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Nihonpiro Baron Claims Nakayama Daishogai title by a Whisker

Nihonpiro Baron captured his first J-G1 victory in this year’s Nakayama Daishogai by a nose after being sent off third favorite in the 13-horse field. Among his 37 starts from debuting in December as a two-year-old to the summer of his five-year-old season, the son of Fusaichi Richard had claimed three wins in flat races over dirt. He immediately showed his true talent when switched to jump racing, claiming his first win in his first outing, and following a runner-up effort, marked five consecutive victories which included the 2016 Kyoto High-Jump (J-G2) and the Hanshin Jump Stakes (J-G3). The chestnut was forced to take an extensive period time to recover from a tendon injury after finishing second in the 2016 Kyoto Jump Stakes (J-G3) but made a come-back in this year’s Pegasus Jump Stakes with a runner-up effort and came off a third in the Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1) in April. For trainer Hidetaka Tadokoro, this is his first G1 title and 11th graded victory in both flat and jump races. Jockey Shinichi Ishigami, who has five J-G1 titles with last year’s victor Oju Chosan, celebrates his third consecutive Nakayama Diashogai triumph.

The race broke off with Miyaji Taiga on the lead with Shigeru Roninaji and Taisei Dream chasing the pace the first time in front of the stands. Nihonpiro Baron was settled in fifth but gradually advanced position skillfully rounding the turns economically and was on the heels of the favorite and leader Up to Date, who took the front after the fourth jump (no.3), as the field climbed out of the third dip. Second favorite Miyaji Taiga surged to the front after the ninth jump (no.3) and briefly led in the backstretch but the son of Fusaichi Richard returned the challenge kicking into gear and swiftly took over the lead before the final jump (no.5). With Miyaji Taiga on his heels, Nihonpiro Baron was first to hit the straight, extended his lead to two to three lengths in upper stretch and used every bit of stamina he had left to ward off the fast-closing Taisei Dream, grabbing his much-awaited big title.

“I had no doubts he was a strong horse and that we had a good chance after watching his other races. I had my eyes on Up to Date during the race and when Miyaji Taiga took the lead again, it let us reserve our energy for our stretch run which connected to our win by that (close) margin,” commented Shinichi Ishigami after he race.

Breaking smoothly from stall six, fifth favorite Taisei Dream chased the pace, marking the pace-setting favorite from a few lengths behind in third to fourth throughout, entered the straight in third and displayed a tremendous burst of speed to threaten the eventual winner to the wire for a close second.

Quick out of the gate, sixth favorite Meiner Prompt traveled in mid-field in sixth or seventh up to the last dip and advanced to fourth at the final obstacle (no.5) after passing tired rivals. The dark bay made most of his saved energy entering the lane several lengths from the front, showed a good turn of foot to tag Miyaji Taiga in the last 50 meters but had too much ground to make up and was two lengths from the runner-up in third.

Other Horses:
4th: (2) Thinking Dancer—traveled in 10th, improved position after 6th jump (no.5), showed belated charge at stretch
5th: (8) Miyaji Taiga—set pace early, gradually dropped back, made headway and led after 10th jump (no.4), overtaken by winner at final corner, weakened
6th: (3) Precious Time—raced 2nd from rear, gradually advanced after 5th jump (no.6)
7th: (10) Le Pere Noel—sat around 8th, made headway to 6th, never a threat
8th: (12) Shigeru Kurokajiki—ran around 7th, entered 10th to lane, passed tired rivals at straight
9th: (13) Shigeru Roninaji—chased leader in 2nd, gradually dropped back after 7th jump (no.7)
10th: (1) L Zero—raced around 11th, briefly advanced to 8th, unable to reach contention
11th: (11) Air Cardinal—traveled in 9th early, advanced to sixth, fell back after 7th jump (no.7)
12th: (7) Tosen Melissa—trailed in far rear, no factor

