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Cheval Grand Captures First G1 Win with Japan Cup Title

Fifth favorite Cheval Grand captured his first G1 victory in this year’s Japan Cup where he deprived race favorite Kitasan Black from a back-to-back win. Debuting at the age of two, the slow developer was foreign to Triple Crown starts but began to show potential from the latter half of his three-year-old campaign. Last season, he marked his first grade-race victory in the Hanshin Daishoten and then another in the following Copa Republica Argentina while registering two thirds at the highest level in the Tenno Sho (Spring) and the Japan Cup. With G1 winning mares Verxina and Vivlos (both sired by Deep Impact) as half-sisters, the son of Heart’s Cry captured his much awaited G1 triumph after coming off a reputable third in the G2 Kyoto Daishoten seven weeks before. For trainer Yasuo Tomomichi, this is his eighth G1 title, his latest with Vivlos in the 2016 Shuka Sho. Jockey Hugh Bowman, who has a 2015 Hopeful Stakes (G2, Hartley) title under his belt, celebrated his first JRA-G1 victory with this win.

Breaking from the inner most stall, Cheval Grand took a ground-saving trip on the rails in fifth while Kitasan Black set the pace up front. The field hit the top of the stretch a bit clustered but the eventual winner split horses before the 400-meter marker to break free, romping strongly down the middle of the lane to pin the leader 100 meters out and hold off the fast closing Rey de Oro for a 1-1/4-length victory.

This year’s derby winner and second choice Rey de Oro broke from the stall next to Cheval Grand and after traveling in mid-field, the three-year-old was steered slightly to the outside at the final turn and found a clear path to unleash a good charge that was tied the fastest in the last three-furlongs to gain in on his front runners but failed to catch the winner while tagging Kitasan Black just before the wire for second.

Defending champion Kitasan Black took his front-running seat before the initial turn, repeating his winning style and performance shown last year, and led the field by more than a length at one point down the backstretch. The 2016 Horse of the Year ran a lone and strong drive in the straight towards the finish line but was caught in the last half-furlong by the winner and then out-finished by Rey de Oro in the final strides.

Aidan O’Brien-trained Idaho from Ireland was settled fourth from the rear and although late in launching his bid at the stretch, demonstrated a tenacious drive down the middle of the lane under jockey Ryan Moore to pick off the tiring field and dig in gamely for a well-fought fifth.

“It was probably one of his best ever runs, if not his best one. We’re very pleased with him—he ran one hell of a race from stall 14 and Aidan was delighted. The plan is to take him home now instead of taking him to Hong Kong because he ran so well here and look after him for next year,” commented assistant trainer Thomas Comerford.

Three-time G1 winner Guignol ran just off the pace in third and maintained good striking position racing prominently up to early stretch, but ran out of steam in the final furlong to register a ninth.

Trainer Jean-Pierre Carvalho said after the race, “Our horse ran very well. He could finished better but ninth is okay. It’s the end of the season, he’s tired and things might have been better if we could have freshened him up a bit more.”

“I think we ran a good race. To break from a good draw, race in pace with Kitasan Black and in front of the winner Cheval Grand was like a dream. Our horse tired at the end, but we’re glad we finished faster than our rival Iquitos,” said jockey Filip Minarik.

German raider Iquitos concluded his second Japan Cup challenge in 15th after hitting the stretch from a second-to-rear position, but struggled to find a clear path, preventing him to display his trade-mark turn of foot.
“He was in a bad spot after entering the stretch today. Daniele was unable to steer him to the outside for clear sailing. He was trapped inside, way behind and with no room,” commented trainer Hans-Jurgen Groschel.

“We traveled in the rear as usual but the pace was slow. We wanted to move up but couldn’t find a good position and lost the chance and timing to make our bid,” said jockey Daniele Porcu after the race.

Boom Time from Australia was rated in mid-field along the rails after in tight rounding the first corner, stayed with the pace and slightly weakened before the uphill stretch but ran on gamely while unable to increase speed and finished 12th.

