Japanese superstar DEEP IMPACT (Sunday Silence) concluded his racing career
in style with a smashing three-length score in Sunday’s Arima Kinen (Jpn-G1),
closing strongly from far off the pace to devour his rivals in the stretch.
Regular rider Yutaka Take eased the reigning Japanese Horse of the Year under
the finish line of the 2,500-meter test (about 1 9/16 miles), avenging the
four-year-old colt’s lone setback over Japanese soil in his nation’s biggest
race.
Trained by Yasuo Ikee, Deep Impact entered the 2005 Arima Kinen as an
unbeaten winner of the Japanese Triple Crown and it came as a great shock when
he just failed to catch Heart’s Cry by a half-length. This year, the
well-regarded Daiwa Major (Sunday Silence) moved to the lead about 800 meters
out and battled gamely to the wire, but the multiple Group 1 winner was no match
for the overwhelming favorite as Deep Impact exploded past with a dynamic rally
and easily drew clear. The bay could have won by a much larger margin while
posting a final time of 2:31.9 on the firm turf at Nakayama.
Melbourne Cup (Aus-G1) runner-up Pop Rock (Helissio) offered a good late run
to get up for second, three-quarters of a length better than Daiwa Major, who
edged an unlucky Dream Passport (Fuji Kiseki), the second choice in the
wagering, by a nose. Meisho Samson (Opera House [GB]), Delta Blues (Dance in the
Dark), Tosho Knight (Timber Country), Admire Fuji (Admire Vega), early
pacesetter Admire Main (Sunday Silence), Sweep Tosho (End Sweep), Cosmo Bulk
(Zagreb), Swift Current (Sunday Silence), Win Generale (Tamamo Cross) and Tosen
Shana O (Sunday Silence) completed the order under the wire.
Bred by Northern Farm and racing in the colors of Kaneko Makoto Holdings,
Deep Impact is out of Wind in Her Hair (Ire) (Alzao), Germany’s highweight older
mare at 11-14 furlongs in 1995. The most notable of her three stakes coups came
in the 1995 Aral-Pokal (Ger-G1), with honorable placed efforts in the 1994 Epsom
Oaks (Eng-G1) and 1995 Yorkshire Oaks (Eng-G1). Deep Impact is a full brother to
Japanese Grade 2 winner Black Tide and Grade 3-placed On Fire, and he is a
half-brother to American Grade 3 queen Veil of Avalon (Thunder Gulch) and Glint
in Her Eye (Arazi), who produced the 2006 Jersey S. (Eng-G3) winner, Jeremy (Danehill
Dancer).
With his third dam being 1974 English One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and Prix
de Diane (French Oaks) (Fr-G1) heroine Highclere (GB) (Queen’s Hussar), Deep
Impact hails from one of the most prized families in the Stud Book. Its stars
include dual English classic hero and noted sire Nashwan, English highweight
Nayef, Group 2 winner and successful sire Unfuwain, Hong Kong sensation Elegant
Fashion, and further back, American legend and influential sire Round Table and
his full sister, the important producer Monarchy.
Deep Impact heads off to an extremely promising stud career with a mark of 14-12-1-0 and more than
$13 million in earnings.