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Contrail Claims Kikuka Sho to Become Third Undefeated Triple Crown Winner

Odds on favorite Contrail claimed this year’s Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) and added his name in JRA history as the third undefeated Triple Crown winner after Symboli Rudolf (1984) and his sire Deep Impact (2005) and the eighth colt to win all three titles—it is also the first time in history for a father and son to accomplish the feat. The Deep Impact colt extended his winning streak to seven while notching his fourth G1 title after the Hopeful Stakes last year, the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). Trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who scored his 13th JRA-G1 title with the win, became the first trainer to claim four G1 titles for two consecutive seasons. Jockey Yuichi Fukunaga, now with 28 G1 wins, claimed his second Kikuka Sho title after his victory with Epiphaneia in 2013 and became the fourth jockey in JRA history with 10 Classic titles.

Contrail broke smoothly and settled nicely between horses in mid-field behind Chimera Verite who set a relaxed pace while being pressured by Aristoteles on his outside. Yuichi Fukunaga managed to keep the colt in hand as the son of Deep Impact appeared keen to go along the backstretch while gradually making headway through the last two corners and soon taking command entering the stretch. Stalked throughout the whole trip and still challenged by Aristoteles as Contrail attempted to pull away from the rest of the field, the undefeated three-year-old demonstrated terrific tenacity to prevail by a neck at the wire for a history making victory.

“I can’t say that I was successful in keeping him relaxed during the race with so much pressure from Aristoteles. It turned out to be a tough race for us with Aristoteles looking quite strong and persistent, and this race may not have been his best performance, but I kept my faith in Contrail and he certainly showed how strong he is to have maintained his position up to the end of the 3,000-meter trip,” commented Yuichi Fukunaga.

Aristoteles under Christophe Lemaire quickly assumed position outside Contrail and raced in tandem with the eventual winner in mid-division. The improving Epiphaneia colt accelerated impressively and remained strong as the two colts dueled to the wire but was unable to wear down the winner, finishing a neck behind in second.

Other Horses:
4th: (8) Deep Bond—sat around 6th in front of winner, showed tenacity, weakened in final strides
5th: (15) Black Hole—raced around 11th, circled wide, accelerated at stretch, belatedly
6th: (13) Robertson Quay—positioned around 15th, switched to inside at early stretch, showed brief effort
7th: (6) Weltreisende—traveled around 9th behind winner, angled out, lacked needed kick
8th: (14) Valcos—saved ground around 11th, even paced
9th: (2) Galore Creek—sat in 4th, ran gamely until top of stretch, outrun thereafter
10th: (11) Babbitt—chased leader in 2nd, took command turning final corner, dropped back after 300m marker
11th: (4) Man of Spirit—was off slow, ran 3rd from rear, advanced in backstretch, even paced at stretch
12th: (5) Satono Impresa—raced around 9th, failed to respond at stretch
13th: (1) Diamant Minoru—settled around 11th, checked at early stretch, never a threat
14th: (16) Turkish Palace—traveled 2nd from rear, showed little at stretch
15th: (7) Danon Gloire—traveled around 5th, outrun after final corner
16th: (12) L’Excellence—tracked leaders in 3rd, fell back after 200m pole
17th: (18) Bitterender—broke poorly, trailed in rear, unable to reach contention
18th: (17) Chimera Verite—set pace from wide draw, faded after final corner

THE 81ST THE KIKUKA SHO (JAPANESE ST. LEGER, G1)
3-year-olds, Colts and Fillies, 3,000 meters (about 15 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, October 25, 2020         Kyoto Racecourse        11th Race         Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 259,200,000 (about US$ 2,400,000 <US$1=¥108>)
3-y-o: 57 kg (about 126 lbs), 2 kg allowance for Fillies, 2 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2017
Course Record: 3:01.0            Race Record: 3:01.0 [Toho Jackal (JPN, by Special Week), 2014]
Safety factor: 18 runners     Going: Firm           Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 21,240,028,700        Turnover for the Day: ¥ 30,030,043,600        Attendance: 1,018

Winner= 7 starts, 7 wins / Added money: ¥ 147,328,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 675,186,000

* Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) (G1)

The history of Kikuka Sho, the Japanese St. Leger and the last leg of the Triple Crown race for three-year-old colts and fillies, dates back to 1938—a year after Japan’s 11 racing clubs integrated into one organization named Nihon Keiba Kai (forerunner of the JRA). Initially called “Kyoto Norin-sho Shoten Yonsai Yobiuma Kyoso”, the race was renamed to Kikuka Sho in 1948. The race distance, however, has not changed since the first running, except in 1979 when the race was held at Hanshin Racecourse during Kyoto’s stand renovation. The Kikuka Sho features three-year-olds, most of who have grown dramatically since the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) held five months before, prior to their summer break. The Kikuka Sho winners have both the speed and the stamina to prove their caliber as the potential breeding stock. The last of the seven Triple Crown winners in JRA history was Orfevre (JPN, by Stay Gold) in 2011 who proceeded to prove his power against older G1 caliber in the Arima Kinen (G1, 2,500m), which led to his Horse of the Year that year. 2015 Kikuka Sho winner Kitasan Black (JPN, by Black Tide) and 2016 champion Satono Diamond (JPN, by Deep Impact) were chosen as the Horse of the Year and Best Three-Year-Old Colt, respectively, in 2016.
Contrail, winner of both the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) and the Tokyo Yushun, came into the race with high hopes of becoming an undefeated Triple Crown winner after his victory in the Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2, 2,200m) on September 27. Tokyo Yushun third-place finisher Weltreisende was the runner-up in the Kobe Shimbun Hai with Robertson Quay and Tokyo Yushun fifth-place finisher Deep Bond following in third and fourth, respectively. Babbitt scored his second consecutive grade-race title following the Radio Nikkei Sho (G3, 1,800m, July) in another trial race, the St. Lite Kinen (G2, 2,200m; Sep.21) in which Yayoi Sho (G2, 2,000m) winner Satono Flag finished second and Satsuki Sho third-place finisher Galore Creek was third. The Kikuka Sho field also included Diamant Minoru, Danon Gloire and Aristoteles who came off their respective wins against older foes in allowance races (2 Wins Class).