Japan Horse Racing Tips-Umanity.jp

Following disappointment at Newmarket early last month, Japan’s King Hermes continued his overseas tour with a visit to northwest France, but was unable to find the acclaim he sought.

On Aug. 7, the 3-year-old son of Lord Kanaloa competed among a field of 14 in the Grade 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, a turf event over 1,300 meters on the Deauville straight course, but once again went unrewarded for his efforts.

The race, the fourth of the day, got under way at 15:55 local time, shortly before 23:00 Sunday in Japan. Jockey Ryusei Sakai, who has ridden all of the colt’s starts, had chosen to track the leaders last out in the six-furlong July Cup, but this time went for the lead. Carrying 57kg (2kg less than the field top weight) and running under the No. 11 saddle cloth, King Hermes broke from the No. 8 gate. The colt led the field over the first 1,000 meters, then kicked into top gear, but was soon headed and faded quickly.

Highfield Princess, who was coming off a sixth-place finish in the Platinum Jubilee States at Royal Ascot, took home the first-place prize of just under
EUR217,000 (approx. JPY30 million) with a winning time of 1 minute, 15.3 seconds over “good to soft” turf.

Yoshito Yahagi, trainer to King Hermes, was characteristically both matter-of-fact and optimistic. “The horse was in extremely good condition and I think he ran very well,” the trainer said. “Though he did respond when asked for more, with it being a straight course and this level of company, he may just not have been up to the competition. Despite his being in good shape, you still to acknowledge that.”

“I do feel that he has matured while on this excursion and I do hope to be able to use this to his advantage after returning to Japan,” the trainer added.

“He was relaxed and I felt he was in better condition than he had been for his last start,” the jockey Sakai commented after the race. “He traveled well but lost momentum early on. Still, his responses were better and, as the winner had raced in second position, it wasn’t a frustrating loss at all.

The race top six places were claimed by horses aged 4 and up, with the 3-year-old Perfect Power topping his age group in seventh place. Sakai acknowledged that youth was also likely a factor in the young King Hermes’s loss. “He is still only 3 years old and I think he’ll be able to use this to his advantage in future races.”

King Hermes, a bay colt owned by Hiroo Race Co. Ltd., was bred at the Hokkaido farm of Hidenori Kimura. He now has 2 wins from his 7 starts, with wins including the Grade 2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes over 1,400 meters at Tokyo Racecourse last November.

The Prix Maurice de Gheest was won by a Japan-based horse in 1998, when the Hideyuki Mori-trained Seeking the Pearl took honors under jockey Yutaka Take. Mori fielded four more runners in the race, with Air Thule’s second-place finish in 2002 Japan’s next-best performance. King Hermes was the first entrant from Japan in 18 years and Yahagi’s first.

King Hermes’s stablemate and travelling companion Bathrat Leon, who finished　　fourth in the July 27 Sussex Stakes, is next up in the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville on Aug. 14. Wagering on the race will be available to fans in Japan.

On July 27, Japanese raider Bathrat Leon took on the Sussex Stakes, a turf Grade 1 over the mile at Britain’s Goodwood Racecourse, and as a rank outsider, surprised by nearly making the money.

The race, the fourth of the day, got under way at 3:35 p.m. Wednesday afternoon (11:35 p.m. in Japan) with a small field of seven dominated by the unbeaten and overwhelming race favorite Baaeed.

Japan’s challenger Bathrat Leon was away quickly and, despite a stumble as the door opened, he immediately recovered. The 4-year-old son of Kizuna grabbed the lead and led to the final stage, with Baaeed and Alcohol Free held up one off the rear.

When Baaeed began his move up the outside, Bathrat Leon did not make closing the gap easy. The latter held his ground despite the threat and Baaeed had to work for his ninth-straight win. But, when Jim Crowley asked for top gear, the 4-year-old colt complied to claim the top with 100 meters to go, with the 3-year-old colt Modern Games overtaking Bathrat Leon shortly after.

The Yoshito Yahagi-trained Bathrat Leon looked set to clinch third but was overtaken in the final stride by Alcohol Free, a 4-year-old filly by No Nay Never and just off a win of the July Cup at Newmarket. The Charlie Appleby-trained, Dubawi-sired Modern Games, under William Buick, finished a length and 3/4 behind the winner. Rob Hornby brought Alcohol Free home behind Modern Games by the same margin.

“The results were unfortunate,” said the 61-year-old Yahagi. “But, he was able to run his own race amid the strong competition,” he said of Bathrat Leon.

“Having had a lot of work in his 1 month stabled in Newmarket, his footwork has improved and I think he has gotten stronger.”

