Hyakutaro Kobayashi’s homebred Nihonpiro Ours swept from just off the pace to
dominate Sunday’s Grade 1 Japan Cup Dirt in stakes-record time. By finishing
nine furlongs at Hanshin in 1:48 4/5, the five-year-old son of White Muzzle
handed jockey Manabu Sakai and trainer Yuki Ohashi their first career Grade 1
victory.
The winners of the past three renewals of Japan’s dirt championship were back
on Sunday — Espoir City, the hero of 2009, and Transcend, the two-time
defending champion who has lost a step this season. Nihonpiro Ours was only
ninth in last year’s Japan Cup Dirt, but he had since captured three stakes on
the Japanese local government circuit, and was on the upgrade.
Espoir City flashed his early speed to show the way, stalked by the
three-year-old Hokko Tarumae and Transcend. Nihonpiro Ours appeared a handful as
he tracked on the outside in the opening stages, but Sakai got him to ease back
slightly while still in striking range in fourth. Race favorite Roman Legend,
who had narrowly beaten Nihonpiro Ours last time out in the Grade 3 Miyako
Stakes, traveled along the rail in midfield, about eight lengths behind the
pacesetter.
Espoir City was winging it on the front end and opened up down the
backstretch, but came back to the field on the final bend. Turning into the
stretch, Hokko Tarumae and Nihonpiro Ours were bearing down on the weakening
Espoir City, and the two closers settled down to fight out the finish.
The duel was short-lived, though, for Nihonpiro Ours surged past his younger
rival inside the final furlong. He sped his last three-eighths in :36, the best
final split in the field, and lowered the race record set by Transcend in 2010
by 0.1.
“From the first time I mounted the horse,” Sakai said, “I knew that he had
the ability to perform well in big races. All the staff had put great effort in
preparing the horse for this big day, and I just had to bring out the best in
the horse today.
“I was able to settle the horse in good position toward the front while
keeping an eye on the two strong horses racing in front. My mount responded
willingly until the last furlong and showed a strong performance. I’m just
grateful to the connections in trusting me with the horse and to all the fans
that supported us.”
“The race development was just perfect,” Ohashi said. “The jockey waited to
make bid, which was later than usual, and this is when I was sure that our horse
was going to win the race. We took ample time to improve his form, and our
efforts have at last been rewarded.”
Wonder Acute rallied late to collar Hokko Tarumae by a half-length, thus
taking runner-up honors in the Japan Cup Dirt for the second straight year.
Roman Legend was along belatedly for fourth, another two lengths behind Hokko
Tarumae. Grape Brandy, Miracle Legend, Namura Titan, Hatano Vainqueur, Civil
War, Espoir City, Nice Meet You, To the Glory, Solitary King, Danon Come On,
Ijigen and Transcend.
Nihonpiro Ours now sports a mark of 22-10-6-3,
¥379,910,000, all compiled on dirt. After breaking his maiden and climbing
through the allowance ranks at three, the dark bay stepped up to stakes company
the following season. Runner-up in the 2011 Hakusan Daishoten in his stakes
debut, Nihonpiro Ours came right back to finish third to Espoir City in the
Miyako prior to this ninth in the Japan Cup Dirt.
Wheeling back later last December for the
Nagoya Grand Prix, Nihonpiro Ours broke through with his first stakes score. He
annexed two more over the course of his 2012 campaign, the March 22 Nagoya
Daishoten and the October 2 Hakusan Daishoten. Nihonpiro Ours has also placed
second in a pair of graded races, the Grade 2 Tokai on May 19 and the November 4
Miyako, where he missed by only a neck to Roman Legend in his prep.
The Japanese-bred is out of the Admire Vega mare Nihonpillow Lupinus and
hails from the family of champion and noted sire Fuji Kiseki. Further back, this
is the female line of the European all-time great Mill Reef.
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