Other Horses:
4th: (11) Makahiki―saved ground in mid-division, bumped at early stretch, quickened in last 300m
6th: (9) Rainbow Line―trailed in rear, showed belated charge between horses, tied fastest over last 3 furlongs
7th: (8) Soul Stirring―traveled near winner, met traffic at top of stretch, lacked needed kick
8th: (16) Yamakatsu Ace―took economic trip in mid-pack, ran willingly until 100m out, weakened
10th: (12) Satono Crown―settled in mid-group, turned wide, even paced at stretch
11th: (13) Sciacchetra―raced wide outside eventual winner, ran gamely until 300m out then weakened
12th: (5) Sounds of Earth―hugged rails towards rear, failed to find clear path at early stretch, never fired
14th: (17) Last Impact―traveled wide in mid-division, bumped at early stretch, showed little thereafter
16th: (15) One and Only―advanced to 4-5th from wide draw, nothing left at stretch
17th: (7) Decipher―prominent early, faded 0001110648 final corner

THE 37TH JAPAN CUP (G1) in association with Longines – Japan Autumn International –
3-year-old & up, 2,400 meters (about 12 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, November 26, 2017    Tokyo Racecourse      11th Race        Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 648,000,000 (about US$ 5,634,783 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 57 kg (about 126 lbs)
2 kg allowance for Fillies & Mares, 2 kg 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)
DH=Dead Heat

1. 1. Cheval Grand (JPN),, chestnut, horse, 5-year-old
   Heart's Cry / Halwa Sweet (Machiavellian)

   Owner: Kazuhiro Sasaki	Breeder: Northern Racing
   Trainer: Yasuo Tomomichi	Jockey: Hugh Bowman
   22 Starts, 7 Wins
   Added money: ¥303,654,000	Career earnings: ¥733,717,000
   Principal Race Performances:	’16 Copa Republica Argentina (G2, 2,500m)	1st
   	’16 Hanshin Daishoten (G2)	1st
   	’17 Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1)	2nd
   	’16 Japan Cup (G1)	3rd
   	’16 Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1)	3rd

   
   
2. 2. 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

   
   
3. 3. Kitasan Black (JPN), bay, horse, 5-year-old
   Black Tide / Sugar Heart (Sakura Bakushin O)

   Owner: Ono Shoji	Breeder: Yanagawa Bokujo
   Trainer: Hisashi Shimizu	Jockey: Yutaka Take

[Post Race Interview of Winning Connections]

Trainer: Yasuo Tomomichi
“I am so happy to have finally won this prestigious G1 title with Cheval Grand who has always been so competitive in his past G1 starts but was unable to win a G1 title sooner. He was not exactly in his best form last year but still competitive. This year he came into his fall campaign in great condition and we had planned from the start with his owner that our target would be the Japan Cup and then the Arima Kinen—another hard race (the Tenno Sho Autumn) would be too much. I discussed our tactics for the Japan Cup with Hugh Bowman who came to sit on Cheval Grand’s training on Wednesday and showed him his past performance over the video. Bowman said that the horse was in great condition and after we had drawn an inside draw on Thursday, the first thing he said to me was that we were in great luck with such a good draw. Kitasan Black led the way as predicted and Cheval Grand was able to secure an ideal position behind him in third or fourth and he really showed his strength at the stretch. He will head towards the Arima Kinen as planned and this victory has given me great confidence towards another G1 victory.”

