Japan Horse Racing Tips-Umanity.jp|KEENELAND CUP(G3) is held this weekend

he Japan Racing Association (JRA) announced that a short-term riding jockey’s license has been issued to the following jockey:

Joao MOREIRA

License term: July 28 thru August 24, 2018
Past Licenses (since 2016):

- August 13 thru August 28, 2016

- August 17 thru August 22, 2017

Overall record (JRA races): 38 wins/130 rides (0 graded race wins)

Sponsor trainer: Noriyuki Hori (JRA Miho Training Center)
Contract owner: Kazuko Yoshida

Seventh pick Mikki Rocket claimed this year’s all-star Takarazuka Kinen (Grand Prix) to capture his first G1 title. The son of King Kamehameha marked a runner-up effort in his only start as a two-year-old and won three out of 10 starts which included his first G1 challenge, the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, 5th) during his three-year-old season. While claiming his first graded victory in his first start as a four-year-old in the Nikkei Shinshun Hai (G2, 2,400m), he had been winless since, and came off a fourth in the Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1, 3,200m) in April. This win marked trainer Hidetaka Otonashi’s ninth JRA-G1 win following the 2016 Mile Championship title with Mikki Isle. For jockey Ryuji Wada, it was his eighth JRA-G1 title, his first in 17 years since the 2001 Tenno Sho (Spring) with T.M. Opera O.

Quick out of the gate, Mikki Rocket settled in mid-division, around seventh from the front. The son of King Kamehameha gradually made headway along the rails in the backstretch, turned the last two corners 2nd to 3rd from the front and pulled ahead entering the lane as Satono Diamond also surged out from the outside. Outrunning the race favorite 200 meters out after a brief duel in the early stretch, Mikki Rocket accelerated strongly while managing to fend off the powerful challenge by Werther for a neck victory in front of the cheering crowd of over 60,000 fans.

“Mikki Rocket was in great shape after a good fourth in the Tenno Sho (Spring) and in training towards this race so I was secretly thinking that maybe it was time that he deserved to be a G1 winner—I am relieved and happy. He has overcome his bad habit of missing his break which gives him a better chance in the race, and his position in the race was up to my rider to decide as he knows the horse well—he does have a tendency to lean to the inside so maybe that was the reason Wada let him hug the rails and nicely covered early in the race. I just prayed that he’d make it to the finish as Werther came strongly from behind. Now that he’s a legitimate member of the G1 ranks, his fall program, I think, will probably start with the Kyoto Daishoten with an aim on the Japan Cup,” commented Hidetaka Otonashi.

“I was determined to choose a nice firm route as the turf dried off after the rainy weather and we were lucky to take hold of a nice position from a smooth break today. The race was running at a solid pace but we were planning to go for a long spurt from early stretch so I kept him reserved, not too close but at a striking distance, during the trip. I wasn’t aware of Werther coming from behind me but I was awed by my horse’s ability to maintain his speed all the way to the wire,” said Ryuji Wada.

Werther broke smoothly from gate 13 and was rated well off the pace, sixth from the rear, one off the rails. Advancing gradually rounding the third corner while tracking behind Vivlos and Satono Crown along the outside, the son of Tavistock turned in a terrific turn of speed to rapidly close the gap and caused a serious threat to the eventual winner who drew away from early stretch, just missing by a neck for second.

“With a better draw, I reckon we could have won. He lost a lot of weight but he was all heart. He knows where the winning post is and considering he was racing with the weight loss, he still showed a lot of internal fortitude to hit that line—Hugh said that at the corner when he hit that straight, he thought he was going to win but the winner just kept grinding to the line. But from a Hong Kong point of view, I think we’ve shown how good our best stayer is,” commented John Moore.

“Although we couldn’t win, I couldn’t be happier with the horse’s performance. At the top of the straight, I thought we had him covered, had a beautiful running transit. He enjoyed the genuine speed here in Japan and, to be honest, if he didn’t have the set-back earlier in the year and had the time to prepare for this from the start, he would have won. I think that just having the one race over a mile into a Japanese 2,200-meter race, where it’s really a testing race—although it suits this horse’s style of racing—was why his condition gave out. But full credit to John (Moore) and the stable for getting him to come here and do so well at this level,” said Hugh Bowman.

Twelfth favorite Noble Mars hugged the rails behind Mikki Rocket, around ninth from the front. The son of Jungle Pocket chased the eventual winner up to the wire, overtaking the race favorite along the way but succumbing to Werther in the last 100 meters to finish three lengths behind in third.

