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Satono Aladdin Pins Defending Champion at Wire for Yasuda Kinen Win

Satono Aladdin landed his first G1 title by capturing this year's Yasuda Kinen as seventh favorite in a full field of 18 runners. Following several acclaimed results at the graded level, the six-year-old bay notched his first grade-race win last year in the Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2, 1,400m) and after finishing fourth in his next Yasuda Kinen start, he successfully captured the Swan Stakes (G2, 1,400m) that autumn but was fifth in the G1 Mile Championship. He has been tested overseas twice, turning in an 11th and a seventh in the 2015 Hong Kong Cup and 2016 Hong Kong Mile, respectively. Lightly raced this season, he finished ninth in his only start, the Keio Hai Spring Cup over a yielding track. His latest triumph being the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) this season with Al Ain, trainer Yasutoshi Ikee has now 18 JRA-G1 titles under his belt, while jockey Yuga Kawada claimed his ninth, his latest the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) last year with Makahiki. This is also Kawada's second Yasuda Kinen title following his 2015 victory with Maurice.

After the field broke with Logotype spurting to the front, Kawada kept Satono Aladdin in a rearward position traveling outside Red Falx and swung wide into the straight fourth from last. While the defending champion found another gear to expand his lead to three to four lengths climbing the Tokyo stretch hill, Satono Aladdin surged out of the rallying group at the furlong pole and showcased a spectacular and fastest stretch drive to catch Logotype at the wire for a neck victory.

Sent off lightly regarded as eighth pick, Logotype was deprived of a back-to-back Yasuda Kinen title although he reenacted his powerful gate-to-wire run putting in a good runner-up effort.

Well reserved fourth from the rear on the rails, third favorite Red Falx found himself behind a wall of horses in early stretch, steered to the outside then found running room 300 meters out and furiously threatened the winner on his outside but was a neck short from Logotype for third.

After traveling in seventh and three-wide, race favorite Isla Bonita struggled to find room and was never given the chance to unleash his anticipated stretch charge finishing eighth.

Beauty Only broke well from stall 12 and raced mid-field two wide around 10th up to the last turn. Angling out slightly, he launched a mild rally between horses but was unable to sustain his bid once reaching the top of the uphill stretch while holding on well for a close sixth, about 1-3/4 length behind the winner.

“He didn't really kick home strong this time. He flattened out and leaning a bit to the left. It's his first time going left-handed and I think he needs a bit more experience to do this one, because I see at the straight he didn't change his gear - he usually changes to his near-fore kick where he's got more power but he didn't change because he was going opposite to what he's used to, so to me, he didn't kick home strong enough,” commented Beauty Only trainer Anthony Cruz.

“He traveled smoothly but didn't have any left at the end. He was a bit nervous prior to the race and it was his first time out on this course so maybe that was what affected him,” said jockey Zachary Purton of Beauty Only.

In his second challenge, Hong Kong raider Contentment was raced close to the pace, met traffic at the top of the stretch and driven from the 400-meter marker but weakened after sustaining his bid up to the furlong pole and finished 10th.

“He didn't disappoint me. He was trying his very best, but unfortunately he had these little issues that really could have changed the result of this race - I think he would have finished a little closer,” said jockey Joao Moreira of Contentment.

Other Horses:
4th: (7) Greater London―broke poorly, made headway to 11th, quickened between horses
5th: (8) Air Spinel―eased back to 3rd from last, failed to find clear path along rails, quickened after 200 marker
7th: (18) Staphanos―raced 3-wide around 10th, showed some effort but never a threat
9th: (10) Clarente―ran around 9th, found little room at early stretch, showed brief effort, weakened in last 100m
11th: (9) Longing Dancer―trailed in rear, angled out, passed tired rivals at stretch
12th: (3) Sunrise Major―pressed pace in 2nd, showed tenacity until 200m marker, fell back
13th: (2) Decipher―chased leaders in 4-5th, showed effort until 300m out, weakened thereafter
14th: (13) Logi Chalice―traveled 3-wide in 12th, unable to reach contention
15th: (4) Ambitious―raced 2nd from last, switched to outside after entering to stretch, never fired
16th: (17) Young Man Power―sat 3-wide in 5-6th from stall 17, weakened in last 200m
17th: (1) Talking Drum―hugged rails in 8th, ran willingly until 300m out, outrun thereafter
18th: (11) Black Spinel―stalked leaders in 3rd, checked 300m out, lost momentum

THE 67TH YASUDA KINEN (G1)
3-year-old & up, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, June 4, 2017    Tokyo Racecourse      11th Race      Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 222,080,000 (about US$ 1,931,130 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 54kg (about 119 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares,
1kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2013,
2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2014
Safety factor: 18 runners

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

1. 1.Satono Aladdin (JPN), bay, horse, 6-year-old
   Deep Impact / Magic Storm (Storm Cat)
   

   Owner: Hajime Satomi	Breeder: Northern Farm
   Trainer: Yasutoshi Ikee	Jockey: Yuga Kawada
   25 Starts, 8 Wins
   Added money: ¥ 106,864,000	Career earnings: ¥ 423,663,000
   Principal race performances:	'16 Swan Stakes (G2, 1,400m) 1st '16 Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2, 1,400m) 1st

   
   
2. 2.Logotype (JPN), dark bay or brown, horse, 7-year-old
   Lohengrin / Stereotype (Sunday Silence)
   

