2017 News

April 15, 2017

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Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1) - Oju Chosan Wins Third Nakayama J-G1 Title
Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1)

Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1)

Heavy favorite Oju Chosan succeeded in defending his Nakayama Grand Jump title and at the same time became only the second horse after Australia’s Karasi who won three Nakayama Grand Jump titles between 2005 and 2007 to win three J-G1 titles in a row since JRA implemented the grading system in obstacle races in 1999. The Stay Gold entire, who extended his winning streak to six since his first J-G1 victory in the same race last year, had come off his latest win this season in the Hanshin Spring Jump on March 11. Trainer Shoichiro Wada and jockey Shinichi Ishigami also registered their third career J-G1 title—all won with Oju Chosan.

“I’ve finally gotten used to the pressure of having to start as race favorite, and today, I was able to stay cool. Oju Chosan was already pretty keen to go early at the backside, but he still had plenty when Sanrei Duke came from behind us—he’s a smart horse and got into gear on his own when the runner-up came too close—I didn’t even have to use my whip so he’s a pretty amazing animal. He’s pulled up from the race safe and sound and I look forward to make our challenge towards further J-G1 victories,” commented Shinichi Ishigami.

“He was well positioned during the trip and smooth over the jumps. He led a little early but continued to respond well. He’s very reliable and a powerful jumper. He’ll have a good rest after this and we’ll see about where to start after he’s ready to go again,” said trainer Shoichiro Wada.

Oju Chosan shot out of the gate then eased to allow Meisho Hidetada, La Stella and Up to Date to take the early lead. Oju Chosan traveled not too far behind the leaders in fourth and Shinichi Ishigami gave him a perfect economical trip as he guided the son of Stay Gold close to the rails. The pair made smooth transitions as the lead changed from right to left and then right again, forming a figure of eight.

Clearing the right end of seventh obstacle, the big hedge, Oju Chosan hugged the rails and stalked Up to Date who advanced to second as La Stella tired and faded after the landing. Oju Chosan proceeded to edge further, pressing Meisho Hidetada who held on to the lead along the backside, and disputed the lead approaching fence nine. Finally assuming command before the last obstacle, he was never in danger from there as he made use of his turn of speed to comfortably hold off Sanrei Duke who loomed to contention from racing well behind in the first half and had crept further up between horses to nearly catching Oju Chosan at the final jump but was no match to the winner over the homestretch. Up to Date held on to third, eight lengths behind the top two and seven length ahead of Taisei Dream who finished fourth.

Other Horses:
4th: (4) Taisei Dream―sat around 6th, advanced after 10th jump (no.8), no match for Up to Date at stretch
5th: (7) Le Pere Noel―raced near winner, dropped back after 7th jump (no.7), failed to respond at stretch
6th: (11) I T Teio―trailed in rear, made headway after 10th jump (no.8), lacked need kick thereafter
7th: (2) Win Yard―settled around 9th, gradually improved position after 6th jump (no.5), unable to reach contention
8th: (3) Wonderful World―ran in 7th, advanced to 4th after 7th jump (no.7), soon fell back, never a threat
9th: (10) Kurino Daikokuten―traveled around 10th, unable to pass rivals besides pacesetter
10th: (13) Tosen Hanamizuki―raced in 7-8th, dropped back to 2nd from rear after 5th jump (no.6), passed tired rivals at stretch
11th: (9) La Stella―prominent early in 2nd, faded after 7th jump (no.7)
12th: (1) Tyrian Purple―was off slow, raced 2nd to 3rd from rear, no factor throughout
13th: (8) Meisho Hidetada―set pace, led field until 11th jump (no.9), faded thereafter

THE 19TH NAKAYAMA GRAND JUMP (J-G1)
4-year-old & up, 4,250 meters (about 2 and 2/3 miles), turf
Saturday, April 15, 2017    Nakayama Racecourse       11th Race        Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 142,660,000 (about US$ 1,240,522 <US$1=¥115>)
4-y-o: 62kg (about 137 lbs), 5-y-o & up: 63kg (about 139 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares
Safety factor: 16 runners

