Two-time champ Lord Kanaloa goes out in blaze of glory in HK Sprint

Last updated: 12/8/13 8:46 PM

Two-time champ Lord Kanaloa goes out in blaze of glory in
HK Sprint

Lord Kanaloa doubled his winning margin from a year ago, and now retires as Japan’s greatest sprinter
(Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Japanese superstar Lord Kanaloa was an impressive winner of last year’s Group
1 Hong Kong Sprint, but his repeat victory on Sunday was a pure annihilation.
Not even the unfavorable 12 post at Sha Tin could pose so much as a speed bump,
let alone an obstacle, to the defending champion, who stormed a full five
lengths clear in his last hurrah. But a pall was cast on this otherwise joyous
occasion: the English Group 1-winning filly Jwala, who was likewise bound for
retirement, suffered a fatal injury.

Lord Kanaloa, who emulated previous back-to-back winners Falvelon (2000-01)
and Silent Witness (2003-04), will now embark upon his stud career with a
sky-high reputation as Japan’s greatest sprinter. At the same time, Lord Horse
Club’s son of King Kamehameha stated his case for Japanese Horse of the Year
honors.

When the gate opened, 2011 Sprint hero Lucky Nine fluffed the start and found
himself at the back. Rich Tapestry sped to the lead, with Go Baby Go lapped onto
him through fractions of :23 4/5 and :46 1/5. The ill-fated Jwala forced them in
a wide third from post 14.

Lord Kanaloa was also parked wide in the next flight, but the Takayuki Yasuda
charge was telegraphing his intent the entire time. Inhaling the leaders in the
stretch, the five-year-old turned it into a rout by dazzling his final 200
meters (about a quarter-mile) in :21 3/5. Regular rider Yasunari Iwata could
only savor the triumphal procession as he completed the about six-furlong dash
on good-to-firm turf in 1:08 1/5.

“This was the best performance of his career, and I could feel him ready to
unleash his run on the home turn,” Iwata said. “Maybe he knew it was his final
race. Once the gates opened he was just brilliant today. It’s a great day for us
to show what a wonderful horse he is, and to win this for a second time in front
of his many race fans in Hong Kong.”

Lord Kanaloa’s stunning burst of speed left rival riders in awe
(Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Yasuda observed that Lord Kanaloa far exceeded his official international
rating of 120.

“He’s a champion and I don’t care about his rating of 120, that’s not so
important in Japan,” the trainer said. “Today I think he ran probably to 125.”

Irish shipper Sole Power flew from near the tail of the field for second,
edging Frederick Engels by a neck.

“That was a huge run,” jockey Johnny Murtagh said of Sole Power. “He’s used
to running on straight tracks at home, and he’s not the best turning horse in
the world and he didn’t come around the bend well here — but it was still a
great run. The winner is something special.”

Also marveling at Lord Kanaloa from afar were Zac Purton, who was aboard
Frederick Engels, and Ryan Moore on Rich Tapestry.

“We had a perfect run, and we did have every chance, but the winner was just
in a different league,” Purton said.

“The winner must be some machine,” Moore said.

Cerise Cherry, who was runner-up last year, took fourth this time in a photo
with Sterling City. Rich Tapestry tired to fifth, trailed by Lucky Nine, Time
After Time, Go Baby Go, Sole Power’s stablemate Slade Power, Charles the Great,
Eagle Regiment and Joy and Fun.

Jwala, who was crowded in between horses in deep stretch, fell and unseated
Steve Drowne. While the Nunthorpe heroine sadly lost her life, Drowne was
transported to the hospital. According to published reports, Drowne broke his
collarbone and punctured a lung.

Lord Kanaloa compiled a sterling record of 19-13-5-1. A six-length romper in
his premiere as a juvenile in late 2010, the bay recorded a pair of close
seconds at seven furlongs and a mile. Lord Kanaloa then reverted to six furlongs
and promptly won five straight, including the Aoi Stakes and a pair of Grade 3s,
the Keihan Hai and the Silk Road.

Making his Grade 1 debut in the 2012 Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Lord Kanaloa was
a solid third while stuck down on the inside. He was beaten just three-quarters
of a length by Curren Chan, Japan’s champion sprinter at the time, in his only
career finish out of the top two. Upset as the heavy favorite in the Hakodate
Sprint, he was spelled for the rest of the summer. Lord Kanaloa returned to
action with a strong second in the Centaur Stakes, where he was just nailed at
the line. He made no mistake next time in the Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama,
zipping six furlongs in a course-record 1:06.7 to defeat defending champion
Curren Chan. His 2 1/2-length conquest of the Hong Kong Sprint clinched an award
as Japan’s champion sprinter.

Yasunari Iwata raises the Japanese flag as his compatriots hail their likely Horse of the Year
(Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Lord Kanaloa enhanced his resume with a five-for-six mark in 2013. After
taking the February 24 Hankyu Hai, he garnered the March 24 Takamatsunomiya
Kinen by blitzing about six furlongs in a course-record 1:08.1 at Chukyo. Lord
Kanaloa stretched out for the June 2 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo and proved that even
that metric mile was within his compass with a rallying victory, capping another
five-race win skein. The September 8 Centaur turned out to be his nemesis again,
for he couldn’t quite catch the loose-on-the-lead Hakusan Moon.

But Lord Kanaloa swiftly took revenge when repeating in the September 29
Sprinters Stakes, and turned in his strongest performance in Hong Kong Sunday,
doubling his winning margin from last year.

“It’s wonderful to win for a second time here, especially as it is his last
race,” Yasuda said. “I look forward to training his offspring, and I hope one
day I have one good enough to bring back here.”

Lord Kanaloa was bred in Japan by K.I. Farm and produced by the winning Storm
Cat mare Lady Blossom. Herself a half-sister to stakes scorer Al Kazan, Lady
Blossom is also responsible for the multiple stakes-placed Lord Balius.

Lord Kanaloa’s second dam is 1992 champion three-year-old filly Saratoga Dew,
whose victories in the Beldame and Gazelle propelled her to an Eclipse Award.
His fourth dam is multiple Grade 2 vixen Alada, and his fifth dam is Syrian Sea,
a multiple stakes-winning full sister to 1973 Triple Crown legend Secretariat.

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