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Danon Kingly Scores First G1 Victory in Yasuda Kinen

Eighth Favorite Danon Kingly crushed defending champion Gran Alegria’s high hopes of a consecutive Yasuda Kinen title in a close finish at the wire to score his first and much awaited grade one victory. The son of Deep Impact kicked off his career with three back-to-back wins, in which one was the Kyodo News Hai (G3), before turning in a third in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) and a second in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) in 2019. Although adding two graded titles thereafter—the Mainichi Okan (G2, 1,800m) that year and the Nakayama Kinen (G2, 1,800m) the following season—third in the Osaka Hai (2,000m) last year was his best finish in all of the other G1 challenges that followed and the dark bay was given a long break after running a disappointing 12th in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m) last November. Trainer Kiyoshi Hagiwara has notched his fourth JRA-G1 victory—his latest was with Normcore in the 2019 Victoria Mile. Jockey Yuga Kawada now has three Yasuda Kinen trophies on his shelf—the first two were with Maurice (2015) and Satono Aladdin (2017)—he now has a total of 18 JRA-G1 wins while his latest was the Osaka Hai on board Lei Papale. 

Breaking from stall 11, five-year-old Danon Kingly traveled two-wide in mid-pack a couple of lengths in front of the favorite while Daiwa Cagney led the field in front. Still near the rear at the final bend, the son of Deep Impact took a center-lane path and unleashed a determined stretch run climbing the Tokyo course hill to finally draw even with Indy Champ and Schnell Meister at the front along with Gran Alegria who also came looming up from the inside 100 meters out. While Indy Champ and Schnell Meister weakened after a brief rally in the final strides, Danon Kingly narrowly held off the strong challenge from the defending champion by a head margin.  

‟He felt a bit tense first entering the track but he had good rhythm during the trip and had plenty of horse left. He responded just as I hoped turning the last corner and ran well after that. Although he hasn’t been able to put in the best results in the past, he has definitely demonstrated his true strength today and I’m happy to have been a part of it in my first time in the saddle,” commented Yuga Kawada.

On target to notch her second Yasuda Kinen title, clear favorite Gran Alegria was reserved fourth from the rear and found herself trapped behind a wall of horses in the straight. The only mare contender finally weaved through horses with the fastest stretch speed to reach contention in the last half furlong and dug in fiercely but was too late and succumbed to second.

Three-year-old and fourth pick Schnell Meister took a wide trip down the backstretch sitting outside 2019 Yasuda Kinen champion Indy Champ while gradually making headway up to fifth before hitting the top of the stretch. With the eventual winner on his outside and runner-up behind him, this year’s NHK Mile Cup winner ran strongly to reach the front 100 meters out and joined a brief rally with three older foes but lacked the final kick and was a 1/2-length from the runner-up in third.

Other Horses:
4th: (8) Indy Champ—settled around 5th, advanced smoothly to take command 200m out, weakened in last 100m
5th: (9) Taurus Gemini—stalked leader in 2nd, showed tenacity after overtaken by top 4 finishers in last 200m
6th: (10) Cadenas—trailed near rear, entered lane in last, showed belated charge
7th: (6) Danon Premium—chased leaders around 3rd along rails, ran gamely until 100m out
8th: (1) Salios—hugged rails around 9th inside eventual winner, met traffic 200m out, accelerated thereafter
9th: (2) Gibeon—saved ground around 5th, showed effort until 200m out, weakened
10th: (12) Cadence Call—sat 3-wide around 9th outside heavy favorite, lacked needed kick
11th: (3) Daiwa Cagney—set pace, sustained lead until 200m pole, fell back thereafter
12th: (14) Catedral—traveled 3-wide around 12th, even paced after turning home
13th: (4) Karate—took economic trip around 12th, showed little at stretch
14th: (7) Lauda Sion—tracked leaders around 3rd, checked 200m out and faded

THE 71ST YASUDA KINEN (G1)
3-year-olds & up, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, June 6, 2021           Tokyo Racecourse          11th Race           Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 248,000,000 (about US$ 2,362,000 <US$1=¥105>)
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 2017, 2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2018
Course Record: 1:30.5         Race Record: 1:30.9 [Indy Champ (JPN, by Stay Gold), 2019]
Safety factor: 18 runners     Going: Good to Firm           Weather: Cloudy

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 19,241,976,700       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 30,206,705,900       Attendance: 4,858

Winner= 12 starts, 6 wins, 1 second, 2 thirds / Added money: ¥ 132,982,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 487,796,000

* 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). The race joined the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series in 2016, enabling its winners to earn automatic starting position in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1, 1,600m), while the first three finishers of this race are eligible to start in the French mile G1s, the Prix Jacques le Marois and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.
Last year’s champion Gran Alegria registered her fifth G1 title in the Victoria Mile (G1, 1,600m, May.16) this season while 2019 victor Indy Champ came off a third in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1,200m, Mar.28). Cadence Call and Lauda Sion were entered following their respective wins in the Milers Cup (G2, 1,600m, Apr.25) and the Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2, 1,400m, May.15), both being the official trials towards the Yasuda Kinen.
The field also included: three-time graded victor Danon Kingly and 2017 Best Two-Year-Old Colt Danon Premium who commenced the current season with this race after finishing 12th in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m, Nov.1) and fourth in the Hong Kong Cup (G1, 2,000m, Dec.13) last year, respectively; Karate, winner of the Tokyo Shimbun Hai (G3, 1,600m, Feb.7); Catedral, runner-up of the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy (G3, 1,600m, Apr.3); Salios who was a fifth in his previous start, the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m, Apr.4); and this year’s NHK Mile Cup (G1, 1,600m) champion Schnell Meister who aimed to become the first three-year-old to claim the Yasuda Kinen since Real Impact (JPN, by Deep Impact) in 2011.