THE 141ST NAKAYAMA DAISHOGAI (J-G1)
3-year-old & up, 4,100 meters (about 2.56 miles), turf
Saturday, December 22, 2018   Nakayama Racecourse     10th Race      Post time: 14:45
Total prize money: ¥ 142,660,000 (about US$ 1,296,909 <US$1=¥110>)
3-y-o: 61kg (about 135 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 63kg (about 139 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares
Safety factor: 16 runners

1. 1.Nihonpiro Baron (JPN), chestnut, horse, 8-year-old
   Fusaichi Richard / Nihonpillow Annika (Captain Steve)

   Owner: Hyakutaro Kobayashi	Breeder: Hyakutaro Kobayashi
   Trainer: Hidetaka Tadokoro	Jockey: Shinichi Ishigami
   48 Starts, 10 Wins (11 Starts, 7 Wins *steeplechases only)
   Added money: ¥ 66,462,000	Career earnings: ¥ 273,973,000 (¥ 230,264,000 *steeplechases only)

   
   
2. 2.Taisei Dream (JPN), bay, horse, 8-year-old
   Deep Impact / More Than Best (Giant's Causeway)

   Owner: Seiho Tanaka	Breeder: Chiyoda Farm Shizunai
   Trainer: Yoshito Yahagi	Jockey: Kenji Hirasawa

   
   
3. 3.Meiner Prompt (JPN), dark bay or brown, gelding, 6-year-old
   Matsurida Gogh / Cosmo Krabbe (Meiner Love)

   Owner: Takefumi Okada	Breeder: Cosmo View Farm
   Trainer: Masanori Sakaguchi	Jockey: Kazuma Mori

* Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1)
The history of the Nakayama Daishogai dates back to 1934 when the biggest jump race in Japan was established in the aim of providing equal excitement to the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), which was the most popular race in flat racing. The highest level of steeplechase racing was originally held as a biannual event held in April and December until the spring version was renamed the Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1, 4,250m) in 1999. Still, the two jump races continued to position itself as the only two obstacle races of J-G1 level of equal standard and its results serving as a decisive factor in the selection of the seasonal JRA Award for Best Steeplechase Horse. In addition to the Nakayama Grand Jump, which was designated an international race in 2000, the Nakayama Daishogai became an international steeplechase event open to foreign contenders in 2011.
The Nakayama Daishogai features 11 jumps over the figure-of-eight-shaped course which includes six up-and-downs over the banks. The first half resembles that of the Nakayama Grand Jump while the Nakayama Daishogai does not include the movable hurdles along the outside turf track and the total distance being 150 meters shorter. The 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.
Instead of seeking his third consecutive Nakayama Daishogai title, defending champion and 2016, 2017 Best Steeplechase Horse Oju Chosan (JPN, H7, by Stay Gold) switched to flat racing after his Nakayama Grand Jump triumph earlier this year and heads for his first Arima Kinen (G1, 2,500m) challenge to be held the following day.
This year’s lineup included; last year’s runner-up and 2015 Best Steeplechase Horse Up to Date who finished second in both the spring J-G1 event and the Kokura Summer Jump (J-G3, 3,390m, Jul. 28) and came off a win in the Hanshin Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,140m; Sep 15); Nihonpiro Baron who was entered following a long break after marking a third in the Nakayama Grand Jump; Niigata Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,250m; Aug.25) winner Taisei Dream and Nakayama Grand Jump fourth-place Le Pere Noel who finished third and fourth in the Tokyo High-Jump (J-G2, 3,110m; Oct.14), respectively; Kyoto Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,170m; Nov.10) runner-up Miyaji Taiga and Meiner Prompt after finishing first and second, respectively, in the Illumination Jump Stakes (3,570m; Dec.1); last year’s Nakayama Daishogai fourth-place Thinking Dancer who marked a fourth in the Shuyo Jump Stakes (3,110m; Nov.17).
Oju Chosan set the race record of 4:36.1 last year.