2017 News

May 28, 2017

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Rey de Oro Tactfully Defeats Strong Field of 3-Y-Os in This Year's Tokyo Yushun
Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby)(G1)

Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby)(G1)

Second favorite Rey de Oro partnered with Christophe Lemaire bested his three-year-old opponents in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) to revenge his fifth-place finish in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and to capture his first G1 and second graded victory. The son of King Kamehameha debuted in October last year and won his first three starts including his first graded win in the year-end G2 Hopeful Stakes. This marked trainer Kazuo Fujisawa's 26th JRA-G1 victory following last week's Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) title with Soul Stirring and his first classic title for colts. He is the fifth trainer—first in 13 years—to win both the Oaks and Derby in the same year. For jockey Christophe Lemaire, this win marked an impressive three-week G1 winning streak, which includes the Victoria Mile with Admire Lead and Yushun Himba with Soul Stirring. He is the second jockey since Olivier Peslier in 2001 to do so. This was his first Derby win and 13th G1 victory. He is also the fifth jockey—first in 42 years—to win both the Oaks and the Derby in the same year.

Rey de Oro settled toward the rear, around fifth from last, while My Style took the front to set a slow pace. Traveling wide through the first two corners, jockey Christophe Lemaire urged his mount to make an early bid and the King Kamehameha colt responded willingly to forge its way toward the front along the backstretch. Rey de Oro tagged behind the frontrunner in second around the last two corners, nailed the front before the 200-meter pole and fended off the strong challenge by Suave Richard to claim his first G1 victory.

“We had no specific tactic, but we were forced to travel toward the rear after a slow start and the pace was slow, so I decided to move forward in the backstretch. He was very relaxed and was responding well in the homestretch so I knew we will win in the last 100 meters. I'm really happy to be able to win both the French and Japanese Derby,” commented Lemaire.

Third choice Suave Richard remained in good striking position, around seventh from the front by the rails, stirred to the outside after entering the homestretch and pursued Rey de Oro with his powerful late kick for a 3/4-length runner-up effort.

Odds on favorite Admirable, breaking from the outermost stall, traveled wide around second from the rear and though briefly checked at the top of the stretch, dislodged an impressive turn of speed that marked the fastest over the last three furlongs to reach the wire 1-1/4 lengths behind the runner-up.

Other Horses:
4th: (3) My Style―set slow pace, led until 200m marker, sustained bid, outrun in last 100m
5th: (7) Al Ain―chased leaders in 3rd or 4th, checked at top of stretch, showed effort thereafter
6th: (1) Danburite―took economic trip in 3rd or 4th, quickened after 300m marker
7th: (11) Persian Knight―raced 3-wide in mid-pack, ran willingly outside winner, weakened in last 200m
8th: (8) Trust―stalked leader in 2nd, sustained bid until 100m, outrun thereafter
9th: (10) Best Approach―traveled 3-wide in mid-group, showed effort but never a threat
10th: (6) Satono Arthur―settled in mid-pack, gradually fell back, showed belated charge
11th: (13) Cadenas―sat in rear group, turned wide, responded well at outer stretch but belated
12th: (16) Kyohei―trailed in rear, accelerated in last 300m, was too late
13th: (5) Clincher―positioned around 6th, never fired at stretch
14th: (15) Daiwa Cagney―ran 3-wide around 5th, failed to respond at stretch
15th: (17) Win Bright―raced 4-wide in mid-division, checked at early stretch, lacked needed kick
16th: (9) Meiner Sphene―traveled in mid-pack, unable to reach contention
17th: (2) America's Cup―hugged rails in mid-group, showed little at stretch
18th: (14) Jo Strictly―rated along rails in rear division, no factor throughout

THE 84TH TOKYO YUSHUN (JAPANESE DERBY, G1)
3-year-old Colts & Fillies, 2,400 meters (about 12 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, May 28, 2017     Tokyo Racecourse      10th Race        Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money:             ¥ 432,000,000 (about US$ 3,757,000 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 57 kg (about 126 lbs), 2 kg allowance for Fillies, 3 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2014
Safety factor: 18 runners

