2024 News
Breeders' Cup: Rousham Park tops team to Del Mar with 2nd in BC Turf
Rousham Park (left)
Rousham Park
Shahyrar
Forever Young
Forever Young and Shahyrar also finish in top three From a record eight runners to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita in 2023 to an astonishing 19 to Del Mar in ‘24, Japan’s team headed to the American racing festival with memories of 2021 and its two historic wins, keeping hopes high. Unfortunately, two days and 10 contested races later, there were, like last year, no new victories to celebrate. Given the high bar, the challenges of an overseas excursion, and the infamously tight turns and short stretch of the left-handed Del Mar course, the fact that six horses made the top five and three of those figured in the money, allowed no room for embarrassment. The 41st version of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships was held over two days (Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2) at California’s Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and racing fans in Japan were able to bet on four of the races - the BC Turf, BC Classic, BC Filly & Mare Turf, and the BC Mile - three of which not only included Japan-based runners, but brought the country’s best results from them. From the four featured events, the Japan Racing Association was able to reap a turnover just shy of 2.75 billion yen (down 4.1 percent from last year). # # # This year, the best results for Japan came a race earlier than last year, but it was once again a second place, and once again Christophe Lemaire who brought it home, this time aboard Rousham Park in the BC Turf, the No. 7 race on Nov. 2. Despite a slow start, the Harbinger 5-year-old rallied to seriously threaten, but eventually finish but a neck behind 2022 BC Turf winner Rebel’s Romance, a Charlie Appleby-trained 6-year-old ridden by William Buick. Following Rousham Park a length and a half later in third place was Japan’s Shahryar, duplicating his third-place Turf result of last year. Rousham Park’s trainer, the Miho-based Hiroyasu Tanaka said, "It was so frustrating. He traveled well over the first lap, but over the second lap I was hoping that the pace would pick up. The pace was too slow but he did quicken well in the final stage.” Lemaire had high praise for the G2 winner Rousham Park, whose best in Grade 1 company at home is also a second, scored early this year in the Osaka Hai. “He was a bit slow away,” said Lemaire, “but I didn’t get after him at all, and he raced with a cool head and took up a position toward the back. “The pace was slow so he was a bit keen, but he made good headway up the outside. In the stretch he was moving extremely well and gained ground, but there just wasn’t enough time. “His racing was superb. He was extremely competitive today amid a very strong lineup and I think he’ll be able to get good results at the top level in Japan.” Of the Deep Impact-sired Shahryar, 2021 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) champ and winner of the Grade 1 Dubai Sheema Classic the following year, Cristian Demuro said he was more concerned about the turns than the slow pace. "The turns were tight and difficult for him. He lugged out around the bend at one point. But, he made third place again this year and I think he ran very well.” Trainer Hideaki Fujiwara agreed, “The third and fourth turns were a problem. If things had gone a bit more smoothly there, the result may have been different. “Still, he was able to close the gap in the finish and showed his strength.” Though Fujiwara said Demuro apologized to him for the result,” the Ritto-based trainer said, “I think (Demuro) did an excellent job. The horse is 6 years old now but his performance is still up to par. I don’t know where yet, but I’d like to give him one more race.” # # # Next up was the BC Classic, a race that brought Japan’s one other finisher in the top three - Forever Young, a 3-year-old colt by 2016 Dubai Turf winner Real Steel. Forever Young earlier this year made news when he finished third in the Kentucky Derby, Japan’s best result yet and an indication it’s only a matter of time before a Japan-based contestant claims the iconic race. Though he has yet to score a Grade 1 competition, the third place at Churchill Downs and the third place at Del Mar were the only two times Forever Young has missed the winner’s circle in his eight starts so far. Japan fielded three runners in the Classic - Forever Young, 2023 Dubai World Cup winner Ushba Tesoro and Derma Sotogake, who had finished second in the BC Classic last year. Winning the race was the U.S.-based Sierra Leone, who battled his way up from the back to overtake favorite and eventual runnerup Fierceness. Derma Sotogake had led under Christophe Lemaire until 3 furlongs out but faded to finish only one off the back in the field of 14, while Ushba Tesoro, under Yuga Kawada, was unable to make headway, never was a threat, and finished in 10th place. Forever Young broke from the innermost gate, secured a prominent position and kept pace but, lost power from about 300 meters but managed to hold on for third place 2 3/4 lengths off the top. His trainer Yoshito Yahagi, whose horses in 2021 brought Japan its first and only Breeders’ Cup victories, was upbeat. "He went all out so the result is unfortunate, but I do feel somehow refreshed, because he really gave it his best. “He let it rip from the gate so his pace may have been a bit fast, but that’s all hindsight. He was able to pass Fierceness, and he and the winner were both strong. “Since this horse was third in the Kentucky Derby, I was hoping he could win at the top level. But it didn’t happen. His sire was a late bloomer, so I think he can still do well later in his career.” Rider Ryusei Sakai was also positive about Forever Young’s performance. Stable jockey to the globe-trotting Yahagi, Sakai is only 27, with 8 years of riding experience and a current ranking of No. 5 among JRA jockeys. His father and grandfather were both jockeys