FP BK PP Horse Sex
Age
Wgt
(kg)
Sire
Dam
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Breeder
Margin Odds
(Fav)
1 8 12 Oju Chosan
(JPN)
H6 63.0 Stay Gold
Shadow Silhouette
S. Ishigami
S. Wada
Chosan Co., Ltd.
Naoyoshi Nagayama
4:50.8 1.3
(1)
2 4 5 Sanrei Duke
(JPN)
H9 63.0 Durandal
San Lake Queen
Y. Namba
Y. Takahashi
Keiji Nagai
Keiji Nagai
3-1/2 47.8
(6)
3 5 6 Up to Date
(JPN)
H7 63.0 Kurofune
Linear Muse
M. Hayashi
S. Sasaki
Kazuo Imanishi
North Hills Co,. Ltd.
8 4.4
(2)
4 4 4 Taisei Dream
(JPN)
H7 63.0 Deep Impact
More Than Best
K. Hirasawa
Y. Yahagi
Seiho Tanaka
Chiyoda Farm Shizunai
7 17.6
(5)
5 5 7 Le Pere Noel
(JPN)
H7 63.0 Admire Moon
Santa Mama
J. Takada
H. Fujiwara
K.Hidaka Breeders Union
Daiten Farm
2-1/2 17.5
(4)
6 7 11 I T Teio
(JPN)
H9 63.0 Moon Ballad
Laurel Defi
N. Hamanoya
M. Takeuchi
Tadashi Ichinose
Kawashima Bokujo
3-1/2 181.6
(11)
7 2 2 Win Yard
(JPN)
H6 63.0 Opera House
Lady Luna
K. Oehara
S. Kobiyama
S.Shibahara
Kawakami Bokujo
3 64.5
(8)
8 3 3 Wonderful World
(JPN)
H6 63.0 Taiki Shuttle
Cat Ali
K. Mori
Y. Takahashi
Masahiro Mita
Shimokobe Farm
2-1/2 54.2
(7)
9 7 10 Kurino Daikokuten
(JPN)
H6 63.0 Heart’s Cry
Megami Guerlain
T. Ueno
K. Tani
Hiroharu Kurimoto
Shirai Stud Farm
Nose 98.5
(10)
10 8 13 Tosen Hanamizuki
(JPN)
M7 61.0 Taiki Shuttle
Claret Punch
Y. Onodera
M. Ikegami
Takaya Shimakawa
Northern Farm
4 232.7
(13)
11 6 9 La Stella
(JPN)
M6 61.0 Soccer Boy
Windy Gift
Y. Igarashi
K. Ogata
Makio Okada
Hiroshi Noto
2 73.4
(9)
12 1 1 Tyrian Purple
(JPN)
M7 61.0 Jungle Pocket
Make History
K. Yamamoto
T. Kanari
Masatake Iida
Chiyoda Farm Shizunai
5 222.9
(12)
13 6 8 Meisho Hidetada
(JPN)
H8 63.0 Meisho Bowler
Meisho Samantha
S. Kumazawa
K. Minai
Yoshio Matsumoto
Yoshio Matsumoto
2-1/2 13.9
(3)
FP=Final Position / BK=Bracket Number / PP=Post Position / Wgt=Weight / FF=Fail to Finish
Note1: No foreign contenders
Note2: Figures quoted under Odds are Win Odds, which show the amount of money you get back per single unit (100yen), and Fav indicates the order of favorites.

WINNING TIME: 4:50.8 GOING: Firm WEATHER: Fine
TURNOVER FOR THE RACE ALONE: ¥ 2,052,998,000
TURNOVER FOR THE DAY: ¥ 8,063,286,700 ATTENDANCE: 26,180

