Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) (G1) - Preview

Dee Majesty

Satono Diamond

Air Spinel

On Sunday, Oct. 23, Kyoto Racecourse hosts the 77th running of the Kikuka Sho, the final race in Japan’s Triple Crown. The big three in Japan are modeled after England’s original Triple Crown. That makes the Kikuka Sho, run over 3,000 meters of turf, the equivalent of the St. Leger. A grueling test of stamina, the Kikuka Sho, or “Chrysanthemum Prize,” is one of the longest – and toughest – of the top-level events sponsored by the JRA. It is open to 3-year-old colts and fillies, and 115 million yen goes to the winner.

The Kikuka Sho is run on Kyoto’s outer course and the 3,000-meter course is used only twice in the year, for the Kikuka Sho and the Manyo Stakes. The Kikuka Sho starts on the upward slope of the backstretch and circles the track for one and a half laps. There are two nearly 4-meter high hills to be conquered and six turns to make on the right-handed track. A ground-saving run, therefore, is most advantageous and inside gates are favored. Unlike the Manyo Stakes, the pace of the Kikuka Sho is often fairly strong and the race demands far more stamina, as is fitting for a Grade 1 event.

The Kikuka Sho is also known as one of the hardest races to pick, since usually none of the runners have had their mettle tested at the distance.

This year sees an all-colt field of 18, but without the presence of the usual star of the Kikuka Sho, the year’s Japanese Derby winner. This year that would be Makahiki, whose owners chose to seek their glory in the Arc earlier this month. What the lineup does offer up is many of the top finishers from the Triple Crown first two jewels – the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and Japanese Derby. Three of the top four finishers from both the Satsuki Sho and the Derby are nominated to run.

Of the 19 colts nominated for the Kikuka Sho, five are sired by Deep Impact, who aced the race in 2005. His progeny, however, have yet to match their father’s feat. In fact, no Deep Impact-sired son or daughter has won a flat race at 3,000 meters or longer. Last year’s Kikuka Sho winner Kitasan Black, however, was sired by Deep Impact’s older brother Black Tide (Sunday Silence, out of Wind in Her Hair).

With Makahiki sitting out of the Kikuka Sho, the attention is focused largely on two colts, the Satsuki Sho winner Dee Majestyand the third-place finisher in the same race Satono Diamond. Dee Majesty is looking to make it two out of three after running third in the Derby. The Yoshitaka Ninomiya-trained son of Deep Impact came back to the track on Sept. 18 to capture the Grade 2 Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen at Nakayama and looks to be sitting pretty for success on Sunday. Four wins in seven starts, two seconds, this colt has never finished further back than third place.

If he can pocket his second jewel of the crown, he’ll become the ninth horse to take home two, the first horse in four years following Gold Ship. The last Derby third-place runner to win the Kikuka Sho was That’s the Plenty in 2003. The other worry surrounding Dee Majesty besides the “Deep Impact jinx” is that this will be his very first trip “west.” The last time a Miho-based horse won the Kikuka Sho was 15 years ago, when Manhattan Cafe scooped it. But the last time a Miho-based horse that had yet to be trailered to a track in western Japan ever won the Kikuka Sho was way back in 1991, when Leo Durban won. Masayoshi Ebina will be in the saddle and with 26 G1 wins to his name, eight of them at Kyoto, including Manhattan Cafe’s win in 2001, luck may be on his side.

Likely to be neck in neck with Dee Majesty at the betting windows is Satono Diamond, another Deep Impact colt who, despite having shone brilliantly in the first three starts of his career, is still looking for a classic win. Beaten back by the typhoon-like winds of the Satsuki Sho, he managed third place, then barely missed the Derby winner’s circle as runner-up to Makahiki by a mere nose. He is looking good though, and started his autumn campaign with a win of the Grade 2 Kobe Shimbun Hai. Thirteen Derby runner-ups have won the Kikuka Sho up to now, the last was Epiphaneia just three years back. Epiphaneia was also just off a win of the Kobe Shimbun Hai and he, like Fenomeno, also attained their first G1 victory with the Kikuka Sho.

Also chasing his first G1 win is Air Spinel, fourth-place finisher in both the Satsuki Sho and the Derby. This will be his fourth time to take on the top-level competition. He went to the gates of the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes as the favorite, but was beaten by 3/4 length to Leontes. A consistent runner, Air Spinel has made the board in all his four starts this year. In addition to the two classic races, he ran third in the Yayoi Sho and fifth in the Kobe Shimbun Hai.

If he can win the Kikuka Sho, he’ll be the first horse since That’s the Plenty to pick up his first win of the year in the 3,000 meter marathon. Air Spinel is partnered with Yutaka Take, who has ridden in the Kikuka Sho 26 times and winning it four times – both records.

Another interesting candidate is Red Eldest, third-place finisher in the Kobe Shimbun Hai. A son of Zenno Rob Roy, who ran fourth in the 2003 Kikuka Sho, Red Eldest debuted just this year, at Chukyo in late January. He notched his first win two weeks later at Kyoto. He picked up another race, then ran second in the Aoba Sho, and ninth in the Derby. Two years ago, Toho Jackal’s path to the Kikuka Sho was a similar one to Red Eldest’s. He had run third in the Sept. 25 Kobe Shimbun Hai at Hanshin Racecourse following his debut only five months earlier, and went on to capture the Kikuka Sho. It should be noted that, over the past decade alone, four third-place finishers in the Kobe Shimbun Hai have gone on to win the Kikuka Sho.

Odds will be better on two other colts that may prove to be late bloomers -- Mikki Rocket, by King Kamehameha and the Deep Impact-sired Prodigal Son. The two both did poorly in the spring classics but may be on the road to redemption having won their tickets to the Kikuka Sho in the trials. Since his 13th-place finish in the Satsuki Sho, Mikki Rocket has tallied two wins and two seconds in four starts. Last out, in the Kobe Shimbun Hai, he ran second, just a neck behind Satono Diamond. Prodigal Son was 10th in the Derby, spelled over the summer and came back in the autumn for a third in the St. Lite Kinen. Prodigal Son’s older brother Real Steel (Deep Impact, out of Loves Only Me) finished second in the Kikuka Sho.

Also gaining attention of late is Umbruch, by Deep Impact. After finishing 10th in the Satsuki Sho, Umbruch won his next two races, the most recent the Sapporo Nikkan Sports Hai.

Also, there are those who show promise despite this race being their first time in a top-level lineup. Super Lumiere and Jun Vulcan are two such colts. The former has aced his last two runs, most recently the Hyogo Tokubetsu. Jun Vulcan captured the Azusa Sho, followed by the Mita Tokubetsu.

The Kikuka Sho is the 11th race on the Sunday card at Kyoto Racecourse and post time is 15:40 local time.