2021 News

October 24, 2021

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Titleholder Gives Sire Duramente First G1 Title in Wire-to-Wire Kikuka Sho Victory
Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) (G1)

Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) (G1)

Fourth favorite Titleholder turned in a wire-to-wire victory—the first since Seiun Sky in 1998—in the 3,000-meter Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger), becoming the first G1 winner for sire Duramente (by King Kamehameha), the 2015 winner of the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). Titleholder won his two-year-old debut over 1,800 meters in October last year and was second and fourth in his following Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes (G3, 1,800m) and Hopeful Stakes (G1, 2,000m), respectively. He kicked off his three-year-old campaign with his first grade-race victory in the Yayoi Sho Deep Impact Kinen (G2, 2,000m) and was runner-up in the Satsuki Sho (G1, 2,000m) but finished sixth in the Tokyo Yushun (G1, 2,400m) then was heavily beaten in his fall debut, the St Lite Kinen (G2, 2,200m), unable to escape traffic at the straight and finishing 13th. Trainer Toru Kurita picked up his fourth grade-race and first G1 title since opening his yard in 2011. Jockey Takeshi Yokoyama, won his second career G1 title after landing the Satsuki Sho with Efforia.

Titleholder made full use of his inside draw and rushed out to take the lead under Takeshi Yokoyama and drew away by five lengths from the rest of field, passing the first 1,000-meter mark in 60 seconds. As the field stretched out into a single file along the backstretch then closed in approaching the final turn, the Duramente colt continued to keep his lead into the straight and found another gear which enabled him to pull away again from his foes and cross the finish line uncontested to a five-length victory.

“We had a terrible race last time out so I was determined to win it this time and I’m glad it panned out. I personally thought that the distance was maybe too much to ask from this colt, but he showed otherwise and performed well above my expectations so I’m ashamed for doubting him in anyway. As far as the race, I concentrated in keeping him comfortable in a long race like this—he’s an honest horse, in a way too honest and always gives his full effort—so knowing that once in front he would settle, I let him go as he liked and didn’t try to hold him back too much. He has a lot to look forward to in the future but it would require a little skill as a rider to conserve his energy depending on the situations,” commented Takeshi Yokoyama.

Orthoclase was reserved in mid division early and made headway following Stella Veloce into the stretch as the two joined Divine Love in a rally for second position and overtook that foe in the last strides to finish second best.

Divine Love chased the leaders in sixth along the rails, made her bid along the center lane after entering the straight in fifth, advanced to second 200 meters out while unable to reach the leader and was soon joined by Orthoclase and Stella Veloce on her outside and out-finished by the former while hanging on to third place by a nose.

Stella Veloce who appeared a little keen during the post parade was allowed to settle from a smooth break and was positioned between horses, fifth or sixth from the rear, and made headway along the outside 800 meters out. While having much ground to cover throughout the 3,000-meter trip from an outside draw, the Bago colt showed impressive effort although no match for the winner, finishing a head and nose behind the runner-up in fourth.

Race favorite Red Genesis was a fraction slow to pick up his speed coming out of the gate, racing third from last outside a rival and failed to reach contention.

Other Horses:
5th: (7) Deep Monster—saved ground around 8th, circled wide, showed belated charge
6th: (9) Veloce Oro—settled around 12th, quickened between horses, belatedly
7th: (13) Arrivo—traveled around 8th, responded well until 100m out, outrun in final strides
8th: (8) Air Sage—chased leaders in 3rd early, ran gamely up to 200m pole, weakened thereafter
9th: (2) Asamano Itazura—ran near rear, accelerated between horses, tied fastest over last 3 furlongs
10th: (17) Victipharus—raced 3-wide around 8th, checked 300m out, lacked needed kick
11th: (6) Sefer Rasiel—trailed in rear early, made headway to 2nd, weakened in last 200m
12th: (4) Road to Fame—took economic trip around 12th, unable to reach contention
14th: (10) Monte Dio—tracked leader in 2nd then 3rd, outrun in last 300m
15th: (16) Gratias—advanced to 4th from wide stall, ran out of steam 300m out
16th: (15) Weiss Meteor—traveled 3-wide around 14th, even paced at stretch
17th: (12) North the World—hugged rails around 15th, no factor
18th: (1) World Revival—disputed for lead, eased back to 5-6th, faded after 3rd corner

