NHK Mile Cup (G1) - Preview

Jo Strictly

Aerolithe

Outliers

Karakurenai

Red en Ciel

Monde Can Know

Mi Suerte

After a thrilling Tenno Sho (Spring), where Yutaka Take and Kitasan Black put on a great show in front of nearly 80,000 people at Kyoto Racecourse last Sunday, Grade 1 action switches to Tokyo Racecourse for a five-week run from Sunday, May 7. Getting the consecutive weeks off to a start is the NHK Mile Cup, a race for 3-year-olds, which colts and fillies may enter, but where geldings are excluded.

This year sees the 22nd running of the race in its current format, prior to which it was a Japanese Derby trial run over 2,000 meters. A couple of horses in fairly recent times have won the NHK Mile Cup and have gone on to win the Derby, namely King Kamehameha (2004) and Deep Sky (2008). It takes a tough horse to achieve that feat. This year, the race has attracted 25 nominations to tackle the stiff Tokyo mile, including seven fillies. Major Emblem flew the flag for the fillies last year, when she was the first one to win since Pink Cameo in 2007.

Lead up races to the NHK Mile Cup have included the Grade 3 Falcon Stakes, Grade 2 New Zealand Trophy, Grade 1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), and Grade 1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas), all races run in March or April. First favorites in the NHK Mile Cup have won six times in the last 10 years, but the race does throw up the occasional big price winner, such as Jo Cappuccino, who won at odds of 39-1 in 2009. Interestingly, the latter sired one of the fancied runners this year in Jo Strictly.

The race carries a total purse of ¥205 million, with ¥95 million going to the winner. The race record time is held by Danon Chantilly, who stopped the clock at 1 minute, 31.4 seconds in 2010. There will be a maximum 18 starters on Sunday, and final declarations, together with the barrier draw, will be announced later in the week. The race will be Race 11 on the card at Tokyo on Sunday, with a post time of 15:40 local time.

Here’s a look at some of the runners expected to head the market:

Jo Strictly: Trained by the man associated with Kitasan Black, Hisashi Shimizu will be looking to work more of his magic with Jo Strictly. A surprise winner (50-1) of the Grade 2 New Zealand Trophy over a mile at Nakayama in April, the colt won’t go off anywhere near that price on Sunday. Man of the moment, Yutaka Take, is expected to take the ride. An assistant trainer at the stable said, “He’s an easy horse to ride, and the jockey rode him well last time. He had a short break at the farm after that, and came back to the stable on April 19. He’s been tuning up nicely since his return, is not tight at all, and seems to be getting stronger.” Jo Strictly has had three starts at Tokyo, and won on his debut over 1,400 meters.

Aerolithe: A grey filly by Kurofune, she put in a bold showing in the Grade 1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) last time to finish fifth. She’s been ridden by jockey Norihiro Yokoyama in all five of her races, and he’s expected to ride her this week. The rider would seem overdue for a Grade 1 win. Trainer Takanori Kikuzawa commented: “She ran pretty well last time, finishing off strongly. After that she had her usual stint at Northern Farm Tenei, where things have gone well and she’s recovered her condition. She did some training at the farm and came back to Miho Training Center on April 26.” Aerolithe has one win (on her debut at Tokyo over 1,400 meters) and three seconds from a five-race career so far.

Outliers: The bay colt by Victoire Pisa has been ridden by jockey Hironobu Tanabe in all of his six starts, so he’s getting to know the horse pretty well. The only time Outliers has been unplaced was his 12th-place finish most recently in the Grade 1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) over 2,000 meters at Nakayama in April. His trainer, Shigeyuki Kojima, said, “Last time he failed to get a finish in, and the jockey (Tanabe) said he just didn’t run on. The reason for the loss would seem to be the distance. Even though the horse won over 2,000 meters early in his career, we are looking at him as more of a miler.”

Karakurenai: Another filly coming off a run in the Grade 1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) where she finished fourth, the Shadai Farm-bred Karakurenai is three wins from five starts. Her last win was in the Grade 2 Hochi Hai Fillies’ Revue over 1,400 meters at Hanshin in March. Japan’s leading jockey, Mirco Demuro, is lined up for the ride. Trainer Takeshi Matsushita said, “She came out of her last race fine, something similar to after she’d won the Fillies’ Revue. We’ve just been taking it lightly with her so far. Her appetite’s good and she hasn’t lost any weight, which I’m pleased about.” Karakurenai will be having her first race at Tokyo.

Red en Ciel: A colt by Manhattan Cafe, Red en Ciel has just four races under his belt, but has won twice, both times as a 2-year-old. He finished second in his latest race, the Grade 3 Arlington Cup over a mile at Hanshin in February, and was eighth in last year’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. He’s another runner paying his first visit to the Tokyo track.  Trainer Yasushi Shono said, “He showed a good turn of foot last time when finishing second to a very good horse. He was quite calm beforehand, but got a bit agitated when the jockey was up. We’ll need to keep him calm on the trip to the Tokyo track; it’s all about preserving what he has to give in a race.”

Monde Can Know: Trained by Takayuki Yasuda, this bay colt by Kinshasa no Kiseki has two wins and two seconds from his five career starts. He finished second in last year’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, and his only unplaced run came last time in the Grade 2 Spring Stakes at Nakayama over 1,800 meters in March. Assistant trainer Keiichi Yasuda commented: “It was almost too smooth a race last time, where he couldn’t take up a good position, but settled for something more forward and it didn’t suit him. Rather than run out of steam, he just seemed to lose interest. The key to him is keeping him held up to be produced late on in a race.” Christophe Lemaire looks set for the ride, and he has won on the horse the only time he’s ridden him.

Mi Suerte: Trained by Yasutoshi Ikee, who’s looking for his 18th Grade 1 victory in Japan, Mi Suerte is a filly by Frankel who burst onto the scene by winning her first two races as a 2-year-old. Things haven’t been so simple with her, however, and she could only finish 11th in the Grade 1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) in her latest run in April. Tatsuhiko Kawai, assistant trainer, said, “Despite the result last time, she was generally better behaved. After, she went to Northern Farm Shigaraki for a break. She can sometimes lose weight at the training center, but on her return from the farm there’s a feeling she’s in good shape and ready for a race once again.”