PAY-OFF (for ¥100)
WIN No.12 ¥130 BRACKET QUINELLA 4-8 ¥710 QUINELLA 5-12 ¥2,400
PLACE No.12 ¥110 QUINELLA PLACE 5-12 ¥560 EXACTA 12-5 ¥2,750
No.5 ¥310 6-12 ¥120 TRIO 5-6-12 ¥1,500
No.6 ¥110 5-6 ¥910 TRIFECTA 12-5-6 ¥7,420
  1. 1.Oju Chosan (JPN), bay, horse, 6-year-old
    Stay Gold / Shadow Silhouette (Symboli Kris S)
    Owner: Chosan Co., Ltd. Breeder: Naoyoshi Nagayama  
    Trainer: Shoichiro Wada Jockey: Shinichi Ishigami  
    19 Starts, 9 Wins (17 Starts, 9 Wins *steeplechases only)
    Added money: ¥ 66,455,000 Career earnings: ¥358,771,000 (¥ 358,771,000 *steeplechases only)
    Principal Race Performances: ’16 Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1, 4,100m) 1st
      ’16 Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1, 4,250m) 1st
      ’17 Hanshin Spring Jump (J-G2, 3,900m) 1st
      ’16 Tokyo High-Jump (J-G2, 3,110m) 1st
      ’16 Tokyo Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,110m) 1st

  2. 2.Sanrei Duke (JPN), bay, horse, 9-year-old
    Durandal / San Lake Queen (Cozzene)
    Owner: Keiji Nagai Breeder: Keiji Nagai
    Trainer: Yoshitada Takahashi Jockey: Yoshiyasu Namba

  3. 3.Up to Date (JPN), gray, horse, 7-year-old
    Kurofune / Linear Muse (Tony Bin)
    Owner: Kazuo Imanishi Breeder: North Hills Co,. Ltd.
    Trainer: Shozo Sasaki Jockey: Mitsuaki Hayashi
Fractional time (sec./furlong): Last 4 furlongs: 49.7          Last 3 furlongs: 36.5          (1 mile: 1:44.0)

Positions at each corner (2nd lap): 1st corner 8-6,12,3(2,4)5-(10,9)7(13,1)-11
2nd corner 8-6(12,4)(5,2)3(10,9,7)-13,1-11
3rd corner (*8,12)-6,5(4,7)=2,11,3,10,9-(13,1)
4th corner (*12,5)-6(8,4)7-11,2-3,10-9,13-1

Note1: Underlined bold number indicates the winning horse.
Note2: Horse numbers are indicated in the order of their positions at each corner, with the first position listed first. Two or more horses inside the same parentheses indicate that they were positioned side by side. Hyphens between the horse numbers indicate that there is distance between the former and the latter. The asterisk indicates a slight lead.

 

* Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1)

The Nakayama Grand Jump, the biggest steeplechase event in spring, span off from the biannual Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1, 4,100m) 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) 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 2013, eighth favorite Irish raider Blackstairmountain (IRE, by Imperial Ballet) became the first European contender to claim the title.
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.
Defending champion Oju Chosan, who landed his first J-G1 title in this race last year, followed with three more grade-race wins including the Nakayama Daishogai (Dec.23) and named the 2016 JRA Award Best Steeplechase Horse. Up to Date was the JRA Award winner before him in 2015, also having won the Grand Jump-Daishogai double, but the son of Kurofune was unable to start in the 2016 edition of the Grand Jump due to a popped splint in his left foreleg and was second to Oju Chosan by nine lengths in the Nakayama Daishogai. Both jumpers kicked off this season in the Hanshin Spring Jump (J-G2, 3,900m; Mar.11) in which Oju Chosan extended his winning streak to five while Up to Date came in second again, this time closing the margin to 2-1/2 lengths and besting the third-place finisher and Niigata Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,250m; Aug.27) winner Taisei Dream by four lengths. Sanrei Duke, a reliable jumper who came within the top five finishers in four out of five J-G1 challenges, was fourth in the Hanshin Spring Jump while Ushiwakamaru Jump Stakes (3,170m; Jan.28) victor Kurino Daikokuten finished fifth.
Meisho Hidetada won the Pegasus Jump Stakes (3,350m; Mar.25), also held at Nakayama Racecourse, by an overwhelming eight-length margin while 2015 Niigata Jump Stakes champion and 2016 Nakayama Daishogai fifth-place finisher Tyrian Purple came in ninth. Le Pere Noel, third-place finisher in the 2016 Nakayama Daishogai, came off a win in the open-class steeplechase (turf/dirt, 3,200m; Mar.5).
The race record of this race at 4:46.6 was set by Up to Date in 2015.

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