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Kitasan Black Captures Tenno Sho Double in Same Year

The pouring rain and soft ground did not hinder the outstanding performance of this year’s victor Kitasan Black whatsoever, as the multiple G1 winner added his sixth victory at the highest level to his stellar record. The Black Tide horse has now become the fifth horse in JRA history to capture both the Tenno Sho (Spring) and (Autumn) in the same year, and the second to score three Tenno Sho titles overall. Kitasan Black is headed for the Japan Cup in aim to defend his title and is scheduled to conclude his racing career with his last start in the year-end Arima Kinen. Trainer Hisashi Shimizu and jockey Yutaka Take celebrate their first JRA-G1 win since their Tenno Sho (Spring) victory with the bay earlier this year, while this is the sixth G1 overall title for Shimizu and 74th for Take. Take now has achieved an outstanding record of claiming a Tenno Sho double in the same year for the third time.

The field got underway with Lord Vent d’Or setting the pace while most of the runners were kept one lane off the rail to avoid the deeper going in the rain-soaked track. Breaking slowly, Kitasan Black traveled in mid-pack, a position farther behind than his usual seat close to the pace, but kept his calm and gradually made headway at the third corner. Waiting for his rivals to make their bids as they spread out at the final turn, the race favorite surged to the front from the inside, taking over the lead in early stretch and ran the remaining two furlongs all the way to the line with good speed while holding off the fast closing Satono Crown by a neck.

“He was a bit too eager today and missed his break. The going didn’t seem to bother him so I decided to take the path near the rails at the last corner. He responded beautifully in the stretch and before we knew it, we were at the front. He weakened a little during the long drive but held on well. I am hoping to be in the winner’s circle with him two more times,” jockey Yutaka Take commented after the race.

Coming off his G1 Takarazuka Kinen victory in June and sent off second pick, Satono Crown was settled a couple of lengths in front of the winner in mid-division earlier and gradually gained in on the tiring front runners rounding the last two corners. As he entered the lane in third, the dark bay pinned Greater London 300 meters out and with a good finishing kick, came looming up on the inside of Kitasan Black but was a neck short to finish second.

Rainbow Line, 13th choice in a field of 18, entered the stretch close to the favorites after also sitting in mid-pack and ran strongly, tagging Greater London before the furlong pole but was unable to cut the gap from there and finished 2-1/2 lengths in third.

Other Horses:
4th: (4) Real Steel―stalked leaders in 4th, showed tenacious run but detached by top 3 finishers in last 200m
5th: (15) Makahiki―positioned near rear, showed belated charge, timed 2nd fastest over last 600m
6th: (9) Soul Stirring―raced wide around 7th, outrun turning corner, showed effort, even paced in last 200m
7th: (6) Decipher―broke poorly, traveled 2nd from rear, ran willingly at inner stretch and improved position
8th: (1) Sakura Empereur―chased leader in 2nd, angled wide, passed tired rivals in last 200m
9th: (13) Greater London―unhurried early, made headway, led at final corner, fell back
10th: (12) Staphanos―ran outside winner early, ran gamely until 200m out, weakened thereafter
11th: (5) Yamakatsu Ace―traveled around 8th, showed brief effort at stretch, never threatened
12th: (10) Mikki Rocket―raced wide around 4th, gradually dropped back, unable to reach contention
13th: (3) Neorealism―sat 5th, showed effort until 200m out, weakened thereafter
14th: (11) Lord Vent d’Or―set pace, ran out of steam at final corner
15th: (18) Sciacchetra―settled wide in 3rd from widest draw, failed to sustain bid before final corner
16th: (16) Cadenas―ran wide around 14th, never a threat
17th: (17) One and Only―traveled wide around 13th, unable to reach contention
18th: (14) Satono Aladdin―trailed in rear, no factor

THE 156TH TENNO SHO (AUTUMN) (G1)
3-year-old & up, 2,000 meters (about 10 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, October 29, 2017    Tokyo Racecourse      11th Race        Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 325,000,000 (about US$ 2,826,000 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 56kg (about 124 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs),
2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares, 2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2014
Safety factor: 18 runners

FP=Final Position / BK=Bracket Number / PP=Post Position / B=Blinker / Wgt=Weight / L3F=Time of Last 3 Furlongs (600m)
DS=Distance

1. 1. Kitasan Black (JPN), bay, horse, 5-year-old
   Black Tide / Sugar Heart (Sakura Bakushin O)

   Owner: Ono Shoji	Breeder: Yanagawa Bokujo
   Trainer: Hisashi Shimizu	Jockey: Yutaka Take
   18 Starts, 11 Wins
   Added money: ¥153,822,000	Career earnings: ¥1,497,961,000
   Principal Race Performances:	'17&'16 Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1, 3,200m)	1st
   	'17 Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m)	1st
   	'16 Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m)	1st
   	'15 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1, 3,000m)	1st

   
   
2. 2. Satono Crown (JPN), dark bay or brown, horse, 5-year-old
   Marju / Jioconda (Rossini)

   Owner: Satomi Horse Company Co., Ltd.	Breeder: Northern Racing
   Trainer: Noriyuki Hori	Jockey: Mirco Demuro

   
   
3. 3. Rainbow Line (JPN), bay, colt, 4-year-old
   Stay Gold / Regenbogen (French Deputy)

   Owner: Masahiro Mita	Breeder: Northern Racing
   Trainer: Hidekazu Asami	Jockey: Yasunari Iwata

* Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1)
“The Emperor’s Cup” was first held in 1905 to encourage the horse racing sport through annual events that gave the winner the highest honor of being awarded the Imperial prize. Then the Tenno Sho (Autumn) was established in 1937 together with its counterpart, Tenno Sho (Spring), under the name “Teishitsu Goshoten Kyoso” and held biannually in both the Eastern and Western part of Japan. The race was officially renamed the “Tenno Sho” in 1947. Both the spring and autumn races, which secured its status as the most prestigious events for older horses, were run over 3,200 meters in the early years. Later, the autumn version was shortened to 2,000 meters in 1984 so that the spring version could determine the best stayer, while the Tenno Sho (Autumn) would be the main target for middle-distance champions. This also gives the three-year-olds, who find the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1, 3,000m), to be beyond their suitability, an alternative G1 as the ultimate goal for their autumn campaign. The Tenno Sho (Autumn) entered a new chapter in its long history when opening its doors to foreign contenders as an international race in 2005.
Last year’s victor Maurice (JPN, by Screen Hero) went on to capture his sixth G1 victory in the Hong Kong Cup (G1, 2,000m) that year which led to his 2016 JRA Special Award and concluded his glorious racing career.
This year’s line-up featured 2016 Horse of the Year Kitasan Black, the Takarazuka Kinen (G1, 2,200m) victor Satono Crown and Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1, 2,000m) winner Neorealism, all making their first starts since their spring campaign. Finishers in the Mainichi Okan (G2, 1,800m; Oct.8) were also at the gate: winner and 2016 Dubai Turf (G1, 1,800m) champion Real Steel who was runner-up in last year’s version; second and third-place finishers, Satono Alladin and Greater London, who was first and fourth in the Yasuda Kinen (G1, 1,600m), respectively; last year’s Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) victor Makahiki who scored a sixth; heavily favored and in eighth was winner in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m), Soul Stirring. Others included Sapporo Kinen (G2, 2,000m; Aug.20) winner Sakura Empereur and last year’s third-place finisher Staphanos who had come off a runner-up effort in the All Comers (G2, 2,200m; Sep.24).
The race record 1:56.1 was set by Tosen Jordan (JPN, by Jungle Pocket) in 2011.