   Owner: Teruya Yoshida	Breeder: Shadai Farm
   Trainer: Tsuyoshi Tanaka	Jockey: Hironobu Tanabe

   
   
3. 3.Red Falx (JPN), gray, horse, 6-year-old
   Swept Overboard / Vermouth (Sunday Silence)
   

   Owner: TokyoHorseRacing Co., Ltd	Breeder: Shadai Farm
   Trainer: Tomohito Ozeki	Jockey: Mirco Demuro

Post race interview of winning connections:
[Trainer: Yasutoshi Ikee]
“Being a horse with great expectation ever since his debut as a two-year-old, it's been a long way to finally prove his true ability with his first G1 victory this time and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to train such a talented horse. He's had the potential all along but a G1 title was needed to justify that and I'm glad he did. Although his win is conditional-a good draw and a solid pace over a fast track-if given a chance he has never failed to execute his powerful finishing kick. His ninth-place finish in his last start in the Keio Hai Spring Cup had nothing to do with his condition but the slow pace and the soft going worked against him. I just prayed that the weather would be clear and the ground firm to guarantee a good race for Satono Aladdin. He showed a good late kick, and while I wasn't sure until I saw the finish replay, I was over the moon when his victory was confirmed. I hope to add to this victory with further success in his future starts-as for his possibility of overseas challenges, the options are there to be discussed with the owners.”

[Jockey: Yuga Kawada]
“I thought he was a horse of great potential since I first rode him last season and I'm delighted to have proved that today. He had a good draw today and everything went as planned-I concentrated on keeping him in a good rhythm and we had a perfect trip and I was able to take him wide for clear sailing-so I had every confidence in pinning the leader although Logotype was quite persistent-I knew that we had a good chance of winning the race.”

* Yasuda Kinen (G1)

The Yasuda Kinen, a race to determine the best miler of the spring season, has welcomed just over 50 foreign-trained horses since its designation as an international race in 1993, including 1995 champion Heart Lake (GB, by Nureyev) from the UAE, 2000 winner Fairy King Prawn (AUS, by Danehill) from Hong Kong and the winner of the 2006 Champions Mile-Yasuda Kinen double, Bullish Luck (USA, by Royal Academy). Past Yasuda Kinen winners that have subsequently become the season's Horse of the Year include Oguri Cap (JPN, by Dancing Cap; '90), Taiki Shuttle (USA, by Devil's Bag; '98), Vodka (JPN, by Tanino Gimlet; '08&'09), Lord Kanaloa (JPN, by King Kamehameha; '13) and Maurice (JPN, by Screen Hero; '15).
Two runners challenged this year's Yasuda Kinen title from Hong Kong. John Size-trained Contentment, finishing 12th in the same race last year, came off a well-fought victory in the Champions Mile (G1, 1,600m) on May 7. Beauty Only, a neck second in the Champions Mile and also a two-time G1 winner in the 2015 Hong Kong Classic Mile (1,600m) and 2016 Hong Kong Mile (G1, 1,600m), is trained by Anthony Cruz who saddled Bullish Luck to victory in the 2006 Yasuda Kinen.
Logotype, who successfully held off multiple G1 winner Maurice for a wire-to-wire victory in the 2016 edition of the Yasuda Kinen, continued to perform well in his following G1 starts, the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m) and Hong Kong Mile, both of which he finished fifth. The 2013 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) winner was third in the Nakayama Kinen (G2, 1,800m) on February 26 this season but sustained a leg infection (Cellulitus) which sidelined him for a few months, so the Yasuda Kinen was his comeback start.
Coming off a victory in the Milers Cup (G2, 1,600m) on April 23 was Isla Bonita. Fifth in the Yasuda Kinen last year, the son of Fuji Kiseki was runner-up in his following three starts including the Mile Championship (G1, 1,600m) and was hopeful of winning another G1 title since the 2014 Satsuki Sho in this year's Yasuda Kinen. Milers Cup runner-up Air Spinel, who was also 4-4-3 in his Triple Crown starts as a three-year-old last year, kept his focus on mile races this year and became a grade-race winner of the Kyoto Kimpai (G3, 1,600m) in January. Young Man Power, third in the Milers Cup had turned in solid performances over a mile, notching three grade-race wins including the Fuji Stakes (G3, 1,600m) held at Tokyo Racecourse. Fourth-place finisher Black Spinel had won the Tokyo Shimbun Hai (G3, 1,600m) in February this year.
Meanwhile, those who came off the Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2, 1,400m) on May 13 included 2016 Sprinters Stakes (G1, 1,200m) winner Red Falx who stepped up to a mile after dominating the 1,400-meter contest. Veteran miler Clarente finished second while Satono Aladdin, fourth in the Yasuda Kinen last year, did not handle the heavy tracks well and finished ninth.
Other notable starters listed for this year's Yasuda Kinen included Logi Chalice who captured his first grade-race title in the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy (G3, 1,600m) on April 1 and Greater London, a lightly raced five-year-old with six wins out of seven career starts-five over a mile-who had made a big step up in class in his first grade-race challenge in the Yasuda Kinen, as well as Staphanos and Ambitious who finished second and fifth in the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m) on April 2, respectively.
The race record 1:31.3 was set by Strong Return (JPN, by Symboli Kris S) in 2012.