2019 News

April 14, 2019

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Unbeaten Race Favorite Saturnalia Claims This Year’s Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) Title
Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) (G1)

Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) (G1)

Overwhelming race favorite Saturnalia won this year’s Satsuki Sho to register two consecutive G1 victories following the year-end Hopeful Stakes. Unbeaten in all his for starts since his debut last year, the son of Lord Kanaloa and out of Cesario became the 17th unbeaten colt to claim the Satsuki Sho since Deep Impact in 2005. Trainer Katsuhiko Sumii claimed his 25th JRA-G1 title following his win in the 2017 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) with Kiseki and his second Satsuki Sho victory following his win with Victoire Pisa in 2010. This win marked jockey Christophe Lemaire’s 24th JRA-G1 win following the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) title with Gran Alegria just last week. He became the ninth jockey in JRA history to have won all five classic titles for three-year-old colts and fillies.

Breaking smoothly from stall 12, Saturnalia settled in mid-division, around ninth from Lance of Puraana who set a moderate pace. Traveling wide behind Velox, the son of Lord Kanaloa closed the gap between the frontrunners turning the last two corners and surged out behind Velox after entering the lane. With four horses rallying to take the front at the 200-meter pole, SaturnaliaVelox and Danon Kingly continued to maintain strong speed in the last 100 meters to launch a fierce rally up to the wire with Saturnalia managing to come home a head in front.

“I rode him for the first time in the race but I had confidence in him. He seemed a bit nervous and drifted towards the inside when we took command before the crowd. His condition was not 100% as it was his first start this year but he should be in top condition going into the Japanese Derby,” commented Christophe Lemaire.

Fourth choice Velox traveled two wide in striking position, around 5-6th from the front. The son of Just a Way was the first to enter the lane and while falling back to third in the three-horse rally, found another gear in his last strides to beat Danon Kingly by a nose for second place.

Third favorite Danon Kingly broke sharply and settled fourth from the front while taking an economic trip by the rails. The Deep Impact colt met traffic entering the lane but found a narrow space between horses, unleashed a powerful charge from the inside to launch a fierce rally with the eventual winner and runner-up and, though taking the front at one point, was a head and a nose short at the wire to finish third.

Other Horses:
4th: (1) Admire Mars—raced towards front, switched to outside for clear path, no match for top 3 finishers
5th: (6) Courageux Guerrier—traveled inside winner, quickened in last 200m, belatedly
6th: (16) Tagano Diamante—settled 2nd from rear, advanced after 3rd corner, showed belated charge
7th: (11) Last Draft—ran behind winner, angled out, even paced at stretch
8th: (17) Admire Justa—sat 3rd from rear along rails, accelerated between horses, belatedly
9th: (14) Daddy’s Mind—stalked leader in 2nd, led briefly at early stretch, weakened in last 200m
10th: (18) Naimama—positioned towards rear, circled wide, passed tired rivals
11th: (13) Breaking Dawn—saved ground in mid-group, met traffic 200m out, lost momentum
12th: (10) Schwarz Riese—took economic trip in mid-division, lacked needed kick
13th: (3) Fantasist—hugged rails in mid-pack, never fired at stretch
14th: (2) Satono Lux—raced 3-wide in mid-group, found little room at early stretch, never threatened
15th: (9) Meisho Tengen—trailed in rear, unable to reach contention
16th: (15) Kurino Gaudi—chased leaders in 3rd, ran out of steam at stretch
17th: (8) Nishino Daisy—traveled 3-wide in mid-division, outrun after 3rd corner
18th: (5) Lance of Puraana—set pace, faded after final corner

