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Admire Zoom Scores Overwhelming Victory in Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes

Fifth favorite Admire Zoom captured his first graded victory and G1 title in only his third career start. Fourth in his debut over the same course and distance in October, the Maurice colt won by an overwhelming three-length margin in his following race on November 10, also at Kyoto at 1,600 meters before making his third start again at Kyoto’s 1,600-meter course but this time against the best two-year-olds. Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi claimed his 22nd JRA-G1 title after the Japan Cup with Do Deuce three weeks ago and third Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes victory after Admire Mars (2018) and Do Deuce (2021). Jockey Yuga Kawada, who won his second consecutive and fourth victory in this race after Danon Premium (2017), Grenadier Guards (2020) and Jantar Mantar (2023) while claiming his 28th career G1 title, his first since this year’s NHK Mile Cup with Jantar Mantar, now ties with Masato Shibata and Mirco Demuro as the leading jockey.

Admire Zoom broke smoothly and took advantage of an inside draw to join a three-horse rally for the early lead before settling nicely, chasing Daishin Ra in second. Making use of his lasting speed, the bay colt quickly seized the front as the pacesetter weakened in the early stretch and continued to pull away uncontested to win by a comfortable 2-1/2 length margin.
“I’m glad that the colt was able to finish the season at a good note. His last race was also very impressive and I knew he had great potential to win this one too. However, he’s not the easiest horse to keep in control so I was careful to deal with that and today, he was in good rhythm coming into the last corner so I was able to bring out his best performance and I knew then we were unbeatable. As I’ve said, he does need to be handled carefully, but he has outstanding ability to have a great future ahead,” commented Yuga Kawada.

Museum Mile was slow out of the gate but quickly advanced along the rails to midfield under Cristian Demuro and then continued to improve position to reach right behind Admire Zoom before the third corner. Entering the homestretch, still with the winner in close view on his inside, the Leontes colt increased his pace to bid for the lead but was unable to match the winner’s speed while besting the rest of the field by 2-1/2 lengths.

Lance of Chaos was rated between horses in mid-division, quickly found an opening entering the straight to reach contention with the eventual winner in view but was short of reaching both the winner and the runner-up although the Silver State colt opened the gap from the next finisher by two lengths.

Race favorite Arte Veloce, seemingly keen after a sharp break, was held back by jockey Yutaka Take in mid-field and then further back approaching the last two corners. Entering the straight, the Maurice colt met traffic in early stretch and failed to reach contention while hustled along belatedly to finish fifth.

Other Horses:
4th: (1) Daishin Ra— set pace, overtaken by winner in early stretch and next two by last 100m but held on to 4th
6th: (7) Craspedia—traveled around 5th, remained in contention until 200m pole
7th: (15) Dragon Boost—ran wide around 5th, failed to find another gear in last 200m
8th: (5) Cosmo Storm—positioned around 5th, lacked needed kick in last 200m
9th: (11) Nitamonodoshi—sat around 14rh, closed in on leaders up to 200m pole, weakened
10th: (6) Arlecchino—raced around 12th, showed effort up to 200m pole
11th: (9) Ermland—trailed in rear after poor break, passed tired rivals at stretch
12th: (12) Panja Tower—traveled wide around 9th, even paced at stretch
13th: (10) Total Clarity—chased leaders around 3rd, weakened after 4th corner
14th: (13) A Shin Wand—unhurried around 14th, circled wide, showed little
15th: (16) Taisei Current—settled wide around 9th, never fired at stretch
16th: (14) Take It All—raced wide in mid-pack, advanced to 5th turning for home, outrun thereafter

THE 76TH ASAHI HAI FUTURITY STAKES (G1)
2-year-olds, Colts & Fillies, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, December 15, 2024       Kyoto Racecourse              11th Race      Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 152,200,000 (about US$ 1,080,000 <US$1=¥141>)
2-y-o: 56kg (about 123-124 lbs),
1 kg allowance for Fillies, 3 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2022
Course Record: 1:32.3               Race Record: 1:32.3 [Grenadier Guards (JPN, by Frankel), Hanshin, 2020]
Safety factor: 18 runners            Going: Good to Firm           Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 16,215,992,800       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 26,180,242,100       Attendance: 20,889

Winner= 3 starts: 2 wins / Added & stakes money: ¥ 71,162,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 77,762,000

* Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1)

Races for two-year-olds were held for the first time in 1946 at Tokyo. As the number of contenders increased, championship races—the Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes (predecessor to the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes) and the Hanshin Sansai Stakes (predecessor to the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies)—which determined the top two-year-olds of the season in eastern and western Japan, respectively, were established in 1949. In conjunction with the new grading system implemented, the two races were designated G1 status in 1984. In 1991, the two races were divided by gender into two separate G1 events; the Hanshin Sansai Himba Stakes for two-year-old fillies and the Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes for two-year-old colts and geldings, then renamed “Hanshin Juvenile Fillies” and “Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes”, respectively, in 2001. Since 2004, the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes has been limited to non-gelded colts and fillies. The race, which started off as a 1,100-meter sprint, was extended to 1,200 meters in 1959 and again to 1,600 meters in 1962. In 2010, the race was opened to foreign runners. Due to the restructured racing program for two-year-olds, the venue was transferred from Nakayama to Hanshin Racecourse, the same location as the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, in 2014. The race was temporarily shifted to Kyoto Racecourse due to Hanshin Racecourse currently undergoing renovation.
Coming off back-to-back wins for their G1 debut were Nitamonodoshi (Clover Sho [Open Class, 1,500m, Aug.18]), Total Clarity (Niigata Nisai Stakes [G3, 1,600m, Aug.25]), Arte Veloce (Saudi Arabia Royal Cup [G3, 1,600m, Oct.5]), Panja Tower (Keio Hai Nisai Stakes [G2, 1,400m, Nov.2]) and Museum Mile (Kigiku Sho [1 Win Class, 2,000m, Nov.10]). The field also included A Shin Wand, winner of the Kokura Nisai Stakes (G3, 1,200m) in September, Taisei Current and Arlecchino who finished second and fifth, respectively, in the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup, as well as Dragon Boost and Daishin Ra, runner-up and third-place finisher, respectively, in the Daily Hai Nisai Stakes (G2, 1,600m, Nov.9).