Race favorite Satono Diamond broke well and eased back to third from the rear but edged forward traveling three wide along the backstretch. The Deep Impact-sired bay dueled briefly with the eventual winner but weakened in the last 200 meters and dropped back to sixth.

After two weeks without a Grade 1 to headline Japan Racing Association racing, the Takarazuka Kinen steps in to give the fans one last thriller until top-level racing starts up again in late September. Sunday, June 24 sees the action move to Hanshin Racecourse west of Osaka, where 16 horses nominated not only by their connections but by the fans as well will compete in the first of the year’s two “All-Star” races. This year marks the 59th running of the Takarazuka Kinen, a 2,200-meter turf event carrying a total purse of 325 million yen and a first-place prize of 150 million yen.

The full gate of 18 will be two shy on Sunday and without one sole standout in the champion lineup that includes five Grade 1 winners, bets are expected to be spread over the field. Ballot heavyweight Satono Diamond, who won both the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) and Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) last year, as well as close to 64,000 votes from the fans, will likely be the race favorite, with Kiseki, another Kikuka Sho winner and only one of two 4-year-olds in the field, looking for his second Grade 1 victory. Last year’s winner Satono Crown is back to try to become only the second horse in the race’s history (after Gold Ship in 2014) to win back-to-back versions and two mares – Vivlos and Smart Layer – will attempt to become only the fourth female yet to win the Takarazuka. Three horses – Satono Crown, Vivlos and Danburite – are heading directly from overseas excursions into the Takarazuka, while the Hong Kong-based gelding Werther will be racing in Japan for the first time. He is only the second foreign raider to take on the Takarazuka Kinen, the first in 21 years.

The competition is interesting in the saddles as well, with Christophe Lemaire on Satono Diamond chasing down his fourth Grade 1 victory in Japan this year alone and looking to tie the only two other jockeys currently riding who have ever won four Grade 1s before the summer. They are Yutaka Take, who also holds the record for most wins of the Takarazuka at four, and Yuichi Fukunaga, who captured his first Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) this year, aboard Wagnerian. The two riders are set to ride Danburite and Vivlos, respectively.

The Takarazuka Kinen is run over the Hanshin inner course and horses must execute four turns. The race starts to the far right of the stands and continues 530 meters to the first turn. From 200 meters before the finish line the track rises 2 meters over half a furlong and from early in the backstretch, the course starts a gentle downward slope that continues until hitting the stretch hill 200 meters out.

Earnestly, who clocked 2 minutes, 10.1 seconds in 2011, still holds the race record.

The Takarazuka Kinen is the 11th race on the Hanshin card of 12 on June 24. Post time is 15:40 local time.

Here’s a look at some of the expected top choices.

Satono Diamond – This Deep Impact 5-year-old beat Kitasan Black, winner of seven Grade 1s, in the 2016 Arima Kinen after running third in the Grade 1 Satsuki Sho and second in the Japanese Derby. He continued to shine brightly until traveling to France in the fall of 2017. Though Satono Diamond has not posted a win since March of 2017, he looks primed for one, going in to his third start since returning to Japan following two overseas challenges and, had he been able to get a clear run last out in the Osaka Hai, would likely have fared better than seventh place. He can handle both the course and the distance and Christophe Lemaire in the saddle is a formidable factor.

Vivlos – Winner of the 2016 Grade 1 Shuka Sho, the Yasuo Tomomichi-trained Vivlos captured the Dubai Turf at Meydan last year and returned for a second run on March 31 this year. She finished second, but it was a step down in finishing order only, as her time was a full 3.7 seconds faster than last year. The Takarazuka distance, as indicated by her fifth-place in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup last year, should not pose a problem, and though her only other Hanshin run ended in a 12th-place finish, she has won racing to the right. Vivlos will be paired with Yuichi Fukunaga and the Tomomichi-Fukunaga combination has brought 50 wins in 277 starts, including Fukunaga’s Derby victory. Fukunaga has yet to win the Takarazuka, but another first could well be in the stars.

Kiseki – This son of Rulership won the Kikuka Sho and next traveled to Hong Kong, where he ran ninth. Back for his first start this year in March, he went to the lead amid a slow pace to finish ninth again in the Grade 2 Nikkei Sho over 2,500 meters at Nakayama. Still somewhat difficult to settle, Kiseki should fare better with the shorter distance. Kiseki won the Kikuka Sho over a sloppy track and rain would be a plus on Sunday. Mirco Demuro is slated for the ride.