THE 82ND KIKUKA SHO (JAPANESE ST. LEGER, G1)
3-year-olds, Colts and Fillies, 3,000 meters (about 15 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, October 24, 2021         Hanshin Racecourse     11th Race         Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 259,200,000 (about US$ 2,469,000 <US$1=¥105>)
3-y-o: 57 kg (about 126 lbs), 2 kg allowance for Fillies, 2 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2018
Course Record: 3:02.5              Race Record: 3:01.0 [Toho Jackal (JPN, by Special Week), Kyoto, 2014]
Safety factor: 18 runners     Going: Good to Firm           Weather: Cloudy

FP BK PP Horse
Jockey
S&A
Color
Wgt
Odds
(Fav)
Margin
(L3F)
Sire
Dam
(Dam’s Sire)
Owner
Breeder
Trainer
1 2 3 Titleholder (JPN)
Takeshi Yokoyama
C3
b.
57.0
8.0
(4)
3:04.6
(35.1)
Duramente
Mowen
(Motivator)
Hiroshi Yamada
Okada Stud
Toru Kurita
2 8 18 Orthoclase (JPN)
Christophe Lemaire
C3
d.b.
57.0
5.4
(3)
5
(34.8)
Epiphaneia
Marialite
(Deep Impact)
Carrot Farm Co., Ltd
Northern Farm
Takashi Kubota
3 6 11 Divine Love (JPN)
Yuichi Fukunaga
F3
b.
55.0
17.3
(6)
Head
(35.2)
Epiphaneia
Deep Love
(Deep Impact)
Yoshiro Kubota
Yasushi Kubota
Takashi Saito
4 7 14 Stella Veloce (JPN)
Hayato Yoshida
C3
d.b.
57.0
4.1
(2)
Nose
(34.7)
Bago
Oh My Baby
(Deep Impact)
Tsuyoshi Ono
Northern Racing
Naosuke Sugai
5 4 7 Deep Monster (JPN)
Yutaka Take
C3
br.
57.0
18.1
(7)
1-1/2
(34.9)
Deep Impact
Sisterly Love
(Bellamy Road)
DMM Dream Club Co., Ltd.
Yano Bokujo
Yasutoshi Ikee
6 5 9 Veloce Oro (JPN)
Hideaki Miyuki
C3
ch.
57.0
44.1
(12)
Neck
(34.9)
Gold Ship
Precious Life
(Taiki Shuttle)
Tsuyoshi Ono
Chiyoda Farm Shizunai
Naosuke Sugai
7 7 13 Arrivo (JPN)
Mirco Demuro
C3
b.
57.0
40.3
(11)
3/4
(35.4)
Duramente
Esmeraldina
(Harlan's Holiday)
Silk Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Racing
Haruki Sugiyama
8 4 8 Air Sage (USA)
Yusuke Fujioka
C3
b.
57.0
36.3
(10)
3/4
(35.9)
Point of Entry
Nokaze
(Empire Maker)
Lucky Field Co., Ltd.
Winchester Farm
Manabu Ikezoe
9 1 2 Asamano Itazura (JPN)
Hironobu Tanabe
C3
d.b.
57.0
13.1
(5)
Head
(34.7)
Victoire Pisa
High Touch Queen
(King Halo)
Juichi Hoshino
Juichi Hoshino
Takahisa Tezuka
10 8 17 Victipharus (JPN)
Kenichi Ikezoe
C3
b.
57.0
18.4
(8)
3/4
(35.7)
Heart's Cry
Virginia
(Galileo)
G1 Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
Manabu Ikezoe
11 3 6 Sefer Rasiel (JPN)
Katsuma Sameshima
C3
b.
57.0
90.8
(17)
1/2
(36.6)
Kizuna
Dark Sapphire
(Out of Place)
Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
Daisuke Takayanagi
12 2 4 Road to Fame (JPN)
Yuji Tannai
C3
b.
57.0
60.1
(15)
1/2
(35.4)
Matsurida Gogh
Ladrao Fama
(White Muzzle)
Makio Okada
Okada Stud
Kazuyuki Ogata
13 3 5 Red Genesis (JPN)
Yuga Kawada
C3
b.
57.0
3.9
(1)
1/2
(35.1)
Deep Impact
Ryzhkina
(Storm Cat)
Tokyo Horse Racing Co., Ltd
Hidetoshi Yamamoto
Yasuo Tomomichi
14 5 10 Monte Dio (JPN)
Kazuo Yokoyama
C3
b.
57.0
46.4
(13)
2
(36.9)
Just a Way
Dionisia
(Tejano Run)
Motoaki Mori
Shadai Farm
Hirofumi Shii
15 8 16 Gratias (JPN)
Kohei Matsuyama
C3
b.
57.0
59.7
(14)
Neck
(36.8)
Heart's Cry
Malacostumbrada
(Lizard Island)
Three H Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
Yukihiro Kato
16 7 15 Weiss Meteor (JPN)
Genki Maruyama
C3
b.
57.0
21.7
(9)
2-1/2
(36.3)
King Kamehameha
Chateau Blanche
(King Halo)
Silk Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
Takaki Iwato
17 6 12 North the World (JPN)
Ryuji Wada
C3
br.
57.0
105.5
(18)
2-1/2
(36.4)
Deep Impact
Path of Dreams
(Giant's Causeway)
Three H Racing Co., Ltd.
Shimokobe Farm
Ryuji Okubo
18 1 1 World Revival (JPN)
Akihide Tsumura
C3
b.
57.0
85.4
(16)
6
(38.1)
Epiphaneia
Cecilia
(Agnes Tachyon)
Akikazu Suzuki
Amaba Bokujo
Kazuya Makita
FP: Final Position / BK: Bracket Number / PP: Post Position / S&A: Sex & Age / Wgt: Weight (kg) / DH: Dead Heat / L3F: Time of Last 3 Furlongs (600m)
Color: b.=bay / bl.=black / br.=brown / ch.=chestnut / d.b.=dark bay / d.ch.=dark chestnut / g.=gray / w.=white
Note1: No Foreign Contenders
Note2: Figures quoted under Odds are shown in form of decimal odds (single unit is ¥100), and Fav indicates the order of favorites.

