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Fourth-Pick Chrono Genesis Captures Her First G1 Title in the Shuka Sho

Fourth-pick Chrono Genesis landed a two-length victory in the last leg of the three-year-old fillies’ Triple, the Shuka Sho, to register her first G1 title in her fourth G1 challenge. Marking two consecutive wins from her debut start in September last year, the Bago filly finished second in her first G1 challenge, the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (1,600m) in December and claimed her first graded victory in her first start as a three-year-old in the Queen Cup (G3, 1,600m) this year. She was third in both first two legs, the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 1,600m). This was trainer Takashi Saito’s first JRA-G1 title since opening his stable in 2016 and jockey Yuichi Kitamura’s second JRA-G1 title following his win in the Osaka Hai with Al Ain this spring.

Chrono Genesis, breaking smoothly from stall five, settled two wide around 6-7th from the front, eying race favorite Danon Fantasy traveling in front. The Bago gray turned the last two corners in good striking position, steered to the outside entering the lane and immediately made bid, nailing the race favorite and frontrunners 200 meters out, then continued to produce an impressive burst of speed to cross the wire with a comfortable two-length margin.

“I was able to race her in an ideal position while eyeing Danon Fantasy in front. She was responding really well at the fourth corner so I was able to make bid with confidence. I am grateful for having been able to ride the filly since her debut, I’m really glad that I was able to deliver a good result,” commented Yuichi Kitamura.

Second pick Curren Bouquetd’or, traveling further back in eighth, hugged the rails through the last corners, angled out at the top of the stretch and surged out right behind the subsequent winner. The Deep Impact filly demonstrated a strong turn of speed but was unable to keep up with the winner and finished second.

Tenth favorite Shigeru Pink Dia sat fourth from the rear, improved position turning wide around the last two corners and exploded from the outside with a powerful late kick that marked the fastest last three furlongs in the field to close in on the runner-up by 1-1/2 length.

Race favorite Danon Fantasy made a clean start, eased back to let the frontrunners go and waited in third. The 2018 Best Two-Year-Old Filly, however, failed to respond in the stretch and finished eighth.

Other Horses:
4th: (9) Shadow Diva—saved ground around 10th, showed response after finding clear path at early stretch
5th: (7) Beach Samba—set solid pace, showed tenacity, outrun in last 100m
6th: (6) Rose Tesoro—sat around 11th, quickened along rails, tied 2nd fastest over last 3 furlongs
7th: (3) Blanc Noir—took economic trip around 5-6th, advanced to 2nd 300m out, weakened in last 100m
9th: (17) Espoir—traveled 3-wide in 12th, driven after 3rd corner, met traffic 200m out, lost momentum
10th: (16) Passing Through—ran near favorite around 3rd, turned final corner outside eventual winner, never fired
11th: (10) Schon Glanz—trailed in rear, advanced after 3rd corner, checked at final corner, never a threat
12th: (4) Too Flashy—hugged rails near rear, passed tired rivals on inner stretch
13th: (13) Satono Damsel—raced 3-wide around 12th, angled out, even paced
14th: (18) Sing for You—settled near rear, showed little at stretch, unable to reach contention
15th: (15) Contra Check—pressed pace in 2nd, ran out of steam 300m out
16th: (11) Fairy Polka—sat behind winner, found little room at final corner, outrun thereafter
17th: (12) Red Anemos—traveled in 5-6th early, gradually fell back in backstretch, faded
Scratched: (2) Meisho Shobu—due to a stone bruise in her left forefoot

THE 24TH SHUKA SHO (G1)
3-year-olds, Fillies, 2,000 meters (about 10 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, October 13, 2019    Kyoto Racecourse       11th Race        Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 216,000,000 (about US$ 1,878,000 <US$1=¥115>)
3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 2 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2016
Safety factor: 18 runners

1. 1.Chrono Genesis (JPN), gray, filly, 3-year-olds
   Bago / Chronologist (Kurofune)
   

   Owner: Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.	Breeder: Northern Racing
   Trainer: Takashi Saito	Jockey: Yuichi Kitamura
   7 Starts, 4 Wins
   Added money: ¥ 103,822,000	Career earnings: ¥ 249,934,000

   
   
2. 2.Curren Bouquetd'or (JPN), bay, filly, 3-year-olds
   Deep Impact / Solaria (Scat Daddy)
   

   Owner: Takashi Suzuki	Breeder: Shadai Farm
   Trainer: Sakae Kunieda	Jockey: Akihide Tsumura

   
   
3. 3.Shigeru Pink Dia (JPN), dark bay or brown, filly, 3-year-olds
   Daiwa Major / Moonlight Bay (High Chaparral)
   

   Owner: S. Morinaka	Breeder: Amaba Bokujo
   Trainer: Kunihiko Watanabe	Jockey: Ryuji Wada

* Shuka Sho (G1)

The Shuka Sho, established in 1996, is run over 2,000 meters at Kyoto Racecourse and the third leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown following the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m) held in spring. The Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1, 2,200m) was formally regarded as the third leg of the fillies’ Triple Crown until the race was opened to older fillies and mares; hence the Shuka Sho was established to take its place. Acquiring international G1 status in 2009, the Shuka Sho is open to a maximum of nine foreign runners.
Last year, Almond Eye (JPN, by Lord Kanaloa) became only the fifth filly in JRA history to claim the fillies’ Triple Crown title after Mejiro Ramonu (JPN, by Mogami; 1986), Still in Love (JPN, by Sunday Silence; 2003), Apapane (JPN, by King Kamehameha; 2010) and Gentildonna (JPN, by Deep Impact; 2012), and proceeded to achieve greater accomplishment during her three-year-old season by winning the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) against a powerful field which contributed to earning the season’s highest honor of JRA’s Horse of the Year award.
This year’s field lacked two classic winners, Gran Alegria (JPN, by Deep Impact) and Loves Only You (JPN, by Deep Impact) who claimed the Oka Sho and Yushun Himba, respectively. Participating from the trial race Shion Stakes (G3, 2,000m; Sep.7) were top three finishers, winner Passing Through followed by Fairy Polka in second and Yushun Himba runner-up Curren Bouquetd’or in third. 2018 Best Two-Year-Old Filly Danon Fantasy came off a win in another trial Rose Stakes (G2, 1,800m; Sep.15) with record-breaking time followed by Beach Samba and Oka Sho runner-up Shigeru Pink Dia who finished second and fourth, respectively. The field also included Chrono Genesis, third-place finisher in both two classics, Contra Check, winner of the Flower Cup (G3, 1,800m) in March, Schon Glanz, victor of the Artemis Stakes (G3, 1,600m) in October 2018, and Satono Damsel and Espoir who came off their respective win against older male opponents.
The race record was renewed by 2015 victor Mikki Queen (JPN, by Deep Impact), covering the 2,000-meter distance in 1:56.9.