THE 79TH SATSUKI SHO (JAPANESE 2000 GUINEAS, G1)
3-year-old Colts & Fillies, 2,000 meters (about 10 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, April 14, 2019      Nakayama Racecourse       11th Race      Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 238,600,000 (about US$ 2,074,800 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 57kg (about 126 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies, 2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2016
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 Saturnalia
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Lord Kanaloa
Cesario
C. Lemaire
K. Sumii
U. Carrot Farm
Northern Farm
1:58.1
(34.1)
1.7
(1)
2 4 7 Velox
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Just a Way
Selkis
Y. Kawada
M. Nakauchida
Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
Head
(34.4)
9.0
(4)
3 2 4 Danon Kingly
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Deep Impact
My Goodness
K. Tosaki
K. Hagiwara
Danox Co., Ltd.
Mishima Bokujo
Nose
(34.5)
5.8
(3)
4 1 1 Admire Mars
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Daiwa Major
Via Medici
M. Demuro
Y. Tomomichi
Riichi Kondo
Northern Farm
2
(34.9)
5.7
(2)
5 3 6 Courageux Guerrier
(JPN)
C3 57.0 King Kamehameha
Jumeau
N. Yokoyama
Y. Ikee
U. Carrot Farm
Northern Racing
1-1/2
(34.7)
109.4
(14)
6 8 16 Tagano Diamante
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Orfevre
Tagano Reventon
H. Tanabe
I. Sameshima
Ryoji Yagi
Niikappu Tagano Farm Ltd
1-1/4
(34.4)
183.5
(15)
7 6 11 Last Draft
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Novellist
Marcellina
A. Starke
H. Toda
Shadai Race Horse Co., Ltd.
Shadai Farm
1/2
(34.8)
67.8
(10)
8 8 17 Admire Justa
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Just a Way
Admire Teresa
Y. Iwata
N. Sugai
Riichi Kondo
Northern Racing
Head
(34.5)
72.1
(11)
9 7 14 Daddy’s Mind
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Tosen Homareboshi
Katies Gift
H. Miyazaki
T. Aoki
Daishi Tajima
Daishi Tajima
1-1/2
(35.8)
475.0
(17)
10 8 18 Naimama
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Danon Ballade
Nishino Madoka
D. Shibata
Y. Muto
Shigeyuki Okada
Domi Bokujo
1/2
(34.6)
489.5
(18)
11 7 13 Breaking Dawn
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Victoire Pisa
Agnes Sakura
Y. Fukunaga
K. Nakatake
Koki Maeda
Kosho Bokujo
Head
(34.9)
99.0
(13)
12 5 10 Schwarz Riese
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Heart’s Cry
Soberania
S. Ishibashi
N. Hori
Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.
Shadai Corporation Inc.
2
(35.5)
34.8
(7)
13 2 3 Fantasist
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Lord Kanaloa
Deep in Ask
Y. Take
T. Umeda
Toshihiro Hirosaki
Toshihiro Hirosaki
Head
(35.8)
25.9
(5)
14 1 2 Satono Lux
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Deep Impact
Listen
K. Ikezoe
Y. Ikee
Satomi Horse Company Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
Nose
(35.3)
35.4
(8)
15 5 9 Meisho Tengen
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Deep Impact
Meisho Beluga
K. Miura
K. Ikezoe
Yoshio Matsumoto
Mishima Bokujo
Nose
(34.9)
51.4
(9)
16 7 15 Kurino Gaudi
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Screen Hero
Kurino Billionaire
Y. Fujioka
N. Fujisawa
Hiroharu Kurimoto
Hiroharu Kurimoto
2
(36.5)
240.7
(16)
17 4 8 Nishino Daisy
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Harbinger
Nishino Hinagiku
M. Katsuura
N. Takagi
Shigeyuki Nishiyama
Nishiyama Stud
3/4
(35.9)
30.2
(6)
18 3 5 Lance of Puraana
(JPN)
C3 57.0 Cape Blanco
My Puraana
K. Matsuyama
M. Honda
Yoshinori Itsukage
Fujiwara Farm
4
(37.4)
83.0
(12)
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: 1:58.1 GOING: Firm WEATHER: Cloudy
TURNOVER FOR THE RACE ALONE: ¥ 18,260,282,300
TURNOVER FOR THE DAY: ¥ 27,335,325,100 ATTENDANCE: 50,752

