Top-class horseracing action returns in Japan on Sunday, October 1, when the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes kicks off the autumn program of big races throughout the next few months. The 51st running of the sprint, which is also the 8th leg of the Global Sprint Challenge, will be at Nakayama Racecourse and run over 1200 meters on the turf course. It’s downhill from the start, and the outer course leads into a gentle curve out of the backstretch before the final sharper turn for home, where runners then take on the relatively short home straight of 310 meters with a final uphill section to the finish.
There are 23 nominations for the race, among which is Blizzard from Hong Kong, a 6-year-old Australian-bred gelding, who becomes the 29th overseas runner in the history of the race, and is looking to give Hong Kong its third victory, after wins in 2005 (Silent Witness) and 2010 (Ultra Fantasy). On the home front, all age groups look to be represented, from the only 3-year-old among the nominations, Monde Can Know, right up to the evergreen Snow Dragon, now a 9-year-old and the winner of the race when it was held at Niigata Racecourse in 2014. Given these factors, the race seems to have something for everybody, and is by no means easy to predict.
Step races for this year’s Sprinters Stakes have included the Grade 3 Keeneland Cup, Grade 3 TV Nishinippon Corp. Sho Kitakyushu Kinen, and Grade 2 Sankei Sho Centaur Stakes, all races run over 1,200 meters as recently as August or September. Favorites have looked rather vulnerable in the race, with only six favorites winning since 2000. Red Falx is bidding to win the race for a second consecutive year, a feat last carried out by Lord Kanaloa in 2012/13, while Seiun Kosei tries to become just the fifth horse in history to win the Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (held in spring) and the Sprinters Stakes in the same year. Record time for the race is held by Lord Kanaloa, when he set the time of 1:06.7 in 2012. There’s a 98 million yen winner’s check, with prize or incentive money going to the first 10 horses past the post. The Sprinters Stakes will be Race 11 on the card at Nakayama on Sunday, with a post time of 15:40 local time.
Here’s a look at some of the Japanese runners expected to head the market:
Red Falx: The defending champion is back for more, and the 6-year-old by Swept Overboard would have every chance on his impressive record in 1,200 meter turf races to date. He’s won three times from five starts at the distance, and even managed to finish third in his latest race, the Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen, over 1,600 meters back in June. Trainer Tomohito Ozeki, commented: “He ran well in the early part of the year, so we thought he deserved some time off at the farm. This has been his target race since, and despite the layoff, he’s the type to come back strongly.” Jockey Mirco Demuro will partner Red Falx, looking to gain just the second Grade 1 win for the trainer after last year’s success, whereas the jockey is stalking his 21st Grade 1 victory in Japan.
Seiun Kosei: The 4-year-old colt by Admire Moon gave trainer Hiroyuki Uehara his first Grade 1 since Daiwa Major in 2007, when he won this year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen as the fifth favorite. He since finished fourth in the Grade 3 Hakodate Sprint Stakes in June over 1,200 meters. With a price tag of just over 14 million yen at the 2014 Select Sale, his prize money has now topped 200 million yen, proving what a wise buy he was. The trainer said recently, “He came back to the stable at the end of August, and we’ve just worked him solo on the woodchip course in September, taking things easy. That’ll be the case until just going into the race.”
Big Arthur: Big by name, and big by nature, the 6-year-old usually hits the scales around the 520kg mark, but he is looking to get back into things here after a couple of runs have seen him finish unplaced, the last in Hong Kong at the end of last year, and the time before when he had no luck in running and finished 12th in last year’s Sprinters Stakes. A slight hoof problem concerning his left foreleg kept him out of a prep run in the Centaur Stakes, but the stable reports him to be over that and primed for a big run here, returning to his form of old. Big Arthur is by Sakura Bakushin O, who won the race in 1993 and 1994, and the Bamboo Stud-bred horse will be looking to prove that his sprinter’s profile can land him another big prize.
Let’s Go Donki: The 2015 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) winner will be taking on her 11th JRA Grade 1 this time. The 5-year-old mare by King Kamehameha has mixed results in sprint races, but did finish second in this year’s Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen, and ninth in last year’s Sprinters Stakes, where she finished a mere 0.2 seconds behind Red Falx. Trainer Tomoyuki Umeda is happy with her, saying, “After the Victoria Mile, she had a break at the farm and has come back to the Ritto Training Center refreshed. She worked up the hill recently over four furlongs in 53.5 seconds, with a final furlong time of 12.1 seconds. She pleased me with that work.”
Dance Director: This tough 7-year-old shows no sign of giving up, and in just two starts this year, he won the Grade 3 Silk Road Stakes in January, and then placed third most recently in the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes in September, both 1,200 meter sprints. He made up good ground last time when having to run down the outside. This will be just his second start at Nakayama, and jockey Suguru Hamanaka is determined to be fit, after a short spell out through injury, to take the ride on Dance Director.
Melagrana: The 5-year-old Australian bred mare is by Fastnet Rock, and four of her seven career wins have been over 1,200 meters, and the last two wins have been over the sprint distance both at Nakayama, where she boasts an unbeaten record in three starts on turf. So serious statistics at the track go well in her favor, together with a close fourth in the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes most recently, as well as being ridden by top jockey, Keita Tosaki, who also knows the Nakayama course like the back of his hand.
Rhein Meteor: Another 7-year-old who will be having his 38th start on Sunday, the horse just misses out on hitting the jackpot, and that was also the case in his latest race, the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes, where he had to settle for second. He’s in good form, and was taking in 1,000 meter sprint races at Niigata prior to his last run. Trainer Takahiro Mizuno commented: “He just changed strides at the top of the straight last time, and after that he had to thread his way through narrow gaps, but this horse’s strength is that he just keeps on giving.” The trainer would be delighted if Rhein Meteor could give him his first Grade 1 victory.
Fine Needle: Steered to victory last time by Mirco Demuro in the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes, the 4-year-old colt by Admire Moon has now boosted his prize money to just over 150 million yen, and will have jockey Hiroyuki Uchida aboard on Sunday. The Darley Japan-bred colt has a course and distance win at Nakayama, and could improve more for his 1 1/4 length win in the Centaur Stakes.
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