Sunday’s Takarazuka Kinen (Jpn-G1), a “Win & You’re In” qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf
(G1) and the final Grade 1 of the
Japanese spring season, has drawn a competitive lineup worthy of its $2.4-million purse.
Gold
Ship (Stay Gold) goes for his third straight win in the race, and if he
achieves the hat trick, he will become not only the first horse to win the Takarazuka three times,
but the first to win any JRA Grade 1 in three consecutive years.
The fiery six-year-old’s
age does not appear to be wearing on him, either. He won the Hanshin Daishoten
(Jpn-G2)
first-up this year over the re-opposing Denim and Ruby (Deep Impact), and took
last month’s Tenno Sho Spring (Jpn-G1) in resounding last-to-first fashion.
Trainer Naosuke Sugai
expressed confidence about returning to Hanshin, where Gold Ship is six-for-seven.
“(Gold Ship) had a setback after the Hanshin Daishoten and we struggled to get him fit, but he did us proud,” Sugai revealed. “We’re out to win a third consecutive Takarazuka Kinen title, and he seems to get fired up when he runs at Hanshin.”
Curren Mirotic (Heart’s Cry), runner-up in this race last year and third in the Tenno Sho, will
ensure Gold Ship has no easy task. The seven-year-old gelding, in his own quest
for a first Grade 1, enjoyed a spell after the Tenno Sho, a race trainer Osamu Hirata admitted took a lot out of him.
“He’s a little edgy,” the
conditioner said. “He ran his heart out in the Tenno Sho, and it took a lot out of him. But
he’s starting to simmer down now.”
Only two females have won the Takarazuka, but with a
strong squad of five fillies and mares set to line up this year it would not be a surprise
if a name was added to that list.
The progressive Lachesis (Deep Impact) proved
herself among the best in the country when winning last year’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup
(Jpn-G1) against her own sex, and she was a respectable sixth in the Arima Kinen
(Jpn-G1) in December before besting Toyko Yushun (Japanese Derby) (Jpn-G1) winner Kizuna (Deep
Impact) and globetrotting Grade 1 winner Spielberg (Deep Impact) in the
Sankei Osaka Hai (Jpn-G2) on April 5.
Last year’s Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (Jpn-G1) winner Nuovo
Record (Heart’s Cry) finished off the board for just the second time in
her 11-race career when sixth in the Victoria Mile (Jpn-G1) on May 17, an effort trainer Makoto Saito
put down to the inadequate distance.
“She didn’t have enough horse left in her for the
finish,” he said. “It was clearly a lack of distance; it wasn’t ideal, but she still posted her
best time down the stretch so we’re not too pessimistic. This race has been our goal for
the spring from the start. We’re not worried if it rains or not, and we’re looking to bounce
back in a big way.”
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