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Seventh Pick Epoca d’Oro Dominates the Field to Win This Year’s Satsuki Sho

This year’s Satsuki Sho was won by seventh favorite Epoca d’Oro followed by ninth pick Sans Rival in second and eighth choice Generale Uno in third, causing an upset in the first leg of the Triple Crown. Epoca d’Oro, finishing third in his debut start last October, marked two consecutive wins entering this season and was qualified to race in the Satsuki Sho by coming in second in the previous Spring Stakes. This win was the ninth JRA-G1 victory for trainer Hideaki Fujiwara and seventh for jockey Keita Tosaki—first since the 2016 Victoria Mile with Straight Girl for both. This win marked the father-and-son victory as his sire, Orfevre, was a Triple Crown winner in 2011. One of Orfevre fillies, Lucky Lilac, has also won the 2017 Hanshin juvenile Fillies.

Epoca d’Oro, breaking sharply from stall seven, rallied for the lead but eventually settled in fourth and traveled at his own pace while the first three runners led by Aithon set a fast pace. With over a ten-length gap between the frontrunners, the son of Orfevre continued to lead the remaining field at a sound pace down the backstretch, diligently closed the gap turning the last two corners and, though with still some gap at the top of the stretch, unleashed a powerful drive in the lane to overtake the front 100 meters out and pulled away to a two-length victory.

“I was able to position him as planned. He ran in good rhythm and responded well rounding the final corner. He’s a smart horse and is developing with each race. His powerful run today shows that he will have no problem handling the extra distance in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby),” commented Keita Tosaki.

Ninth choice Sans Rival, also breaking smoothly from stall 14, settled right behind Epoca d’Oro in fifth and continued to stalk the eventual winner until the wire with an impressive late charge to finish second.

Eighth favorite Generale Uno made a good break and pressed the fast pace set by Aithon in second. The son of Screen Hero briefly inherited the lead 200 meters out but was soon dislodged by Epoca d’Oro then Sans Rival in the last 100 meters while managing to hold off the strong challenge by second-pick Stelvio by a neck.

Odds-on-favorite Wagnerian broke smoothly and eased back towards the rear. Driven after the third corner, the Deep Impact colt turned wide but was unable to display his trademark late charge at the homestretch and finish seventh.

Other Horses:
4th: (15) Stelvio―ran near rear, turned wide, quickened and tied fastest over last 3 furlongs, was too late
5th: (5) Kitano Commandeur―raced wide near rear, showed belated charge, tied fastest over last 3 furlongs
6th: (12) Grail―trailed in rear, accelerated between horses, tied fastest over last 3 furlongs
8th: (6) Aithon―set pace, led until 200m out, overtaken by rivals in last 100m
9th: (3) Gendarme―traveled around 11-12th, showed effort, weakened in last 100m
10th: (1) Time Flyer―positioned around 9th, even paced
11th: (8) K T Clever―ran in 5-6th behind eventual winner, sustained bind until 100m out
12th: (9) Oken Moon―sat near rear early, made headway after 3rd corner, lacked needed kick
13th: (11) Meiner Fanrong―raced wide in 7th, ran willingly until 200m out, weakened
14th: (13) Double Sharp―traveled wide around 10th, failed to respond at stretch
15th: (16) Jun Valerot―chased leaders in 3rd from widest draw, fell back at stretch
16th: (4) Three Helios―saved ground in 8-9th, faded after 3rd corner

THE 78TH SATSUKI SHO (JAPANESE 2000 GUINEAS, G1)
3-year-old Colts & Fillies, 2,000 meters (about 10 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, April 15, 2018      Nakayama Racecourse       11th Race      Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 238,600,000 (about US$ 2,170,000 <US$1=¥110>)
3-y-o: 57kg (about 126 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies, 2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2015
Safety factor: 18 runners

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

1. 1.Epoca d’Oro (JPN), dark bay or brown, colt, 3-year-old
   Orfevre / Daiwa Passion (Forty Niner)
   

   Owner: K. Hidaka Breeders Union	Breeder: Toru Tagami
   Trainer: Hideaki Fujiwara	Jockey: Keita Tosaki
   5 Starts, 3 Wins
   Added money: ¥ 134,871,000	Career earnings: ¥ 174,212,000

   
   
2. 2.Sans Rival (JPN), bay, colt, 3-year-old
   Rulership / Un Fil Rouge (Agnes Tachyon)
   

   Owner: Kyoko Habata	Breeder: Y. S. Stud
   Trainer: Kenichi Fujioka	Jockey: Yusuke Fujioka

   
   
3. 3.Generale Uno (JPN), dark bay or brown, colt, 3-year-old
   Screen Hero / Shanghai Rock (Rock of Gibraltar)
   

   Owner: G Riviere·Racing Co., Ltd.	Breeder: Shinsei Farm
   Trainer: Eiichi Yano	Jockey: Hironobu Tanabe

* Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) (G1)
The Satsuki Sho, which is the first of the three legs of JRA’s Triple Crown Classics for three-year-olds including the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) and the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1, 3,000m), is comparable to British Two Thousand Guineas. The “Yokohama Norinsho Shoten Yonsai Yobiuma”, the precursor of the Satsuki Sho, was first run over 1,850 meters at Yokohama Racecourse in 1939 then moved its venue to Tokyo Racecourse four years later before given its current name and shifted again to Nakayama Racecourse in 1949—the distance was also altered to 2,000 meters in the following year.
Seven of the past Satsuki Sho champions since 2005 subsequently received the JRA Best Three-Year-Old Colt Award, in recognition of their outstanding performances throughout the year—Deep Impact (JPN, Sunday Silence) in 2005, Meisho Samson (JPN, by Opera House) in 2006, Victoire Pisa (JPN, by Neo Universe) in 2010, Orfevre (JPN, by Stay Gold) in 2011, Gold Ship (JPN, by Stay Gold) in 2012, Isla Bonita (JPN, by Fuji Kiseki) in 2014 and Duramente (JPN, by King Kamehameha) in 2015. Triple Crown winners Deep Impact and Orfevre were also named the Horse of the Year.
This year’s key runners that came off three trial races were: from the Yayoi Sho (G2, 2,000m; Mar.4), Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes (G3, 1,800m; Nov.18) winner Wagnerian (2nd) and Hopeful Stakes (G1, 2,000m; Dec.28) runner-up Gendarme (3rd); from the Wakaba Stakes (2,000m; Mar.17), Aithon (1st), Double Sharp (2nd) and Hopeful Stakes champion Time Flyer (5th); and from the Spring Stakes (G2, 1,800m; Mar.18), Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1, 1,600m; Dec.17) runner-up Stelvio (1st), Epoca d’Oro (2nd) and Meiner Fanrong (3rd). The field also included Generale Uno, Oken Moon and Kitano Commandeur, winners of the Keisei Hai (G3, 2,000m; Jan.14), the Kyodo News Hai (G3, 1,800m; Feb.11) and the Sumire Stakes (2,200m; Feb.25), respectively.
2017 Best Two-Year-Old Colt Danon Premium (JPN, by Deep Impact) who won the Yayoi Sho decided to avoid the Satsuki Sho due to lameness in his right foreleg and aim for a comeback in the Tokyo Yushun.
Al Ain (JPN, by Deep Impact) renewed the race record to 1:57.8 last year.