and the young Sakai has been notching big races at home for the past 3 years for a total of five G1s."It's really too bad we didn't win, but I do think he gave it his best,” Sakai said of Forever Young. “I hadn’t been happy about the draw, but in hindsight I think it worked to our advantage. He didn’t have to deal with the kickback and we were able to make headway without having to cover more ground. He was much calmer than he’d been in the Kentucky Derby and, in fact, was very confident and in fantastic condition. “The top two horses were strong. But this horse is still only 3 years old and so are they. I haven’t won in the United States and I would love it if Forever Young and I could both grow together, race together and win. “ Yuga Kawada, who flew back to Japan in time to clinch the Nov. 4 JBC Classic Cup at Saga aboard Wilson Tesoro (another horse owned by businessman Kenji Ryotokuji (Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co. Ltd.)), commented on Ushba Tesoro’s BC performance this year. "Overall, everything seemed to be fine leading up to the start. In the first half, things went as usual, but after turning out of the backstretch he just didn’t seem to be feeling it. He wasn’t moving well and he couldn’t respond as he usually does.” Ushba Tesoro finished fifth in the BC Classic last year, but Kawada doesn’t write off the poor finish this year to age. “I don’t think there are any big physical changes. He has continued to race at the top level and even though he hasn’t won this year, he had fantastic runs in the spring, finishing second twice on the world stage at the top level (Dubai and Riyadh). “So, if you consider that, he has done very, very well. His result today was unfortunate but he rose to the challenge once again.” # # # In the BC Mile, the second to the last of the day’s races, two locals, More Than Looks and Johannes captured the top two spots, with the U.K.’s Notable Speech rounding out the show. Two Japan runners were able to make the board -- Ten Happy Rose in fourth place and Geoglyph in fifth. Ten Happy Rose, a 6-year-old mare by Epiphaneia, broke smartly from the No. 9 gate under Akihide Tsumura and shadowed the leader until the turn home, stepped into the lead but was no match for the closers. Geoglyph, breaking from the innermost gate, bided his time on the inside, and kept pace well until the final 100 meters, where he was overtaken, but dug in to finish fifth among the field’s 10 runners. Happy Ten Rose’s trainer Daisuke Takayanagi said, "I had spoken with Tsumura earlier about how we should run her usual race (racing from midfield or further back) but the start was unexpectedly good. There was no reason to hold her back, so she went with the flow. She was moving well and I thought she just might do it and when she hit the top coming into the stretch I let out a shout. She really did well!” Tsumura too, had said he’d started dreaming big as she took the lead in the straight. Nonetheless, her fourth-place finish was a win in its own way. “It proved that her win of the G1 (the Victoria Mile in May) was no fluke. It was a fantastic experience,” said Tsumura. Tetsuya Kimura, trainer to Geoglyph felt more disappointment than the satisfaction of a job well done. "It was unfortunate that we weren’t able to meet everyone’s expectations, and it pains me to think how disappointed the fans must be,” the Miho-based Kimura said. ”The horse did his best to adapt to Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and now the U.S. And I, as his trainer will continue to do my best to bring out his best.” Young Takeshi Yokoyama was too happy about the experience alone to worry about the finishing order. He envisions the experience will pave the way to an eventual BC win someday. "I'm most grateful to the trainer and owner for having given me this opportunity to ride. I apologize for not being able to get the desired results but for me personally it was a very good experience,” said the 25-year-old Yokoyama, whose father, brother and cousin are also active jockeys. “I hope to use this experience as a springboard to good results overseas and one day be able to win in the Breeders’ Cup. Geoglyph did his best around the difficult tight Del Mar course. “I had wanted to get a good start and race from a good position and we were able to do just that.” # # # In other results earlier in the day, 4-year-old Alice Verite made fourth place in the 7-strong field of the dirt BC Distaff over 1,800 meters. Ridden by Kyle Frey, the Kizuna filly, a G3 winner at home, was competing in her first race abroad and her first Grade 1. One other Japanese runner, the unbeaten American-bred Awesome Result from the barn of Yasutoshi Ikee, had been set to race in the Distaff but had to be scratched due to lameness. # # # All other Japan hopefuls to the 2024 Breeders’ Cup finished out of the top five. On Saturday, the BC Sprint saw a Japanese trio bringing up the rear, with Meta Max in 8th under Akira Sugawara, Don Frankie (Cristian Demuro in the saddle) in ninth place and Remake (Kawada up) in 11th last over the line.
And in the final race of the day, the BC Dirt Mile saw T O Saint Denis finish ninth under Ryusei Sakai in a field of 13. # # # Friday’s juvenile races had seen six runners from Japan compete in four of the races. Ecoro Sieg, partnered with Christophe Lemaire, was 8th out of 12 runners in the Juvenile Turf Sprint over 1,000 meters. Otomena Shacho (Kawada up) was seventh and American Bikini, with Ryan Moore up, finished ninth of nine in the Juvenile Fillies over 1,700 meters of dirt. Ecoro Azel (Sugawara) finished in eighth place and Shin Believe, with Yutaka Take in the saddle, finished 10th of 10 in the BC Juvenile, also run over 1,700 meters on dirt. Satono Carnaval, ridden by Rachel King, took on the Juvenile Turf over 1,600 meters on turf and finished ninth in a field of 12. *The official results (Equibase) Please visit the following websites for more information.
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