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Aerolithe Tops Three-Year-Old Milers in NHK Mile Cup

Coming off a fifth-place finish in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m), the decision made by Aerolithe’s connections to alter her target towards the NHK Mile Cup instead of the traditional Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m) proved successful as the Kurofune filly demonstrated a powerful performance for her first grade-race and G1 title over the 1,600-meter distance. The three-year-old filly who broke her maiden as a two-year-old in her debut start in June followed by a runner-up effort that season, scored two more second-place finishes in her first two grade-race starts this year in the Fairy Stakes (G3, 1,600m; Jan.8) and the Queen Cup (G3, 1,600; Feb.11) before the Oka Sho. Trainer Takanori Kikuzawa, a former jockey with a career total of 639 wins including 10 grade-race titles before retiring in 2010, opened his yard in 2011 and had four grade-race titles as a trainer coming into the NHK Mile Cup. This victory is his first at G1 level. Jockey Norihiro Yokoyama won his first G1 title since winning the same race with Clarity Sky in 2015 and now has a career total of 26 JRA-G1 wins.

Aerolithe was the first to jump out as soon as the gate opened then eased back to around sixth position behind Bom Servico who set the pace for most of the 1,600-meter trip. Already making steady headway after the third corner while still traveling wide, veteran Norihiro Yokayama shifted Aerolithe slightly towards the inside as the powerful gray filly accelerated impressively to overtake the leader with a little less than 200 meters to go and held off a fast closing Rieno Tesoro for a 1-1/2 length victory.

“I felt she had great potential when I first sat on her in training as a two-year-old. She was in great condition coming into this race and strong. She was a bit too quick out of the gate but settled nicely without me actually hitting the brakes. She still appears to have a lot more in her and I expect her to be even more powerful in the autumn season,” commented Norihiro Yokoyama.

Rieno Tesoro traveled in mid-pack a few lengths behind Aerolithe, edged forward a little later than the eventual winner, had to angle out for a clear run and demonstrated an extremely impressive charge along the outside but was a fraction too late to cause a serious threat to the leader while clearly besting the rest of the field.

Bom Servico showed good early speed to assume command before the first furlong pole, still led rounding the final turn and held on well along the homestretch to fend off all but the two top finishers for third.

Other Horses:
4th: (15) Red en Ciel―traveled 4-wide outside favorite, responded well, timed 2nd fastest over last 3 furlongs
5th: (11) All the Go―sat outside favorite, quickened after 300m marker, outrun by Red en Ciel before wire
6th: (8) Time Trip―ran in 7-8th, improved position to 4th at stretch, outrun in final strides
7th: (12) Mi Suerte―raced 3-wide 5-6th from rear, accelerated at stretch, was too late
8th: (13) Trust―chased leader in 2nd or 3rd, showed tenacity, weakened in last 200m
9th: (1) Monde Can Know―stalked leaders in 4th, sustained bid, outrun in last 200m
10th: (10) Divine Code―prominent early inside eventual winner, ran willingly until 200m out
11th: (5) Platina Voice―traveled in 7-8th, lacked needed kick at stretch
12th: (7) Jo Strictly―settled 5-6th from rear, turned wide, passed tired rivals at stretch
13th: (3) Outliers―took economic trip 4th from rear, even paced at stretch
14th: (2) Kyohei―hugged rails 2nd or 3rd from rear, showed brief response
15th: (9) Taisei Starry―positioned 2nd or 3rd from rear, unable to reach contention
16th: (17) Knight Banneret―was off slow, trailed in far rear, no factor throughout
18th: (18) Gun Salute―sat 4-wide around 6th, ran gamely until 300m out, faded

THE 22ND NHK MILE CUP (G1)
3-year-old Colts & Fillies, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, May 7, 2017       Tokyo Racecourse         11th Race          Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 205,200,000 (about US$ 1,784,000 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 57 kg (about 126 lbs), 2 kg allowance for Fillies,
2 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2014
Safety factor: 18 runners

FP=Final Position / BK=Bracket Number / PP=Post Position / Wgt=Weight / L3F=Time of Last 3 Furlongs (600m)

1. 1.Aerolithe (JPN), gray, filly, 3-year-old
   Kurofune / Asterix (Neo Universe)
   

   Owner: Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.	Breeder: Northern Racing
   Trainer: Takanori Kikuzawa	Jockey: Norihiro Yokoyama
   6 Starts, 2 Wins
   Added money: ¥ 98,822,000	Career earnings: ¥ 147,438,000

   
   
2. 2.Rieno Tesoro (USA), chestnut, filly, 3-year-old
   Speightstown / Akilina (Langfuhr)
   

   Owner: Kenji Ryotokuji	Breeder: Oak Bluff Stables, LLC
   Trainer: Ryo Takei	Jockey: Hayato Yoshida

   
   
3. 3.Bom Servico (JPN), chestnut, colt, 3-year-old
   Daiwa Major / Baimoyuri (Sakura Laurel)
   

   Owner: Nagoya Yuho	Breeder: Nagoyayuho Co., Ltd.
   Trainer: Manabu Ikezoe	Jockey: Kohei Matsuyama

* NHK Mile Cup (G1)

While races in Japan for three-year-olds had been programmed mainly to facilitate those aiming towards the middle-long distance three-year-old Classics as typified by the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m), the interest in speed races is growing both within and outside Japan, and earning much respect as the traditional Classics. In 1996, JRA reorganized its races in order to accommodate and promote the three-year-olds suited to short distances, and established the NHK Mile Cup which was named after its sponsor Nippon Hoso Kyokai (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Japan’s only public broadcaster. The race was designated as an international race in 2009.
Past NHK Mile Cup winners include subsequent derby winners King Kamehameha (JPN, by Kingmambo; ’04) and Deep Sky (JPN, by Agnes Tachyon; ’08) while El Condor Pasa (USA, by Kingmambo; ’98) and Kurofune (USA, by French Deputy; ’01) won the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) and the Japan Cup Dirt (G1, dirt, 2,100m), respectively.
Jo Strictly came off a victory in the official trial towards the 2017 edition of the NHK Mile Cup, the New Zealand Trophy (G2, 1,600m; Apr.8). Mayson Junior (JPN, by Mayson) and Bom Servico, a third-place finisher in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1, 1,600m; Dec.18) last year, finished second and third, respectively, in the trial race but Mayson Junior decided to pass up the mile G1 with a shin sore. Monde Can Know, who was runner-up in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, had come off a 10th in the Spring Stakes (G2, 1,800m; Mar. 19) but was well backed in the NHK Mile Cup. Red en Ciel came off a runner-up effort in the Arlington Cup (G3, 1,600m; Feb.25) while Kyohei finished seventh in the same race after claiming his first grade-race victory in his kick-off start of 2017, the Shinzan Kinen (G3, 1,600m; Jan.8).
Those that ran in the Three-Year-Old Classics but decided not to step up in distance and opted to aim for a G1 title over a mile included the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m; Apr.9) fourth-place finisher Karakurenai, fifth-place finisher Aerolithe and 11th-place finisher Mi Suerte. Coming off the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m; Apr.16) were Platina Voice, Outliers and Trust who finished 10th, 12th and 13th, respectively, in the first leg of the Triple Crown.
The NHK Mile Cup field also included Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun (dirt, 1,600m; Dec.14) victor, Rieno Tesoro, while All the Go and Divine Code came off their respective victories in the Marguerite Stakes (1,400m; Apr.2) and Tachibana Stakes (1,400m; Apr.22).
The race record is held by Danon Chantilly (JPN, by Fuji Kiseki) who covered the 1,600 meter distance in 1:31.4 in 2010.