A Grade 2-winner in Japan, Bathrat Leon was racing for the first time in 4 months following his win of the Godolphin Mile (G2, dirt) at Meydan and, like Baaeed, also carried 61.5 kg, the top weight of his career by a huge 4.5 kg.

Bathrat Leon was only the fourth U.K. runner for Yahagi, a travel aficionado who first opened his Ritto stable in 2005. A Triple Crown winning trainer in Japan, Yahagi has also scooped top races in five other countries and three continents.

Ryusei Sakai was the jockey for Japan’s first-ever entry in the Goodwood event and he had been prepared for the somewhat rough start.

“When I got on him in the paddock, he was calm and he loaded as he always does,” said Sakai. “But, the start is on a downward slope and I’ve been unseated with this horse at the break before (in the 2021 Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup) so the stumble was not unexpected.”

“The course is quite undulating but he felt really good under way. When I had walked the course earlier, I felt it was a going to be tough, so when we turned for the stretch, I was thinking, ‘Wow!’ ”

“I knew Baaeed was a very strong horse, so in order to avoid everything coming down to the late speed, I widened my lead from 600 meters out,” said the 25-year-old Tokyo native, who has ridden eight of Bathrat Leon’s 15 starts.

“The race went as planned and I think it’s only my fault that we didn’t make third place. Bathrat Leon really gave it his all and I think this bodes well for his next start.”

Baaeed gave trainer William Haggas his first win of the Sussex Stakes. The Sea the Stars-sired bay colt clocked 1 minute 37.74 seconds over the 1,600 meters of turf officially rated “good to firm, good in places.” The race carried a purse of 1 million pounds sterling, with just over 567,100 pounds (about 90 million yen) going to the winner.

The Sussex Stakes, part of the British Champions Series, is held on the second day of the five-day gala known as Glorious Goodwood. The race is one of three Grade 1s held at the West Sussex racetrack and is considered the venue’s most prestigious. The Sussex Stakes dates back to 1841, but has been held in its present form since 1878.

Bathrat Leon’s next start will be the Aug. 14 Prix Jacques Le Marois. The Jacques Le Marois is a Grade 1 mile turf race over the straight course at Deauville and was won by Japan’s Taiki Shuttle in 1998.

The JRA, after resuming the acceptance of spectators at its racecourses in March 2021, starting with limited audiences and then gradually eased restrictions, finally welcomed an audience of 60,000 enthusiastic fans to witness the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) this May. In more good news, the World All-Star Jockeys series will take place at Sapporo Racecourse in late August for the first time in three years.

Earlier this season, Japanese-bred contenders turned in some outstanding performances overseas. After dominating four races in the Saudi Cup Meeting in February, 22 runners were sent to the Dubai World Cup in the following month and claimed five out of their eight races. Bathrat Leon (JPN, C4, by Kizuna), sent to Europe last season for two G1 mile-race endeavors - the Sussex Stakes on July 27 and the Prix Jacques le Marois on August 14 - won the Godolphin Mile (G2, dirt, 1,600m) in his first attempt on dirt. Crown Pride (JPN, C3, by Reach the Crown), who claimed the UAE Derby (G2, dirt, 1,900m), flew to the United States for the Kentucky Derby (G1, dirt, 2,000m), where he fared prominently early but then faded to 13th.

The connections of the other three Dubai winners have all entered the Prix de l’ Arc de Triomphe (G1, 2,400m) on October 2. Dubai Sheema Classic (G1, 2,410m) champion Shahryar (JPN, C4, by Deep Impact) returned from the Middle East and then went on another overseas campaign. Running in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (G1, 1,990m) on June 15, he initially sat in second but gradually ran out of steam and ended in fourth in a field of five, slightly better than three other Japanese contenders who had run in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes previously, all finishing sixth.

The respective winners of the Dubai Gold Cup (G2, 3,200m) and the Dubai Turf (G1, 1,800m), Stay Foolish (JPN, H7, by Stay Gold) and Panthalassa (JPN, H5, by Lord Kanaloa), both ran in the Takarazuka Kinen (G1, 2,200m) on June 26 as their first starts back in Japan, finishing ninth and eighth, respectively. While Panthalassa’s schedule has not been announced yet, Stay Foolish will start in the Grand Prix de Deauville (G2, 2,500m) on August 28, prior to the Arc.