FP BK PP Horse Sex
Age
Wgt
(kg)
Sire
Dam
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Breeder
Margin
(L3F)
Odds
(Fav)
1 6 12 Rey de Oro
(JPN)
C3 57.0 King Kamehameha
La Dorada
C. Lemaire
K. Fujisawa
U. Carrot Farm
Northern Racing
2:26.9
(33.8)
5.3
(2)
2 2 4 Suave Richard
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Heart's Cry
Pirramimma
H. Shii
Y. Shono
NICKS Co., Ltd.
Northern Racing
3/4
(33.5)
5.9
(3)
3 8 18 Admirable
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Deep Impact
Scarlet
M. Demuro
H. Otonashi
Hideko Kondo
Hideko Kondo
1-1/4
(33.3)
3.4
(1)
4 2 3 My Style
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Heart's Cry
First Niner
N. Yokoyama
M. Kon
Chiyono Terada
Inoke Bokujo
Neck
(34.1)
188.8
(14)
5 4 7 Al Ain
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Deep Impact
Dubai Majesty
K. Matsuyama
Y. Ikee
Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
Nose
(33.7)
6.3
(4)
6 1 1 Danburite
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Rulership
Tanzanite
Y. Take
H. Otonashi
Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
1/2
(33.8)
14.5
(7)
7 6 11 Persian Knight
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Harbinger
Orient Charm
K. Tosaki
Y. Ikee
G1 Racing Co., Ltd.
Oiwake Farm
1/2
(34.0)
11.9
(6)
8 4 8 Trust
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Screen Hero
Glory Sandy
Y. Tannai
H. Nakamura
Shigeyuki Okada
Nakamoto Bokujo
3/4
(34.2)
219.1
(16)
9 5 10 Best Approach
(GB)
C3 57.0 New Approach
Sant Elena
Y. Iwata
H. Fujiwara
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Car Colston Hall Stud
1/2
(33.7)
61.2
(11)
10 3 6 Satono Arthur
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Deep Impact
King's Rose
Y. Kawada
Y. Ikee
Hajime Satomi
Northern Racing
Neck
(33.4)
8.0
(5)
11 7 13 Cadenas
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Deep Impact
French Riviera
Y. Fukunaga
K. Nakatake
Koji Maeda
Grand Stud
Neck
(33.5)
17.1
(8)
12 8 16 Kyohei
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Reach the Crown
Shonan Anhelo
R. Takakura
H. Miyamoto
Takao Seya
Nishiyama Stud
3/4
(33.5)
200.2
(15)
13 3 5 Clincher
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Deep Sky
The Fates
Y. Fujioka
H. Miyamoto
Koji Maeda
Hirayama Bokujo
2
(34.3)
30.2
(9)
14 7 15 Daiwa Cagney
(JPN)
C3 57.0 King Kamehameha
Triplex
H. Kitamura
T. Kikuzawa
Keizo Oshiro
Shadai Farm
Nose
(34.4)
40.9
(10)
15 8 17 Win Bright
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Stay Gold
Summer Eternity
M. Matsuoka
Y. Hatakeyama
Win Co., Ltd.
Cosmo View Farm
1-3/4
(34.8)
133.6
(12)
16 5 9 Meiner Sphene
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Stay Gold
Meine Giada
D. Shibata
T. Tezuka
K. Thoroughbred Club Ruffian
Big Red Farm
1/2
(34.4)
289.8
(17)
17 1 2 America's Cup
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Manhattan Cafe
Vegas Night
F. Matsuwaka
H. Otonashi
Tatsuo Tanikake
Shadai Farm
Neck
(34.7)
187.6
(13)
18 7 14 Jo Strictly
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Jo Cappuccino
Jo Aromat
H. Uchida
H. Shimizu
K. Ueda
Keiko Ueda
2-1/2
(34.9)
335.6
(18)

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

Note1: No foreign contenders
Note2: Figures quoted under Odds are Win Odds, which show the amount of money you get back per single unit (100yen), and Fav indicates the order of favorites.