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 17,504,068,700       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 25,905,564,000       Attendance: 4,798

PAY-OFF (for ¥100)
Win No.3 ¥ 800 Bracket Quinella 2-8 ¥ 1,600 Quinella 3-18 ¥ 2,420
Place No.3 ¥ 290 Quinella Place 3-18 ¥ 1,050 Exacta 3-18 ¥ 5,220
No.18 ¥ 210 3-11 ¥ 2,590 Trio 3-11-18 ¥ 14,610
No.11 ¥ 480 11-18 ¥ 1,410 Trifecta 3-18-11 ¥ 79,560

Winner= 8 starts, 3 wins, 2 seconds / Added money: ¥ 150,079,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 287,459,000

Fractional time (sec./furlong): 12.5 - 11.1 - 11.5 - 12.1 - 12.8 - 12.6 - 12.8 - 14.3 - 13.1 - 12.6 - 12.4 - 11.7 - 11.5 - 11.4 - 12.2
Last 4 furlongs: 46.8            Last 3 furlongs: 35.1

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

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.

 

* Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) (G1)

The history of Kikuka Sho, the Japanese St. Leger and the last leg of the Triple Crown race for three-year-old colts and fillies, dates back to 1938—a year after Japan’s 11 racing clubs integrated into one organization named Nihon Keiba Kai (forerunner of the JRA). Initially called “Kyoto Norin-sho Shoten Yonsai Yobiuma Kyoso”, the race was renamed to Kikuka Sho in 1948. The race was temporarily shifted to Hanshin Racecourse for the second time since 1979 due to renovations carried out at Kyoto Racecourse where the race is regularly held.
The Kikuka Sho features three-year-olds, most of who have matured dramatically during the five months following the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) and their summer break. The Kikuka Sho winners have both the speed and the stamina to prove their caliber as the potential breeding stock. The last of the eight Triple Crown winners in JRA history was Contrail (JPN, by Deep Impact) who followed in the footsteps of his sire by accomplishing the feat undefeated last year.
This year’s Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) victor Efforia (JPN, by Epiphaneia) and Tokyo Yushun winner Shahryar (JPN, by Deep Impact) chose to face older foes in their next respective starts in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (Oct.31) and the Japan Cup (Nov.28) instead of the Kikuka Sho.
Asamano Itazura came off a victory in the St. Lite Kinen (G2, 2,200m, Sep.20), one of the trial races towards the Kikuka Sho while 2020 Hopeful Stakes (G1, 2,000m) runner-up Orthoclase finished third with other proven grade-race winners Victipharus, Gratias and Titleholder who was runner-up in the Satsuki Sho following in fifth, ninth and 13th, respectively. Stella Veloce, third in two of his previous Triple Crown starts, came off his second graded title in the Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2, 2,200m, Sep.26), another trial race, in which Red Genesis (2nd) and Monte Dio (3rd) also earned their berth to start in the final leg. The Kikuka Sho field also included Weiss Meteor, winner of the Radio Nikkei Sho (G3, 1,800m, Jul.4) as well as Arrivo, Veloce Oro, Air Sage, Divine Love and Road to Fame who came off their respective wins against older foes in allowance races (2 Wins Class).

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