Perform a Promise – This Stay Gold 6-year-old looks to be coming into his own at last after rising quickly through the ranks from early last year to reach the Grade 2 level and win the Nikkei Shinshun Hai this past January. He followed that with a third in the Meguro Kinen on May 27 that spotlighted his tenacity and excellent acceleration. The 2,200 meters of the Takarazuka should give him enough ground and though it’s been a while since he raced at Hanshin, he did win his debut there. If he can handle the 58 kg he’ll be carrying, only 1 kg more than he’s raced under (and won), all should be well. His last two starts were under Mirco Demuro but Keita Tosaki in the saddle is equally advantageous.

Mikki Rocket – Looking to win his first Grade 1 is the 5-year-old King Kamehameha-sired Mikki Rocket. Sixth in last year’s Takarazuka Kinen, Mikki Rocket has not won since January 2017, when he aced the Grade 2 Nikkei Shinshun Hai at Kyoto. This year he has had three starts, including the Tenno Sho (Spring), where he turned in a solid performance that earned him fourth place. Rain would be a problem but the distance is one he’s used to. Trainer Hidetaka Otonashi says, “He wants to move in morning work, is looking really good and has gotten better out of the gate. His best distance is probably 2,400 meters, but I think he can handle this.”

Werther – The 7-year-old New Zealand-bred Werther, by Tavistock, had an outstanding season in 2015/1016 that brought him the Horse of the Year Award in Hong Kong. Last year, he notched two wins at the top level, over 2,000 meters and 2,400, then ran second at yearend in the Hong Kong Cup, finishing ahead of Neorealism, Staphanos and Smart Layer in that order. He has a 3-2-6 record from his three starts this year, which included two Grade 1 events and last raced at Sha Tin on June 3. In that race, though he finished sixth it should be noted that he was racing for the first time in four months, carrying 60 kg and racing over a mile, not his best distance. Hugh Bowman has the ride on Sunday.

Satono Crown – This Marju 6-year-old captured last year’s Takarazuka and ran a close second to Kitasan Black in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) six months later, but has posted two double-digit finishes in his three starts since and is returning now from a seventh-place run at Meydan in the Dubai Sheema Classic. It’s been 3 months since that run but a return to Hanshin is a plus. Better yet would be rain, which is predicted for the area for much of this week.
Other hopefuls worth a wager are Strong Titan and Smart Layer. The latter, now 8 years old, ran fifth in the Hong Kong Cup over 2,000 meters in December. She couldn’t keep up with the sudden rise in pace in the Osaka Hai, but did turn in a respective seventh in the marathon Tenno Sho (Spring) last out. She has had her best results at Hanshin. Strong Titan notched a win in the 2,000-meter Grade 3 Naruo Kinen at Hanshin on his second start back after five months’ off. Late speed is his forte and rain poses no problems. It will be his first time carrying 58 kg but at over 520 kg himself, he should be able to handle it.

The Takarazuka Kinen (G1, 2,200m), established in 1960, is an “All-Star” (Grand-Prix) G1 event where top runners of all distances selected through fan votes gather to determine the overall JRA turf champion of the first half of the season whereas the Arima Kinen (G1, 2,500m) is held in the same manner in December. The top 10 horses selected by fans from the list of JRA registered horses (excluding those that are winless or yet to start in a race) that have submitted their declaration to start are eligible to run regardless of earnings. The race opened its door to foreign runners in 1997 when Seto Stayer (AUS, by Bellotto) from Australia became the first challenger from abroad and finished ninth but none ran after that until this year; Hong Kong’s top middle-distance runner Werther (NZ, G7, by Tavistock) will be the first overseas challenger in 21 years and second overall to make his bid for the Takarazuka Kinen title.

Satono Crown (JPN, H6, by Marju) is the defending champion and the highest rated runner among the Japanese field. His first G1 title came in Hong Kong when winning the 2016 Hong Kong Vase (G1, 2,400m). After his victory in the Takarazuka Kinen last year, he continued to excel in the fall, just missing by a neck to two-time Horse of the Year Kitasan Black (JPN, by Black Tide) in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m). However, his hard-fought effort over testing ground in the Tenno Sho affected his following starts in the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) and the Arima Kinen in which he disappointed to 10th and 13th, respectively. He made his first long-distance travel to Dubai in March this year for the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1, 2,410m) but, disturbed by the horse next to him who was fractious in the gate, the son of Marju (IRE, by Last Tycoon) was unable to show his best in the race. He performs particularly well over 2,200 meters at which he has won not only the 2017 Takarazuka Kinen but also the 2016-17 Kyoto Kinen (G2, 2,200m) and expectations are high for the powerful six-year-old to bounce back to his winning ways in the coming race. He is pre-rated at 122I,L.