WINNING TIME: 2:26.9 GOING: Firm WEATHER: Fine
TURNOVER FOR THE RACE ALONE: ¥ 24,979,200,600
TURNOVER FOR THE DAY: ¥ 39,297,275,800 ATTENDANCE: 123,779

PAY-OFF (for ¥100)
WIN No.12 ¥530 BRACKET QUINELLA 2-6 ¥1,180 QUINELLA 4-12 ¥1,620
PLACE No.12 ¥180 QUINELLA PLACE 4-12 ¥650 EXACTA 12-4 ¥2,860
No.4 ¥200 12-18 ¥470 TRIO 4-12-18 ¥2,220
No.18 ¥150 4-18 ¥490 TRIFECTA 12-4-18 ¥11,870
  1. 1.Rey de Oro (JPN), bay, colt, 3-year-old
    King Kamehameha / La Dorada (Symboli Kris S)
    Owner: U. Carrot Farm Breeder: Northern Racing
    Trainer: Kazuo Fujisawa Jockey: Christophe Lemaire
    5 Starts, 4 Wins  
    Added money: ¥ 228,000,000 Career earnings: ¥ 322,770,000
    Principal race performances: '16 Hopeful Stakes (G2, 2,000m) 1st

  2. 2.Suave Richard (JPN), chestnut, colt, 3-year-old
    Heart's Cry / Pirramimma (Unbridled's Song)
    Owner: NICKS Co., Ltd. Breeder: Northern Racing
    Trainer: Yasushi Shono Jockey: Hirofumi Shii

  3. 3.Admirable (JPN), bay, colt, 3-year-old
    Deep Impact / Scarlet (Symboli Kris S)
    Owner: Hideko Kondo Breeder: Hideko Kondo
    Trainer: Hidetaka Otonashi Jockey: Mirco Demuro
Fractional time (sec./furlong): 13.0 - 11.2 - 12.9 - 12.8 - 13.3 - 12.5 - 12.1 - 12.6 - 12.7 - 11.5 - 10.9 - 11.4
Last 4 furlongs: 46.5          Last 3 furlongs: 33.8

Positions at each corner: 1st corner 3,8-7(1,15)5(4,10,17)(6,9,11)(2,12)(14,13,18)16
2nd corner 3,8(1,7)(5,15)(4,10,17)(6,11)(2,9)12(14,13)18,16
3rd corner 3,12(8,11)(1,7)4,15(5,10,17)2(9,6,18)14,13,16
4th corner (*3,12)(8,11)(1,4,7)17(2,5,15)(10,18)(14,9)(6,13)16

Note1: Underlined bold number indicates the winning horse.
Note2: Horse numbers are indicated in the order of their positions at each corner, with the first position listed first. Two or more horses inside the same parentheses indicate that they were positioned side by side. Hyphens between the horse numbers indicate that there is distance between the former and the latter. The asterisk indicates a slight lead.

 

* Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby)(G1)

With the aim of establishing a systemized program that emulates the Triple Crown race held in Britain, and enhancing the quality of thoroughbreds in Japan, a 2,400-meter race for three-year-old thoroughbreds was established at the Tokyo Racecourse (then situated in Meguro ward) in 1932. While maintaining its status as one of the most popular JRA events with a record crowd of 196,517 in 1990, the race has evolved during its long history, opening its door to runners from National Association of Racing (NAR; local public racing) since 1995 and foreign-bred participants since 2001. In 2010, the race entered a new phase as JRA reached the final stage of its internationalization project, allowing foreign contestants in all its graded events. The winner's prize money, which had already exceeded 100 million yen in 1989, has now reached 200 million, making it the third richest race behind the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) and the Arima Kinen (G1, 2,500m).
Recent winners include Vodka (JPN, by Tanino Gimlet) who became the first filly in 64 years to claim the derby title in 2007 and Orfevre (JPN, by Stay Gold) who subsequently became the seventh Triple Crown winner in JRA history and won against older G1 winners in the year-end Arima Kinen to become the Horse of the Year of 2011. Top four finishers of the Satsuki Sho on April 16—Al Ain, Persian Knight, Danburite and Clincher—acquired their tickets to this race while grade-race winners Rey de Oro (fifth), Suave Richard (sixth), Win Bright (eighth), Cadenas (ninth) and America's Cup (18th) attempted to make revenge.
Contenders coming off the trial races were Admirable and Best Approach, winner and runner-up, respectively, of the Aoba Sho (G2, 2,400m) on April 29, and Daiwa Cagney, winner of the Principal Stakes (2,000m) on May 6. Other notable runners included Satono Arthur, runner-up of two graded races including the previous Mainichi Hai (G3, 1,800m) on March 25, and Jo Strictly who won the New Zealand Trophy (G2, 1,600m) on April 8 but was 12th in the NHK Mile Cup (G1, 1,600m) on May 7.
Duramente (JPN, by King Kamehameha) set the race record of 2:23.2 in 2015.

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