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Lugal Overcomes a Fracture to Claim His First G1 Title in This Year’s Sprinters Stakes

Ninth pick Lugal captured his first G1 title in his comeback race after being sidelined for half a year due to a fracture. Debuting as a two-year-old in November, the Duramente colt broke his maiden in his fourth career start in January of his three-year-old season. Though winless during that season after winning the Tachibana Stakes (Listed, 1,400m) in May, he marked two runner-up efforts in the Aoi Stakes (G3, 1,200m) and the Keihan Hai (G3, 1,200m). He captured his first graded title in his four-year-old kickoff start, the Silk Road Stakes (G3, 1,200m), but was 10th in the following Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1,200m), after which the colt was found to have a fracture in his left foreleg. Trainer Haruki Sugiyama marked his sixth JRA-G1 title following his Tenno Sho (Spring) victory with Justin Palace last year, and jockey Atsuya Nishimura captured his ninth graded win and first G1 title in his seventh year since his debut.

Lugal broke sharply from the outer draw and settled third from Puro Magic who set a super-fast pace. Responding willingly to the jockey’s urging, the Duramente colt advanced to second at the top of the stretch, continued to accelerate strongly to nail the frontrunner 100 meters out and held off the strong challenges from behind to cross the wire a neck in front.

“The track is very fast here at Nakayama these days, so a sharp break was crucial. Since he disappointed to 10th in the spring’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen despite being first pick, our team truly did our best for him to bounce back. We’ll carefully consider his future racing options which will probably include overseas campaigns,” trainer Haruki Sugiyama commented in a post-race interview.

“I’m grateful to the trainer and everyone involved for working so hard to bring the horse back from a fracture. I’m really glad that we were able to win this race because we disappointed everyone when we finished 10th in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen even though we were posted race favorite,” commented jockey Atsuya Nishimura.

Quick out of the gate, fifth pick Toshin Macau hugged the rails in sixth to seventh, passed his rivals one by one from the inner course at the stretch and threatened the winner until the wire for a neck second.

Fourth choice Namura Clair traveled around twelfth behind the race favorite, angled out to find space entering the lane and unleashed a powerful late charge that timed the fastest closing speed to finish another neck behind in third.

Slow out of the gate, race favorite Satono Reve traveled around sixth to eighth, turned the last two corners wide to make bid from the outside but the son of Lord Kanaloa was unable to respond in the stretch and finished seventh.

Hong Kong invader and Takamatsunomiya Kinen third-place finisher Victor The Winner sprinted well from a wide stall to briefly rally for the lead but settled in fourth. Making a wide bid turning for home, the sixth favorite improved to third 200 meters out but lacked the final kick climbing the stretch hill, failing to reach contention and finished sixth.

“I think he ran a reasonable race. It was a fast pace and Joao Moreira gave him every possible chance. I’m not disappointed. Our next target will be the Hong Kong Sprint in December,” said trainer Chap Shing Shum after the race.

“It was a fast-run race. The track probably played in favor of the front runners. The winner was actually sitting in third in the race on the fence two lengths in front of me and he just kept that distance. Unfortunately, my horse was a little bit affected by the track—it was a little soft. At the end of the day, I don’t think it was a bad race, the horse tried his best and I’m very pleased with that,” commented jockey Joao Moreira.

Sent off 13th pick, Hong Kong’s other contender Mugen was settled fourth from the rear in the backstretch and made a mild bid turning the last corner but never fired thereafter and was 13th.

“The overall pace was very fast and we couldn’t run in good rhythm. The distance could have been a bit too short for him. 1,400 to 1,600-meter races might suit him better,” said Karis Teetan after the race.

Other Horses:
4th: (6) Mama Cocha—5th on rails, shifted out at last corner, dug in strongly in last 100m but tagged before wire by fast-closing rival
5th: (3) Win Marvel—sat in mid-pack on rails behind favorite, split horses and dug in gamely, caught in last strides
8th: (10) Puro Magic—broke sharply to take lead, set fast pace, gave up lead 50m out, used up in final strides
9th: (4) A Shin Spotter—off slow, saved ground 5th to 6th from rear, showed effort in stretch, lacked final kick
10th: (8) Mozu Meimei—3rd from rear near rails, mild acceleration in stretch, passed tired rivals
11th: (1) Obamburumai—slow break, trailed in rear, passed tired rivals in stretch
12th: (7) Mad Cool—traveled 2-wide in 6th, never reached contention
14th: (16) Win Greatest—settled in 2nd after rallying to set pace, gradually fell back at stretch
15th: (11) Danon Scorpion—good start, eased back to 2nd from rear, even paced
16th: (15) Vento Voce—traveled 3-wide around 8-10th, faded after final corner

THE 58TH SPRINTERS STAKES (G1)
3-year-olds & up, 1,200 meters (about 6 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, September 29, 2024 Nakayama Racecourse         11th Race         Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 368,200,000 (about US$ 2,612,000 <US$1=¥141>)
3-y-o: 56kg (about 123-124 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs),
2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares, 1kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2021
Course Record: 1:06.7          Race Record: 1:06.7 [Lord Kanaloa (JPN, by King Kamehameha), 2012]
Safety factor: 16 runners       Going: Good to Firm             Weather: Cloudy

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 16,933,681,400       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 27,867,645,200       Attendance: 32,630

Winner= 13 starts: 4 wins, 4 seconds & 1 third / Added & stakes money: ¥ 173,360,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 294,860,000

* Sprinters Stakes (G1)

The Sprinters Stakes, initially established in 1967 as a major 1,200-meter sprint race for three-year-old and up, was designated as a spring G3 event in conjunction with the new grading system implemented in 1984. It was then upgraded to G2 in 1987 before becoming a G1 sprint race in 1990 with the date of the fixture also shifted to the latter part of the season. The race now positions itself as the highest mark for sprinters together with the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1,200m) held in spring.
One of the first few JRA races to open its doors to foreign entries, the Sprinters Stakes has enjoyed the participation of many outstanding sprinters from North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Hong Kong raiders have taken home the title twice so far—Silent Witness (AUS, by El Moxie) was the first foreign contender to win the title in 2005 along with Ultra Fantasy (AUS, by Encosta De Lago) in 2010—while Australia’s Takeover Target (AUS, by Celtic Swing) won the 2006 version. This year’s edition welcomed two runners from Hong Kong—first foreign contenders in six years—namely, Mugen, third-place finisher in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (G1, 1,200m), and Victor The Winner, winner of the Centenary Sprint Cup (G1, 1,200m) who finished third in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
Here are the recent performances of some of the Japanese runners prior to this race: last year’s champion Mama Cocha commenced her autumn campaign with a 1/2-length second behind Toshin Macau in the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1,200m, Sep.8), with Ibis Summer Dash (G3, 1,000m) winner Mozu Meimei in third and Kitakyushu Kinen (G3, 1,200m) victor Puro Magic disappointing to 13th. Takamatsunomiya Kinen runner-up Namura Clair came off a fifth in the Keeneland Cup (G3, 1,200m, Aug.25), in which Satono Reve claimed his second grade-race title following the Hakodate Sprint Stakes (G3, 1,200m), followed by A Shin Spotter in second and 2023 Golden Eagle (1,500m) champion Obamburumai in third. The field also included Mad Cool and Win Marvel, respective winners of this year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2, 1,400m).