Mile Championship (G1) - Preview

Satono Aladdin

Neorealism

Young Man Power

Isla Bonita

 

Lord Quest

Mikki Isle

Magic Time

Grade 1 action comes thick and fast at this time of year in Japan, and on Sunday, Nov. 20, sees the second race in the Japan Autumn International Series of races, namely the Mile Championship, to be staged at Kyoto Racecourse. There have been 19 horses nominated for the feature race, including two 3-year-olds in Lord Quest and Spectre. The last 3-year-old to win the race was Agnes Digital in 2000. Unfortunately, the German trained filly, Spectre, has been declared a non-starter, but this still leaves the possibility of a full gate of 18 runners. 

The Mile Championship was first run in 1984, and some big names have won the race over the years, including consecutive wins for Taiki Shuttle (1997 and 1998), Durandal (2003 and 2004) and Daiwa Major (2006 and 2007). The mile at Kyoto starts in the backstretch, and runners then have to tackle the rise over on the far side of the course, before descending towards the final corner and straightening up for home, where the rail cutaway opens things up for runners on the inside. The last three years the race has been run on firm ground, and just three favorites have won in the past decade, although they have placed on eight occasions during that period. Race favorites have won 14 times in the history of the race.

Lead up races to this year’s Mile Championship have included the Grade 2 Swan Stakes over 1,400 meters at Kyoto, the Grade 3 Fuji Stakes over a mile at Tokyo, and the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes over 1,200 meters at Nakayama, and all of these races were run in October. Prize money to the winner of this year’s Mile Championship is 103 million yen. Danon Shark holds the race record time, winning in 1 minute, 31.5 seconds in 2014.  Post time is 15:40 local time and it will be Race 11 on the card at Kyoto.

Here’s a look at some of the runners expected to line up for the 33rd Mile Championship:

Satono Aladdin: The five-year-old by Deep Impact is coming off an impressive win in the Grade 2 Swan Stakes last month, as well as finishing a respectable fourth in this year’s Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen. He was fourth in last year’s Mile Championship, and has won seven times from 21 starts. He’s trained by Yasutoshi Ikee, who has a handy knack of getting horses just right come big race day, as seen with Satono Diamond recently in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger). “After a five month layoff, I thought it might take a bit more time with him, but the way he adjusted to his last race, and the way he flew home, was no mean feat at all, and that was a good win for sure,” the trainer said recently.

Neorealism: This 5-year-old will be tackling a Grade 1 for the first time, as well as taking on the Kyoto track for the first time. He came under the spotlight when beating Maurice in the Grade 2 Sapporo Kinen this summer over 2,000 meters, when leading all the way to steal the glory. He is six wins from 14 starts, and is trained by one of the leading trainers Noriyuki Hori. Assistant trainer at the stable, Atsunori Hashimoto, commented: “He won the Sapporo Kinen starting from Gate No. 13, showing no hesitation to get to the front and maintaining that position throughout. I think he’s in the form he was in the previous summer, when jockey Christophe Lemaire rode him to two consecutive victories.” Neorealism is by Neo Universe, and runs in the U Carrot Farm colors.

Young Man Power: The Northern Farm bred Young Man Power comes into the Mile Championship having won his last three races, the latest the Grade 3 Fuji Stakes over a mile at Tokyo in October. He’s a 4-year-old colt by Snitzel, and is trained by Takahisa Tezuka. “It was a slow pace last time, but he ran well. He’s recently trained with his jockey (Mickael Barzalona), who’s got on well with him and reports the horse’s responses to be good. The horse is more muscular now. I think transporting him to the Kansai area and the outer course at Kyoto pose no problems,” the trainer said.

Isla Bonita: The 2014 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) winner has amassed a prize money haul of 528 million yen in JRA races so far in his career, and is looking to boost that here. The five-year-old by Fuji Kiseki is coming off a second-place finish in the Grade 3 Fuji Stakes last month, and will be making his eighth Grade 1 start here. He finished third in last year’s Mile Championship. Assistant trainer at the stable, Ryuji Sato, said, “He gets better with races, and despite some uncertainty and the slow pace last time, he ran patiently and did well to finish second.” It’s looking as if his big race partner will be jockey Christophe Lemaire, and the form he’s been in recently speaks volumes for the chances of Isla Bonita .

Lord Quest: The 3-year-old colt by Matsurida Gogh has been considered a miler from the start of his career, despite bold attempts to tackle longer distance Grade 1 races like the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). His most recent win over a mile came in the Grade 3 Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap at Nakayama in September. He is three wins from five starts over a mile. “It was a slow pace in the Fuji Stakes and he lost a bit of ground at the start,” trainer Shigeyuki Kojima said. “He was just 0.5 seconds off the winner in the end, and the jockey (Kenichi Ikezoe) sees no cause for any pessimism.”

Mikki Isle: The versatile Mikki Isle will be back to a mile after finishing second most recently in the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama at the beginning of October. The 5-year-old by Deep Impact has five wins over a mile, but all early in his career as a 3-year-old. His last race over a mile was the 2015 Yasuda Kinen, when he finished 15th.  A lot depends on how he starts and whether he can find his racing rhythm. “He didn’t start so well last time,” trainer Hidetaka Otonashi said. “It took some time for him to find his own pace, so consequently he wasn’t able to race the way we know he can.” 

Magic Time: The 5-year-old mare by Heart’s Cry is an interesting entry here. She is five wins and seven seconds from a 20-race career to date. She was sixth in the Grade 1 Victoria Mile in May, and finished second most recently in the Grade 2 Fuchu Himba Stakes over 1,800 meters at Tokyo in October. She will be having just her second race at Kyoto. Trained by Tadashige Nakagawa, assistant trainer Toshiaki Sasajima said, “The slow pace last time meant she had to race from a different position from what is really ideal for her.” Magic Time races in the Sunday Racing Co. Ltd. colors and looks likely to be partnered by jockey Andrasch Starke.

Fiero and Garibaldi are two representatives from trainer Hideaki Fujiwara’s stable, and the two have been doing fast work over five furlongs on the woodchip course in recent training.