The “Grand Prix” Takarazuka Kinen field comprised a stellar lineup that included the top two Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1, 3,200m) finishers - Titleholder (JPN, C4, by Duramente), who won the Tenno Sho in an emphatic seven lengths, and Deep Bond (JPN, H5, by Kizuna) - both of whom are also enroute to the Arc this fall. In the Takarazuka Kinen, Titleholder produced a fast pace in second before taking command in the straight and then romping to a two-length victory in a record-breaking 2:09.7, boosting the decision to send him to France in the fall. Taking the reins will be Kazuo Yokoyama, the Duramente colt’s partner since the yearend Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix). Once in France, the team will focus solely on the Arc. Deep Bond, who finished fourth in the Takarazuka Kinen after running close to Titleholder, will make a back-to-back Arc bid but also will likely skip any prior races in France.

Another Arc candidate is 2021 Best Two-Year-Old Colt Do Deuce (JPN, C3, by Heart’s Cry), who scored a third-place effort in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) and then upped his game to notch the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) by a neck after producing a tremendous charge from far behind. Due to concerns about Do Deuce’s laid-back nature, his connections had initially stated that he would avoid all prep races in France, like the others. Thereafter, however, they reversed course to announce that the colt may start in the Prix Niel (G2, 2,400m) on September 11, prior to the Arc, and then possibly go to the United States for the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1, 2,400m) on November 5.

Also targeted at the Arc is last year’s Takarazuka Kinen runner-up Unicorn Lion (IRE, H6, by No Nay Never), who suffered a seedy-toe infection in his hoof and strived to make a comeback in the Procyon Stakes (G3, dirt, 1,700m) on July 10 but finished last. The outcome of his next start, the Sapporo Kinen (G2, 2,000m) on August 21, will largely determine if the Arc remains on his autumn agenda.

Grenadier Guards (JPN, C4, by Frankel), the 2020 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1, 1,600m) winner, put an end to a previously winless 2021 with his much-awaited second grade-race title, the Hanshin Cup (G2, 1,400m), at the end of the season. After disappointing to 12th in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1,200m), his kickoff start this year, the colt traveled with Shahryar to Great Britain for a second sprint-race endeavor, the Platinum Jubilee Stakes (G1) on June 18, but fizzled to 19th.

Accompanying the aforementioned Bathrat Leon to Great Britain was stablemate King Hermes (JPN, C3, by Lord Kanaloa), who won last year’s Keio Hai Nisai Stakes (G2, 1,400m) and was sixth in the NHK Mile Cup (G1, 1,600m). Making his first bid on foreign turf in Newmarket’s July Cup (G1, 1,200m) on July 9, the Lord Kanaloa colt was prominent early on but was overrun in the last 400 meters and finished 11th. His next start will be the Prix Maurice de Gheest (G1, 1,300m) on August 7.

Other spring G1 winners scheduled to return this summer or fall include:
• Cafe Pharoah (USA, H5, by American Pharoah), the back-to-back victor in the February Stakes (G1, dirt, 1,600m), who made his second turf challenge in the Yasuda Kinen (G1, 1,600m) but disappointed to 17th.
• Naran Huleg (JPN, H6, by Gold Allure), who notched his first graded title this year in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, tested his strength in the mile-distanced Yasuda Kinen but failed to handle the extra 400 meters and finished ninth. He will prepare for his main autumn target, the Sprinters Stakes (G1, 1,200m, Oct.2), possibly by starting in the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1,200m) three weeks prior on September 11.
• Potager (JPN, H5, by Deep Impact), who claimed his first grade-race victory in the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m), was unable to contend in his next start, the Takarazuka Kinen, ending in 11th. He will repeat his 2021 autumn racing schedule and start in the Mainichi Okan (G2, 1,800m) on October 9 and then proceed to the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m) on October 30.
• Stars on Earth (JPN, F3, by Duramente) won the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) and then took the second gem of the fillies’ Triple Crown, the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m), emulating Triple Crown fillies such as Almond Eye and Daring Tact. Unfortunately, the Duramente filly was found to have sustained chip fractures in both forelegs, but it appears she is recovering possibly fast enough for the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m) on October 16, so her attempt to sweep the fillies’ Triple Crown still looks promising.
• Oju Chosan (JPN, H11, by Stay Gold), who scored an unprecedented sixth Nakayama Grand Jump (J-G1, 4,250m) triumph in April, is primed to defend his other G1 steeple chase title, the Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1, 4,100m) on December 24 and will probably prep by running in the Tokyo High-Jump (J-G2, 3,110m) on October 16.
• Geoglyph (JPN, C3, by Drefong), this season’s Satsuki Sho champion, failed to handle the extra distance in the following Tokyo Yushun and finished seventh. Diagnosed with a fracture in his right foreleg, he seems to be targeted at the Tenno Sho (Autumn) on October 30 instead of the last leg of the Triple Crown, the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1, 3,000m) on October 23.
• Danon Scorpion (JPN, C3, by Lord Kanaloa), this year’s NHK Mile Cup winner, will commence his autumn campaign in the Mainichi Okan or the Fuji Stakes (G2, 1,600m) on October 22 and then point towards the Mile Championship (G1, 1,600m) on November 20 in hopes of landing his second G1 and third grade-race title.
• Sodashi (JPN, F4, by Kurofune), winner of three G1 events - most recently the Victoria Mile (1,600m) in May - will pursue repeat victory in the Sapporo Kinen (G2, 2,000m) on August 21 and then aim for another mile G1 title in the Mile Championship.
• Songline (JPN, F4, by Kizuna), who improved on a fifth in the Victoria Mile to land her first G1 victory by beating several G1 winners of both genders in the Yasuda Kinen (G1, 1,600m), will make her fall debut in the Centaur Stakes on September 11 and then set out for the United States to run in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1, 1,600m) on November 6.

