)