Buena Vista set for last hurrah in Arima Kinen
For the past two years, Buena Vista has been beaten narrowly in this
“She’s won a Grade 1 race the last four years and you can only be
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Her career Grade 1 tally stands at six, following her rousing victory over
Tosen Jordan in the November 27 Japan Cup at her beloved Tokyo. But for her
demotion for alleged interference in the 2010 Japan Cup, she would have already
equaled the Japan Racing Association record of seven Grade 1s, achieved by Deep
Impact, T.M. Opera O, Symboli Rudolf and Vodka.
Now Buena Vista must try to join their elite club over the Nakayama course
that doesn’t play as well to her strengths, as her two previous cracks at the
Arima Kinen imply. As a three-year-old filly in 2009, she went down by a
half-length to the older male Dream Journey. Last year, the deep closer was
foiled by the relatively short homestretch, where she flew late but missed by a
diminishing whisker to Victoire Pisa.
That was the beginning of an uncharacteristic losing streak for Buena Vista,
but the multiple champion regained her winning form last time. Her connections
believe that she’s poised for another top performance.
“I was reminded once again what a great racehorse she is,” jockey Yasunari
Iwata said of her Japan Cup triumph. “She’s easy to ride, does what you tell her
to. You can appreciate how quality she is.
“I think Buena, as intelligent as she is, knew she hadn’t won in a year,”
Iwata added, “so winning the Japan Cup must have rejuvenated her. You can see it
in her eyes now. I can ride her with confidence.
“She ran a strong race in the Japan Cup, but I think she’ll be even better
for the Arima Kinen. If Buena can run the way she knows how to run, we don’t
have a single thing to worry about. I hope she can finish her career on a high
note.”
“She’s such an amazing horse,” Matsuda said, “because she knows how to get
herself into shape. Just like always, she’ll do what she’s got to do here as
well.
“With female horses, a lot of them suddenly stop running when they get to a
certain age, but not Buena. She runs her heart out every start, and I’ve got all
the respect in the world for it.
“This is it for her,” her trainer concluded. “I know the fans will miss her,
but I can always see her whenever I go to the farm.”
Buena Vista has drawn post 1 in her swan song, and her enthusiasts hope that
is a foreshadowing of her finishing position as well.
Normally, a Triple Crown winner would already own a win at Nakayama, through
The superstar-in-embryo looks to extend his current winning streak to six in
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Similar to Buena Vista, Orfevre was a near-miss second in his only prior
appearance at Nakayama. That came more than a year ago, however, and Orfevre is
an entirely different animal now.
“I get the impression he’s in even better form than he was for the Kikuka Sho,”
jockey Kenichi Ikezoe said. “He’s starting to have a real presence, looking very
intimidating to the other horses. He was so strong in the Kikuka Sho.
“It’s not easy to win the Triple Crown, which is why there are only seven
horses who have done it. But we’re not the champion here; we’re the challenger.
I hope we can keep winning.
“We’ve got a horse who’s retiring after this race so if we beat her, we can
be proud of it forever.
“I’m not going to lie, I think about him following in his brother’s
footsteps. Dream Journey was so strong when he won it…I want to come through
with his little brother this year.”
Trainer Yasutoshi Ikee deliberately skipped the Japan Cup in favor of
awaiting the Arima Kinen. The classic form was well represented by Japanese
Derby and St Leger runner-up Win Variation, who finished fifth in the Japan Cup.
“It’s just less taxing on the body if we space out his races more,” Ikee said
of Orfevre. “And like we had hoped, he has started to fill out while he was away
from the track. He raced really well in his two starts this fall, and he
shouldn’t have a problem with Nakayama.
“He has a relatively late birthday compared to the other horses in his
generation, and I think he’s in his growth spurt right now. “Win (Variation)
took the race to them and came in fifth (in the Japan Cup). Judging by that, I
think he’s more than equipped to run well.”
Ikee has another leading contender in Tosen Jordan. In the form of his life
at the moment, the late-blooming five-year-old was a record-setting winner of
the Grade 1 Tenno Sho Autumn two starts ago, and was a gallant second to Buena Vista in
the Japan Cup.
“He’s had a string of tough races recently, so we thought he might need some
time to recharge his batteries,” Ikee said. “But he’s recovering just as fast as
he did after the Tenno Sho. We’ve been really impressed. He shouldn’t have a
problem at all with the course at Nakayama. And he can adjust to any pace.”
Tosen Jordan will renew his partnership with Craig Williams from post 10, one
spot to the outside of stablemate Orfevre in post 9.
Rounding out the Ikee triumvirate is multiple Grade 2 scorer To the Glory,
who hopes to rebound from an 11th in the Japan Cup.
Other Japan Cup alumni contesting the Arima Kinen, whose field is assembled
in part by popular vote of the fans, are third-placer Jaguar Mail; Eishin Flash,
eighth; Rose Kingdom, awarded the Japan Cup victory in 2010 but only ninth as
the defending champion; Victoire Pisa, 13th in his first start since his heroics
in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup; King Top Gun, 15th; and Pelusa, a shocking last
of 16.
Mirco Demuro, whose tactical acuity played a decisive role in winning last
“Demuro knows him like the back of his hand and hopefully, the race will
“He’s shown no signs of stress, and he pretty much went right back to work
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“Yet still, he drew the third most number of votes from the fans for (the
Arima Kinen) and we have to be thankful for that. We hope he can run a race good
enough to satisfy all the support.
“Buena Vista was so strong in the Japan Cup, and it made us appreciate just
how meaningful last year’s Arima Kinen was and still is. I hope we can do it
again.”
Sumii will also send out multiple Grade 2 victor Rulership, who has not raced
since his fifth-place effort behind Earnestly in the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen on
June 26. The highly-regarded four-year-old is a son of past Horse of the Year
Air Groove.
“I wanted (jockey Ioritz) Mendizabal to get a good feel for him,” Sumii said
of a recent piece of work. “He seemed very smooth out on the course, and the
jockey said he was very easy to handle. We were planning on to race him in the
Japan Cup, so he’s more than ready. We pushed him these last three weeks and he
looks like he’s in really good condition. He’s not short of work, that’s for
sure. His potential is incredible.”
Earnestly faded to 14th in a frenetically-fast Tenno Sho Autumn, but two
starts back, garnered the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers at Nakayama.
Also in search of redemption is Hiruno d’Amour, the hero of the Grade 1 Tenno
Sho Spring, who flopped in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last time out.
The Mitsugu Kon trainee is much better than that, however. In his Arc prep in
the Group 2 Prix Foy, he
was just outdueled by the high-class Sarafina, with eventual Breeders’ Cup Turf
winner St Nicholas Abbey well back in third.
The three-year-old gelding Red Davis has the distinction of beating Orfevre
in a Grade 3 back in January. Out of action for most of the summer and fall, he
returned triumphant in the Grade 3 Naruo Kinen on December 3, and faces a bigger
test Sunday.
“I didn’t think I’d have a ride this year,” jockey Yutaka Take said, “so I’m
really pleased (to pick up the mount).
“He’s beaten both the Triple Crown winner and the Oka Sho champion (Marcellina)
fair and square. The fans have got to consider him a dark horse.
“He’s shaken off the rust in his last race, which makes it all the more
exciting for me. He’s never run at this distance before, but it doesn’t mean he
can’t handle it; he just hasn’t experienced it yet. And from the feeling I’ve
gotten, he’s not a short-distance runner.”