Satono Diamond (JPN, H5, by Deep Impact) was the leading vote-getter for this year’s Takarazuka Kinen. A winner of the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1, 3,000m) as a three-year-old who went on to claim the Arima Kinen against his seniors in the same year, the son of Deep Impact (JPN, by Sunday Silence) held high expectations in the following year in which he kicked off with another grade-race victory in the Hanshin Daishoten (G2, 3,000m) prior to his overseas endeavor to France in the fall. However, he was unable to perform over the grass in Europe and was fourth in the Prix Foy (G2, 2,400m) and 15th in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1, 2,400m). He was third in his comeback start this season in the Kinko Sho (G2, 2,000m) while demonstrating a good turn of speed at the stretch. He was also unlucky in the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m) where he was unable to find a clearing from racing inside early and finished seventh. He has a record of three wins (two G2 titles) out of four starts at Hanshin Racecourse where the coming race is to be held. He is pre-rated at 120E.

Vivlos (JPN, M5, by Deep Impact) is internationally recognized for her victory in the 2017 Dubai Turf (G1, 1,800m) – she was runner-up in the same race this year. As a three-year-old, the Deep Impact filly missed the cut in the first two legs of the fillies’ triple crown, the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, G1, 2,400m) but promptly won the third jewel, the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m). The coming race will be her comeback start since the Dubai Turf and while her recovery after the strenuous trip remains a concern, she appears to be handling her training at Ritto Training Center very well towards the Takarazuka Kinen. The extra furlong will be another factor for the five-year-old mare who is mostly raced between 1,800 and 2,000 meters. Her final rating as of the end of last year was 117M.

The standard of this year’s four-year-olds proves to be high with Suave Richard (JPN, C4, by Heart’s Cry) and Mozu Ascot (USA, C4, by Frankel) landing G1 titles earlier this season in the Osaka Hai and Yasuda Kinen (G1, 1,600m), respectively.

Kiseki (JPN, C4, by Rulership), who topped the three-year-olds last year in the Kikuka Sho, is slated to run in the Takarazuka Kinen. While he has not been at his best after his Kikuka Sho triumph, finishing ninth in both the Hong Kong Vase and the Nikkei Sho (G2, 2,500m), he is expected to improve from just 10 career starts since his debut in December of his two-year-old season. He is pre-rated at 118E.

Another emerging four-year-old is Danburite (JPN, C4, by Rulership), a grade-race winner in the American Jockey Club Cup (G2, 2,200m) in January this year. While beaten by Kiseki last season in both the Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2, 2,400m, fourth) and the Kikuka Sho (fifth), he proved consistent throughout his three-year-old classic starts, finishing third and sixth in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m), respectively. Although he ran out of steam at the stretch in his previous start in Hong Kong’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1, 2,000m), he is usually known to be extremely tenacious with lasting speed. His final rating last year was 116I and is pre-rated 114L.

Strong Titan (USA, H5, by Regal Ransom) is well worth a look as a possible factor in this race, having come off a record-breaking victory at Hanshin Racecourse less than a month ago. While less spectacular on paper compared to the aforementioned members, the son of Regal Ransom (USA, by Distorted Humor) demonstrated a fine turn of speed which won him his first grade-race victory in the Naruo Kinen (G3, 2,000m) while timed in 1:57.2 over 2,000 meters and appears to be in great condition. He has turned in runner-up efforts twice over testing ground last fall in the October Stakes (Listed, 2,000m) and the Andromeda Stakes (Listed, 2,000m), but is said to perform better on firm going so his chances may depend on the track condition on the day of the race. His is rated at 109I.

Staphanos (JPN, H7, by Deep Impact), while yet to claim a G1 title, has proved competitive in a number of major events. While his only grade-race title came a while ago in 2014 in the Fuji Stakes (G3, 1,600m), the son of Deep Impact has registered runner-up efforts in three G1 starts – Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the Tenno Sho (Autumn) in 2015 as well as the Osaka Hai last year. He comes off an unfortunate 11th-place finish following a disadvantage at the homestretch in the Niigata Daishoten (G3, 2,000m). His trainer, Hideaki Fujiwara, is currently JRA’s leading trainer (as of June 10), eight wins ahead of his nearest rival, with 36 wins and has another starter in the All-Star race. Perform a Promise (JPN, H6, by Stay Gold) is an improving six-year-old who won his first grade-race challenge in the Nikkei Shinshun Hai (G2, 2,400m) in January followed by a close third in the Meguro Kinen (G2, 2,500m). Staphanos is rated 118I and Perform a Promise 107L.