Lord Kanaloa captures Yasuda Kinen

Tokyo Racecourse saw 60,123 in attendance on Sunday as Lord Horse Club's

Japanese champion sprinter/miler Lord Kanaloa lived up to his favoritism by

claiming Sunday's Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen in his first attempt at the mile distance in

almost 2 1/2 years.

The race got underway on the backstretch with Silport

spurting for the lead, followed by Verxina, Curren Black Hill and A Shin Top in

pursuit, while Lord Kanaloa sat off the pace three-wide aside Grand Prix Boss

and Sakura Gospel. Danon Shark also took a wide trip right behind the winner

next to Meine Isabel, as Shonan Mighty was reserved on the rail fourth from the

rear.

Racing uncontested on his five-length lead, Silport rounded

the final bend first but ran out of steam and faded from contention 300 meters

out, leaving Garbo to enjoy a brief lead. Lord Kanaloa was coming strong,

though, storming down the middle of

the stretch to pick Garbo off with a half-furlong, and had enough left to hold the

persistent Danon Shark by a neck on the wire.

Lord Kanaloa opened his five-year-old season with a win in the Grade 3 Hankyu

Hai in late February and was exiting a win in the Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen

going six furlongs on March 24. The bay son of King Kamehameha recorded his fourth Grade 1

triumph and seventh graded-race score while stretching

his current winning streak to five in this spot. It also made him the sixth horse since Durandal, who won the Sprinters Stakes (2003) and Mile Championship

(2003-2004), to claim both mile and sprint Grade 1 titles.

"We had a good break and I was quite confident in reserving

him during the trip as Lord Kanaloa is an honest horse and versatile in where he

positions himself in the race," explained jockey Yasunari

Iwata, who was earning his second Yasuda Kinen victory since 2008 with Vodka. "I was conscious of Dark Shadow on my outside as

well as Grand Prix Boss who was inside of me. Then, at the straight, I found

myself dueling with Shonan Mighty coming up from the outside.

"My horse drifted

out at one point and I would have liked to give a clean ride but I couldn't risk

his losing momentum as he tends to get a little lost when he leads on his own. Despite of it all, he had plenty in the tank and stretched even more in the last

strides.

"He's a world champion in sprint races and the fall season will give him the

chance to prove that he is also a champion over a mile," Iwata added after

reaching a milestone of 20 career JRA Grade 1 wins.

Lord Kanaloa gave trainer

Takayuki Yasuda his first Yasuda Kinen title in his first attempt in

this race. The conditioner was scoring his third Grade 1 win of this season, following the February

Stakes and the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, and 10th overall JRA Grade 1 victory.

"Having already proven himself as a world class sprinter

since last year, he proved to me today his capability of performing to win over

the extended distance over a mile," Yasuda said. "I decided to run him in this race because I

wanted him to compete in at least one start at the (Grade 1) level between his last Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the Sprinter Stakes in the fall.

"I didn't make any

major changes in his conditioning in general, but focused on working on his

stamina, using the uphill course at Ritto as the race got closer. He's

very easy to train and does not waste his energy, making it easy for us to

condition him.

"After starting smoothly and fitting into a good rhythm to the

stretch I was quite certain, especially in the last 50 meters after dueling with Shonan Mighty over the last 400 meters, that he would hang in there to win the

game.

"The victory gives us a wide option in planning his future races beginning

with the (Grade 1) Sprinters Stakes (going six furlongs) and the (Grade 1) Mile Championship.

As for his possible starts in Hong Kong, the (Group 1) Hong Kong Mile is beginning to

sound quite attractive to me as well as the (Group 1) Hong Kong Sprint. I'll have to

discuss this with the owners. I don't plan to stretch his distances any further

than the mile."

Lord Kanaloa, who closed out his 2012 campaign with victory in the Hong Kong

Sprint at Sha Tin and Sprinters at Nakayama, now has 11 wins from 16 starts and

¥634,556,900 in career earnings. The bay

completed Sunday's about eight-furlong Yasuda Kinen on the firm turf in 1:31.5.

Shonan Mighty, who entered the lane near the rear, blew past the

field while forced out by the drifting leaders to clear the wire a neck short of

the winner and three parts of a length in front of Danon Shark in the final strides for

second. Turning for home in the back of midpack, Meine Isabel made the most of

the sudden opening in front of her in the center of the straight to slimly hold

off Sakura Gospel, who took a ground-saving trip throughout and finished fifth.

The field was completed by Dark Shadow, Garbo, Verxina, Daiwa Maggiore, Grand

Prix Boss, Glorious Days, Nakayama Knight, Sadamu Patek, Curren Black Hill,

Smile Jack, Helene Spirit, A Shin Top and Silport.

Missing his break, Hong Kong contender Glorious Days camped

on the rails in lower midfield, and unable to find a path for clear sailing,

lost momentum with a furlong to go to finish 11th.

"He was off slow and we were unable to sit in a good

position," said Douglas Whyte, who was aboard Glorious Days. "The pace was fast but missing the break was crucial. He's never broken

so poorly before in Hong Kong."

"He missed his break and

had to race in a lower position than I hoped," trainer John Size concurred. "He was stuck behind a wall of

horses in the stretch which was also unfortunate. It's really disappointing

giving that he traveled to Japan so well and was in better condition than last

year."

Fellow Hong Kong invader Helene Spirit sprinted clear sitting in fifth to sixth in

between Garbo and Dark Shadow down the backstretch but was used up with nothing

left in the final furlong.

"He was on the

bit the whole way and just didn't pull out. I hoped we could have raced better,"

noted Gerald Mosse, who had piloting duties aboard Helene Spirit.

"He was in a good spot but was a bit keen in

the run," trainer Caspar Fownes added. "It's been a long season in Hong Kong and

although he was relaxed during the week here, it was a tough race and what a

great effort by Lord Kanaloa."

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