Second favorite Schnell Meister landed his first career G1 title, just 0.2 seconds short of the race record, in this year’s NHK Mile Cup, becoming the first foreign-bred colt to win the title since Kurofune (USA) in 2001 and seventh overall and while Lando was officially the first German-bred to claim a JRA-G1 title in the 1995 Japan Cup, the Kingman colt is the first German-bred trained in Japan to accomplish the feat. Schnell Meister won his first two career starts last year; his debut over 1,500 meters at Sapporo in September and the Hiiragi Sho (Nakayama, 1,600m) in December. He finished second to subsequent Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) runner-up, Titleholder in the Yayoi Sho (Deep Impact Kinen, G2, 2,000m) earning his berth in the first leg of the Triple Crown, but passed up the Satsuki Sho to focus on the NHK Mile Cup. For trainer Takahisa Tezuka, it was his seventh JRA-G1 title—the last being the Tenno Sho (Spring) last year with Fierement. It was the second NHK Mile Cup title for jockey Christophe Lemaire after his victory in 2016 with Major Emblem. The victory marked his 37th career JRA-G1 title and his second this year after the February Stakes with Cafe Pharoah.
Schnell Meister was unhurried after a smooth break and settled in mid-division behind a rapid pace set by Pixie Knight who spurted out from the outer-most gate. Keeping eye on the race favorite, Christophe Lemaire followed Songline into the stretch and while needing much encouragement, the Kingman colt found another gear in the critical stages to pin Songline who weakened slightly nearing the finish for a nose victory.
“He jumped out of the gate well but I didn’t want to pressure him too much in the early stages but while sitting in mid-field, we still had to put in some effort to keep with the rapid pace. He took some time to get into gear but eventually got into a good rhythm and responded strongly in the critical stages. We were able to follow Songline into the homestretch for the attack and had just that little more when Songline started to lean near the finish. There is still a lot of greenness in Schnell Meister and has a lot of room for improvement but once he’s established himself physically, he should be able to handle the best at G1 level,” commented Christophe Lemaire.
Songline raced just behind Grenadier Guards in eighth position, stalked that foe into the straight, took command at the furlong pole and was immediately challenged by the fast-closing Schnell Meister who just managed to reach the Kizuna filly at the wire and win by a nose.
Race favorite Grenadier Guards, broke sharply and chased the leaders off the rails in sixth position. Keen to go behind a rapid pace, the Frankel colt made early headway along the outside, nearly reaching the leader while having to circle wide into the homestretch, but struggled to find another gear when pressured from behind by Songline who overtook him at the furlong pole, then Schnell Meister with 100 meters to go. The 2020 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes champion did well however to stay well for third place to complete a 1-2-3 finish for Sunday Racing.
Other Horses:
4th: (5) Rickenbacker—ran in 15th, quickened between horses, timed fastest over last 600m but belatedly
5th: (16) Lord Max—traveled in 12th, circled wide, sustained bid but lacked needed speed
6th: (7) Time to Heaven—sat around 6th, showed response passing 200m pole, weakened in final strides
7th: (2) Another Lyric—settled inside winner, switched to outside at early stretch, passed tired rivals
8th: (12) Land of Liberty—saved ground in 5th, showed tenacious effort, weakened in last 100m
9th: (13) Ho O Amazon—chased leader in 2nd, sustained to reach contention until 200m pole
10th: (3) Rooks Nest—sat around 6th, showed effort until 200m pole, weakened thereafter
11th: (11) Veil Nebula—raced in 14th, angled out for stretch run, never threatened
12th: (18) Pixie Knight—set pace from widest draw, showed tenacity but outrun in last 200m
13th: (14) Shock Action—ran 3-wide in 11th behind winner, failed to respond and even paced
14th: (6) City Rainbow—traveled 2nd from rear, never fired and unable to reach contention
15th: (1) Raymond Barows—was off slow, trailed in far rear, no factor
16th: (9) Gold Chalice—took economic trip in 13th, showed little at stretch
17th: (17) Gray in Green—tracked leaders around 3rd from wide draw, outrun in last 400m
Fail to Finish: (4) Bathrat Leon—stumbled soon after break and unseated rider
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