Jockey: Hugh Bowman
“I feel proud and very humbled to have had the opportunity to have a ride on Cheval Grand and with the horse in such a great form with the addition of a good draw I was quietly confident in winning this race while at the same time having great respect for Kitasan Black. It gives me a sense of pride to have even the chance to take part in such a recognized race and while I am well known for my partnership with Winx, it’s an honor to have won this race when I rode him on Wednesday he didn’t give me a strong impression as an exceptional horse but the stable staff assured me that he was more comfortable on the turf, and I was confirmed of that when watching him race on the video. The good draw really played into the horse’s favor and allowed me to sit near the pace in third or fourth position without spending petrol and within two or three lengths of Kitasan Black in the lead. Everything went as I hoped it would. I felt that the pace might have been quicker but it didn’t concern me too much that it was a steady pace because I was able to sustain close to Kitasan Black. I was able to move from outside the German horse and make my way towards Kitasan Black. When Yutaka Take increased the speed at the 600m and again at the 400m mark it gave me great confidence that I was able to judge exactly how fast we were going, and although at the 300—I had so much respect for that horse (Kitasan Black)—I didn’t feel that I was going to beat it, but I knew that my horse still had power to give and as we got to the 200 meter mark it was very clear to me that we were certainly going to beat Kitasan Black but whether something was going to come from behind and beat me I didn’t know at that stage, but we had a lot of confidence in this horse’s stamina, and his best performances have been over fast-run 2,400 meters or even two miles, so I knew that my horse was not going to stop, and the stable was confident, and they gave me confidence to be confident with the horse.”

* Japan Cup (G1)
The Japan Cup, in its 37th year, continues to attract some of the top turf horses from around the world—67 runners from North America, 145 from Europe, 25 from Oceania and five from Asia—while a number of runners have made this race their starting point towards further international success in following years.
Three foreign contenders ran in last year’s Japan Cup. Winner of the 2016 Grosser Preis von Baden (G1, 2,400m), Iquitos from Germany finished seventh after an impressive stretch run while another German raider Nightflower (IRE, by Dylan Thomas), a consecutive Preis von Europe (G1, 2,400m) winner in 2015 and 2016, was 12th. In his second Japan Cup challenge, Erupt (IRE, by Dubawi), who won the 2015 Grand Prix de Paris (G1, 2,400m) and 2016 Canadian International (G1, 2,400m), finished 14th.
Four foreign runners had accepted their invitation to run in the 2017 edition. Ireland raider Idaho was a two-time G2 winner and a third-place finisher in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1, 2,400m) in July. Iquitos, from Germany, marked his second G1 victory this year in the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis (G1, 2,000m) in July and came off a runner-up effort in the Grosser Preis von Bayern (G1, 2,400m) in November. Another German-trained runner Guignol accomplished a repeat victory in the Grosser Preis von Bayern following another G1 title in the Grosser Preis Von Baden (G1, 2,400m) in September. Boom Time, trained by David Hayes who gave Australia its first Japan Cup title when saddling Better Loosen Up (AUS, by Loosen Up) to victory back in 1990, claimed an upset victory in the Caulfield Cup (G1, 2,400m) in October.
In last year’s edition, Kitasan Black displayed a convincing gate-to-wire victory, his third G1 title after claiming the 2015 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1, 3,000m) and 2016 Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1, 3,200m). Following a runner-up effort in the year-end Arima Kinen, he was voted 2016 Horse of the Year and Best Older Colt or Horse.
Taking on the foreign raiders were the Japanese contenders coming off their autumn starts; this year’s Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) winner Rey de Oro came off his Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2, 2,400m; Sep.24) victory; in the Kyoto Daishoten (G2, 2,400m; Oct.9), last year’s Japan Cup third-place finisher Cheval Grand, 10th-place Last Impact and runner-up Sounds of Earth were third, sixth and 13th, respectively; from the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m; Oct.29) were; winner Kitasan Black who marked his third G1 seasonal win after the Osaka Hai (2,000m; Apr.2) and the Tenno Sho (Spring) (Apr.30), the runner-up and this year’s Takarazuka Kinen (G1, 2,200m; Jun.25) champion Satono Crown and third-place finisher and last year’s Japan Cup sixth-place Rainbow Line followed by 2016 Tokyo Yushun winner Makahiki (5th), Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m) champion Soul Stirring (6th), multiple grade-race winners Decipher (7th) and Yamakatsu Ace (11th), the Nikkei Sho (G2, 2,500m) champion Sciacchetra (15th) and 2014 Tokyo Yushun winner One and Only (17th).
Luca Cumani-trained Alkaased, by Kingmambo), who won the race in 2005, is the record holder of this race at 2:22.1.