PAY-OFF (for ¥100)
WIN No.12 ¥170 BRACKET QUINELLA 4-6 ¥670 QUINELLA 7-12 ¥950
PLACE No.12 ¥110 QUINELLA PLACE 7-12 ¥360 EXACTA 12-7 ¥1,140
No.7 ¥200 4-12 ¥270 TRIO 4-7-12 ¥1,480
No.4 ¥160 4-7 ¥660 TRIFECTA 12-7-4 ¥4,390
  1. 1.Saturnalia (JPN), dark bay or brown, colt, 3-year-old
    Lord Kanaloa / Cesario (Special Week)
    4 Starts, 4 Wins
    Added money: ¥ 133,016,000 Career earnings: ¥ 227,157,000
    Owner: U. Carrot Farm Breeder: Northern Farm
    Trainer: Katsuhiko Sumii Jockey: Christophe Lemaire

  2. 2.Velox (JPN), bay, colt, 3-year-old
    Just a Way / Selkis (Monsun)
    Owner: Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co., Ltd. Breeder: Northern Farm
    Trainer: Mitsumasa Nakauchida Jockey: Yuga Kawada

  3. 3.Danon Kingly (JPN), dark bay or brown, colt, 3-year-old
    Deep Impact / My Goodness (Storm Cat)
    Owner: Danox Co., Ltd. Breeder: Mishima Bokujo
    Trainer: Kiyoshi Hagiwara Jockey: Keita Tosaki
Fractional time (sec./furlong): 12.3 - 10.5 - 12.0 - 11.8 - 12.5 - 12.1 - 12.2 - 11.7 - 11.6 - 11.4
Last 4 furlongs: 46.9          Last 3 furlongs: 34.7

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

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.

 

* Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) (G1)

The Satsuki Sho, which is the first of the three legs of JRA’s Triple Crown Classics for three-year-olds including the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) and the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1, 3,000m), is comparable to British Two Thousand Guineas. The “Yokohama Norinsho Shoten Yonsai Yobiuma”, the precursor of the Satsuki Sho, was first run over 1,850 meters at Yokohama Racecourse in 1939 then moved its venue to Tokyo Racecourse four years later before given its current name and shifted again to Nakayama Racecourse in 1949—the distance was also altered to 2,000 meters in the following year.
Seven of the past Satsuki Sho champions since 2005 subsequently received the JRA Best Three-Year-Old Colt Award, in recognition of their outstanding performances throughout the year—Deep Impact (JPN, Sunday Silence) in 2005, Meisho Samson (JPN, by Opera House) in 2006, Victoire Pisa (JPN, by Neo Universe) in 2010, Orfevre (JPN, by Stay Gold) in 2011, Gold Ship (JPN, by Stay Gold) in 2012, Isla Bonita (JPN, by Fuji Kiseki) in 2014 and Duramente (JPN, by King Kamehameha) in 2015. Triple Crown winners Deep Impact and Orfevre were also named the Horse of the Year.
This year’s key runners that came off three trial races were: from the Yayoi Sho (G2, 2,000m; Mar.3), Meisho Tengen (1st), Schwarz Riese (2nd), Breaking Dawn (3rd), two-time graded winner Nishino Daisy and Keisei Hai (G3, 2,000m) victor Last Draft who finished fourth and seventh, respectively; from the Wakaba Stakes (Listed, 2,000m; Mar.16), Velox (1st); and from the Spring Stakes (G2, 1,800m; Mar.17), 2018 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes (G2, 1,400m) victor Fantasist (2nd) and 2018 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1, 1,600m) runner-up Kurino Gaudi (6th). The field also included Danon Kingly, 2018 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes winner and Best Two-Year-Old Colt Admire Mars and 2018 Kyoto Nisai Stakes (G3, 2,000m) winner Courageux Guerrier who came off a win, a second and a third, respectively, in the Kyodo News Service Hai (G3, 1,800m; Feb.10), Saturnalia and Lance of Puraana, winners of the Hopeful Stakes (G1, 2,000m; Dec.28) and the Mainichi Hai (G3, 1,800m; Mar.23), respectively, and Satono Lux and Admire Justa, top two finishers of the Sumire Stakes (L, 2,200m; Feb.24).
Al Ain (JPN, by Deep Impact) renewed the race record to 1:57.8 in 2017.

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