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Do Deuce and Take Reunited to Win 2023 Arima Kinen

Second favorite Do Deuce, partnered with Yutaka Take for the first time since early this season, claimed his third G1 title in the Arima Kinen against a quality field that included eight G1 winners. The Heart’s Cry colt, who won both the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1, 1,600m) as a two-year-old and then the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) at three, had a major setback after another graded victory in February this season in the Kyoto Kinen (G2, 2,200m) in which he was ruled out of his intended overseas challenge in the Dubai Turf with a lame left foreleg, then, in his comeback this fall in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m) in October as well as the following Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) in November, his regular rider Yutaka Take was unable to take the reins due to injury from another race—he finished seventh and fourth, respectively. Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi claimed his 18th JRA-G1 title—his latest being the 2022 Champions Cup with Jun Light Bolt, while Yutaka Take scored his first G1 victory since the Osaka Hai with Jack d’Or in April and 81st overall. Take previously won the Arima Kinen with Oguri Cap (1990), Deep Impact (2006) and Kitasan Black (2017), making this his fourth Arima Kinen victory which ties Kenichi Ikezoe for most wins in this race.

Do Deuce was unhurried out of the gate and rated near the rear outside a rival. Held back and still well behind the pace along the backstretch, the four-year-old colt advanced along the outside approaching the third corner and was already joining the front group turning for home while still about four lengths behind the leader. With 200 meters to go, Do Deuce, together with Stars on Earth, closed in on the leader with a strong late charge to pin that foe 100 meters out and then out-dueled Stars on Earth just before the wire for a 1/2-length victory.

“It’s great to comeback with Do Deuce to win this race against some really strong opponents. He was in good shape coming into this race and although the colt was a bit keen and I had to keep him in hand and maintain a good rhythm and not let him rush and gave him the go from about 700 meters out. His response was very good rounding the last corner and gave a terrific late charge to the wire. We did have our struggles after winning the Kyoto Kinen early this year but I was determined to show his true strength and prove what he was really made of in this big race,” commented Yutaka Take.

Seventh pick Stars on Earth broke sharply from the widest stall under Christophe Lemaire and tracked the leader off the rails in second. After allowing the pacesetter to open the margin by a distance, the Duramente filly maintained her position while joined by the eventual winner on the outside and matched that foe up to the wire while outdueled in the end by 1/2 length.

Sixth choice Titleholder shot out of the gate to dispute the lead with Stars on Earth and eventually assumed command entering the homestretch (first round). Eventually opening the gap by more than seven lengths along the backstretch, the son of Duramente continued strongly to maintain his lead until finally being caught by the top two finishers after the 100-meter marker and hold off the fast-closing Justin Palace to finish third.

Race favorite Justin Palace missed a beat coming out of the starting gate and raced at the very rear, almost 20 lengths or so from the leader along the backstretch, before making headway approaching the third corner and circling wide into the homestretch. Under strong urging from the jockey, the Deep Impact colt closed strongly with a furlong to go and, while unable to reach the top two, turned in a strong finishing run to just miss third place by a head margin.

Other Horses:
5th: (2) Shahryar—sat in 4th on rails, gradually closed in on leaders but needed more
6th: (13) Tastiera—ran in 9th, driven after 3rd corner, met traffic before 200m pole, lost momentum
7th: (12) Win Marilyn—settled around 6th, ran gamely until 200m pole, even paced thereafter
8th: (1) Sol Oriens—was off a bit slow, saved ground around 10th, showed effort until 100m out
9th: (11) Harper—positioned in 5th, remained in contention until 200m pole
10th: (3) Ho O Emmy’s—hugged rails near rear, angled out, passed tired rivals
11th: (7) Iron Barows—settled around 6th, dropped back after 800m pole
12th: (15) Through Seven Seas—advanced to 6th, circled wide, failed to respond
13th: (8) Lilac—sat around 14th, angled out for stretch run, lacked needed kick
14th: (14) Pradaria—tracked leaders in 3rd form wide draw, outrun after final corner
15th: (6) Deep Bond—raced around 10th, dropped back turning last corners, never fired
16th: (9) Heat on Beat—traveled 3-wide around 10th, checked at final corner, showed little

THE 68TH ARIMA KINEN (G1)
3-year-olds & up, 2,500 meters (about 12.5 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, December 24, 2023        Nakayama Racecourse         11th Race       Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 1,085,000,000 (about US$ 8,283,000 <US$1=¥131>)
3-y-o: 56kg (about 123-124 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs),
2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares, 2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2020
Course Record: 2:29.5                Race Record: 2:29.5 [Zenno Rob Roy (JPN, by Sunday Silence), 2004]
Safety factor: 16 runners             Going: Good to Firm            Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 54,579,634,000       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 70,150,704,400       Attendance: 53,453

Winner= 12 starts: 6 wins, 1 second & 1 third / Added & stakes money: ¥ 503,402,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 1,028,449,400

* Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) (G1)

Established in 1956 under the name “Nakayama Grand Prix,” the race was renamed to Arima Kinen (Arima Memorial) a year later after the sudden passing of the second JRA president, Yoriyasu Arima. Arima initiated the idea of holding an attractive event at Nakayama Racecourse, where a new grandstand had just been completed at that time, in an attempt to create a race that would receive as much attention as the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) held at Tokyo Racecourse. The Arima Kinen was designed to be a season-end Grand Prix, in which the runners are selected by fan poll—an “All-Star” event in Japanese racing, and the fans can cast their votes online to select the ten most popular runners. Among the horses entered in the race, ten runners with the most votes are entitled to run in the race, while the rest of the field is determined in order of earnings. The race was designated as an international G1 race in 2007 with the winner’s prize money raised to 500 million this year, making it the richest race along with the Japan Cup.
The Arima Kinen has been known as a final stage before retirement for JRA’s legendary runners such as Orfevre (JPN, by Stay Gold; ’13), Gentildonna (JPN, by Deep Impact; ’14), Kitasan Black (JPN, by Black Tide; ’17) and Lys Gracieux (JPN, by Heart’s Cry; ’19) who capped off their stellar racing careers with impressive wins in this race. However, Equinox (JPN, C4, by Kitasan Black), last year’s Arima Kinen champion and Horse of the Year, concluded his racing career with his victory in the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) four weeks earlier and was not included in this year’s Arima Kinen.
This year’s contenders that were among the top ten horses voted included; Justin Palace (3rd), winner of the Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1, 3,200m) in April; Titleholder (4th), three-time G1 winner; Sol Oriens (5th) and Tastiera (6th), respective winners of the three-year-old classics, the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m); Do Deuce (7th),victor of the 2022 Tokyo Yushun; and Deep Bond (9th), three-time runner-up in the Tenno Sho (Spring).
Other contenders within the top 20 horses voted included Stars on Earth (13th), two-time G1 victor who came off a third in the Japan Cup, and Through Seven Seas (19th), fourth placed in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1, 2,400m, Oct.1), while 2021 Tokyo Yushun winner Shahryar (46th), who was withdrawn from the Hong Kong Vase, was also among the field.
Horses that were ranked among the top ten but passed up their entry were: Equinox (1st); Liberty Island (JPN, F3, by Duramente; 2nd); Jack d’Or (JPN, H5, by Maurice; 8th); and Durezza (JPN, C3, by Duramente; 10th).