2021 Horse of the Year Efforia (JPN, C4, by Epiphaneia) was expected to bounce back in the Takarazuka Kinen after a mundane ninth in the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m), but despite being favored first and showing good effort in the stretch, he finished sixth. It has been announced that the colt will kick off his fall campaign in the Tenno Sho (Autumn).

The conclusion of spring G1 events with the Takarazuka Kinen marked an extraordinary record - race favorites have lost 13 consecutive G1 flat races since the Hopeful Stakes late last year - a stunning trend that may affect wagering this autumn.

On Saturday, July 9, following two bids at Ascot last month that yielded a fourth and 19th-place, Japanese horsemen returned to England to take on the July Cup over the Newmarket straight course.

King Hermes, a 3-year-old Lord Kanaloa colt, failed, unfortunately, to rule the day and bring Japan its second win of the race. Despite a solid, honest effort, the Ritto-based King Hermes beat only two horses across the finish line amid 13 runners.

A Grade 1 turf event over 6 furlongs, the July Cup went to local filly Alcohol Free, a gutsy No Nay Never 4-year-old fielded by Andrew Balding and ridden by Rob Hornby. The Dubawi-sired Naval Crown, Charlie Appleby’s Platinum Jubilee Stakes winner at Ascot less than a month ago, was second a length and a half later under James Doyle, with Artorious, piloted by Jamie Spencer, in third a half length behind Naval Crown. The race was run over good to firm turf, with a winning time of 1 minute 9.47 seconds.

Despite a less-than-perfect start, King Hermes did a good job tracking the leaders in the early stages, but lost steam and a chance at a placing from about 2 furlongs out.

“He was a bit slow out of the gate, but he recovered right away so that wasn’t the problem,” said Tokyo native Ryusei Sakai, who has ridden all of the colt’s five previous starts. “The early pace was slower than races in Japan and he was able to get into position on his own.

“Things got very difficult for him about 400 meters out, but he continued to try hard,” the 25-year-old Sakai said in praise of the colt’s effort. “He was fresh but the style of the race is different from Japan. I’ll study this race and hope I can use what I learn next time.” And with a nod to racing fans back in Japan, where the race got under way after midnight Sunday, Sakai added, “Despite the late hour, I’d like to thank all those who stayed up to cheer us on.”

Trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who also hails from Tokyo, first raced a horse overseas in 2008 and this year has already notched four major wins abroad, one in Riyadh and three in Dubai.

He’s known for winning big in Australia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Hong Kong and the U.S., but has yet to field a winner in Europe. From his three bids in England so far, his best has been an eighth-place finish. King Hermes was Yahagi’s third horse to England and his first runner in the July Cup.

Like the rider, Yahagi was at a loss to explain why King Hermes, a Grade 2 winner and sixth in this year’s Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup, powered out early in the race. “At this point, I don’t know what the reason for his loss was,” said the 61-year-old Yahagi.

“He lost momentum early on even though the pace wasn’t that fast. He didn’t lose for a lack of speed either, so I guess he needed to have more power. I’ll be analyzing how the race unfolded and planning how to make a comeback next time out.”

Yahagi’s Bathrat Leon, who won in Dubai earlier this year, accompanied King Hermes to England on a journey lasting some 45 hours. The two arrived in Newmarket on June 24 (local time). Bathrat Leon will take on the Sussex Stakes (G1, 1,600 meters) at Goodwood Racecourse on July 27.

Japan’s first flat race participation in an English race was in 1969, when Speed Symboli finished fifth in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. Sirius Symboli’s attempt in the same in 1985 was followed by a 15-year dearth of Japan raiders. From the turn of the century, however, Japan-based horses have brought home two victories from 28 bids on British soil.