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Race favorite Meiner Grand Dominates Nakayama Daishogai

Heavily favored Meiner Grand claimed this year’s Nakayama Daishogai by an emphatic ten-length margin, stretching his winning streak to four. The son of Gold Ship was winless in all 11 flat-race starts from his debut in September as a two-year-old and was then switched to steeplechase races in December of his three-year-old campaign. His first win came in his third steeplechase start, his second win was notched in March this year and, after adding another win the following month, Meiner Grand, who was sent off eighth pick, claimed his first graded victory in the Tokyo High-Jump (J-G2, 3,110m) on October 15. The five-year-old gave his trainer Takafumi Aoki his second grade-race title, his first J-G1, while jockey Shinichi Ishigami pocketed his 11th J-G1 trophy and fifth Nakayama Daishogai title—2016, 2017 and 2021 with Oju Chosan, and 2018 with Nihonpiro Baron.

The field of 12 broke with June Velocity taking a brief lead soon to be overtaken by Village Eagle by the second fence (water jump, no.1) while Meiner Grand saved ground in mid-pack. As Village Eagle and Nishino Daisy rallied for the lead five to six lengths up front, the son of Gold Ship advanced to third on the rails after the fifth fence (grand brush fence, no.6), made headway in the backstretch to catch Village Eagle at the 10th obstacle (no.4), and easily pinned the leader Nishino Daisy before the last dip. Showing no signs of fatigue, Meiner Grand entered the straight three to four lengths up front and easily stretched his lead to notch a ten-length victory.

“I had a lot of confidence in my horse—he proved his true strength today. Making bid in the backstretch might have been a bit early but the horse was so eager to go, he even had a lot left in him in the stretch. He is still a five-year-old and has so much potential—I hope his incredible stamina and explosive power he takes after his sire keeps him in the spotlight next year,” commented jockey Shinichi Ishigami after the race.

Third pick Nishino Daisy took a wide trip from a mid-pack position to come out of the first dip a few lengths from the pace in second, advanced to rally with Village Eagle while clearing the sixth obstacle (no.5) and took command before the seventh jump (grand hedge, no.7). Soon after the tenth obstacle (no.4), the defending champion was caught by the eventual winner and although unable to threaten from there, showed tenacity to draw away for second.

Fourth choice Ecoro Duel settled in around fifth early, briefly dropped position to seventh but steadily advanced to fourth by the tenth obstacle (no.4) and overtook the tiring Village Eagle in the final furlong but had too much ground to make up and finished 16 lengths from the winner and six lengths from the runner-up in third.

Other Horses:
4th: (2) Village Eagle—broke poorly, took command before 2nd jump (no.1), joined by eventual winner at 5th jump (no.6) and surrendered lead, passed by winner at 10th jump (no.4), failed to secure 3rd place in last 200m
5th: (4) June Velocity—led early, eased back to 3rd, overtaken by winner after 5th jump (no.6) then by third-place finisher before 10th jump (no.4)
6th: (5) Daishin Clover—traveled around 8th, passed rivals after 9th jump (no.3), failed to keep up with frontrunners
7th: (11) Meiner Leone—sat in 10-11th, gradually improved position while never threaten
8th: (7) Neviim—ran around 8th, unable to reach contention
9th: (6) Giga Bakken—positioned around 7th, weakened after 10th jump (no.4)
10th: (8) Yep Yep Yep—raced in 10th, showed little
11th: (12) Heart’s Symphony—trailed in rear throughout trip, no factor
12th: (10) Meiner Wasser—traveled around 9th, advanced to 6th after 6th jump (no.5), faded at stretch

THE 146TH NAKAYAMA DAISHOGAI (J-G1)
3-year-olds & up, 4,100 meters (about 2.56 miles), turf
Saturday, December 23, 2023      Nakayama Racecourse      10th Race       Post time: 15:05
Total prize money: ¥ 142,660,000 (about US$ 1,089,008 <US$1=¥131>)
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 to Firm         Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 2,005,062,300       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 12,109,458,700       Attendance: 26,569

Winner= 21 starts: 5 wins, 6 seconds & 2 thirds (10 starts: 5 wins, 2 seconds & 1 third *steeplechases only)
Added & stakes money: ¥ 66,427,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 168,071,000 (¥ 157,231,000 *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.
Defending champion Nishino Daisy began his autumn campaign with an 11th in the Tokyo High-Jump (J-G2, 3,110m, Oct.15) held on yielding going, in which Meiner Grand extended his winning streak to three by marking his first graded title, and was followed by the Tokyo Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,110m, Jun.24) and the Hanshin Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,140m, Sep.16) victor June Velocity in fourth. Ecoro Duel won his first jump graded title in the Kyoto Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,170m, Nov.11) where Daishin Clover, winner of the Kyoto High-Jump (J-G2, 3,930m, May.13), and Meiner Leone, last year’s third-place finisher, finished fourth and sixth, respectively. The field also included Village Eagle, back-to-back winner of the Pegasus Jump Stakes (Open Class, 3,350m).