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Oju Chosan Reemerge as Champion in Eighth J-G1 Triumph at Nakayama Daishogai

Second favorite and the only proven J-G1 winner among the 14-horse field, Oju Chosan reclaimed his status as the champion jumper in this year’s Nakayama Daishogai. In his third triumph in this race after his victory in 2016 and 2017, the son of Stay Gold becomes the first horse over nine years of age since Kyoei Warrior in 1989 to claim the Nakayama Daishogai title and with his five victories in the Nakayama Grand Jump combined, the 10-year-old bay now has eight J-G1 titles. The outstanding jumper scored his fifth consecutive victory in the Nakayama Grand Jump and passed up the Nakayama Daishogai with a minor leg problem last year. He made a comeback in this year’s Nakayama Grand Jump but was fifth, then made his second start this fall in the Tokyo High-Jump where he finished third. His connections have already announced that Oju Chosan will remain in training next season and start in the Hanshin Spring Jump (J-G2) prior to another record making challenge in the 2022 Nakayama Grand Jump. Both trainer Shoichiro Wada and jockey Shinichi Ishigami marked their first J-G1 since last year’s Nakayama Grand Jump with Oju Chosan. For Wada, the victory this year is his eighth overall while Ishigami is a winner of a total nine J-G1 wins.

Oju Chosan chased the leaders along the rails in fourth from a smooth break, continued to race prominently while changing hands to the left and advanced to second and to the inside as the field changed hands again after the giant hedge (fence no.7). The seven-time J-G1 winner took command after 10th jump (no.4) and while briefly overtaken by Blason d’Amour at the last obstacle (no.5), quickly regained his lead turning for home and pulled away with a furlong to go for a three-length victory.

“We were positioned further up than expected as all the other key runners were held back, so I kept my mount off the rails from the second corner (second lap) so as to make my move easier at any given time. Oju Chosan hadn’t been able to show his dominance in his recent starts so the trainer and I as well as the stable staff were determined to prove his real strength. I am extremely delighted by his performance today and I can only have words of gratitude for this horse,” commented jockey Shinichi Ishigami.

Tenth favorite Blason d’Amour, who had come off a fifth-place finish in the Illumination Jump Stakes, was slow out of the gate and unhurried in the first half of the trip while traveling in a rear position. The son of Deep Impact then advanced rapidly along the backstretch, held a brief lead at the last fence and stayed at the heel of the eventual winner turning for home. Although unable to match the winner in the last furlong, he bested the rest of the field by an impressive five length in his first J-G1 challenge.

Fourth pick Leo Beyond was smartly positioned along the rails in mid-field, shifted to the inside again as the field made a left turn, dropped back position as the horses behind began to made headway and shuffled back jumping the last two fences. However, the son of Dunkirk made use of his impressive last kick in the closing stages to make ground over the final stretch and finished third although unable to reach the first two finishers.

Other Horses:
4th: (5) Love and Pop—traveled around 4th near winner, failed to keep up with frontrunners after 10th jump (no.4), overtaken by Leo Beyond before wire
5th: (13) Village Eagle—set pace, maintained lead until 10th jump (no.4), weakened in stretch
6th: (6) Meiner Prompt—chased leader in 2nd, gradually dropped back after 9th jump (no.3)
8th: (7) Asakusa Genki—tracked leaders in 3rd early, fell back after 10th jump (no.4)
9th: (14) Thinking Dancer—ran in 10-11th, unable to reach contention
10th: (11) Kitano Teio—settled around 10th, never threatened
11th: (8) Earth Dragon—trailed in rear, passed tired rivals at stretch
12th: (12) Haruki Stone—raced around 11th, no factor
13th: (9) Baby Step—traveled in 6-7th, dropped back after final jump (no.5)
14th: (1) Blue Guardian—was off slow, almost rear throughout trip

THE 144TH NAKAYAMA DAISHOGAI (J-G1)
3-year-olds & up, 4,100 meters (about 2.56 miles), turf
Saturday, December 25, 2021      Nakayama Racecourse      10th Race       Post time: 14:45
Total prize money: ¥ 142,660,000 (about US$ 1,296,909 <US$1=¥110>)
3-y-o: 61kg (about 134-135 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 63kg (about 139 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares
Course Record: 4:36.1                Race Record: 4:36.1 [Oju Chosan (JPN, by Stay Gold), 2017]
Safety factor: 16 runners     Going: Good         Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 2,109,737,200       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 11,427,853,600       Attendance: 5,116

Winner= 36 starts, 19 wins, 2 seconds, 3 thirds (28 starts, 17 wins, 2 seconds, 3 thirds *steeplechases only)
Added money: ¥ 66,490,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 865,007,000 (¥ 839,087,000 *steeplechases only)

* Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1)

The history of the Nakayama Daishogai dates back to 1934 when the biggest jump race in Japan was established in the aim of providing equal excitement to the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), which was the most popular race in flat racing. The highest level of steeplechase racing was originally held as a biannual event held in April and December until the spring version was renamed the Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1, 4,250m) in 1999. The two jump races continue to be the only two J-G1-level obstacle races of equal standard with their results serving as decisive factors in the selection of the seasonal JRA Award for Best Steeplechase Horse. In addition to the Nakayama Grand Jump, which was designated an international race in 2000, the Nakayama Daishogai became an international steeplechase event open to foreign contenders in 2011.
The Nakayama Daishogai features 11 jumps over the figure-of-eight-shaped course which includes six up-and-downs over the banks. The first half resembles that of the Nakayama Grand Jump while the Nakayama Daishogai does not include the movable hurdles along the outside turf track and the total distance is 150 meters shorter. The uphill stretch before the wire also is quite a test for many of the runners especially after running at a solid pace throughout the race.
Last year’s victor Meisho Dassai (JPN, H8, by Suzuka Mambo) went on to claim his second J-G1 title in the Nakayama Grand Jump (Apr.17) but is currently sidelined from racing after sustaining a ligament injury (desmitis) to his left foreleg during training towards his fall comeback. He is hoped to resume racing next season. 2016-18 Best Steeplechase Horse Oju Chosan, who came off a third in the Tokyo High-Jump (J-G2, 3,110m, Oct.17), was aiming for his third Nakayama Daishogai title following 2016 and 2017. Love and Pop came off back-to-back graded wins in the Tokyo Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,110m, Jun.27) and the Tokyo High-Jump, the latter in which he beat legendary Oju Chosan by two lengths. Two-time J-G1 third-place finishers Tagano Espresso and Meiner Prompt came off a second and fifth, respectively, in the Kyoto Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,140m, Nov.13). The Nakayama Daishogai field also included Leo Beyond and Kokura Summer Jump (J-G3, 3,390m, Aug.28) victor Asakusa Genki who came off a first and a second, respectively, in the Illumination Jump Stakes (3,570m, Dec.4) as well as Baby Step, winner of Seishu Jump Stakes (3,210m, Sep.25) and Thinking Dancer, runner-up in the 2019 Nakayama Grand Jump.