Fourth pick Durezza conquered the 3,000-meter (about 1 7/8-mile) distance of the $3,298,000 Kikuka Sho (G1) (Japanese St. Leger) Sunday to score his first graded and fifth consecutive win while vanquishing the victors of the first two legs of the Japan's Triple Crown in a stunning 3 1/2-length triumph at Kyoto Racecourse.
Durezza, who started from the farthest post position in the field of 17 in the final leg of the classic series, rushed to the front to take the lead while Pax Ottomanica sat on his tail a length behind in second. After covering the first 1,000 meters in 1:00.4, the son of Duramente was steadied to third from the front in the backstretch, briefly giving up the lead to Pax Ottomanica and Libyan Glass.
As the field started making their bids after the third corner in the second lap, Durezza was second to enter the lane, kicked into gear catching Libyan Glass before the 200-meter pole to take command once again, and stretched with the fastest closing speed to clear the wire by a comfortable margin.
Durezza covered the distance in 3:03.1 on good to firm turf.
“He made a flying start and was keen to go, so I decided to let him take the lead. He responded well between the third and last corner, which made me confident that he was going to close strongly,” winning ridder Christophe Lemaire said of Durezza. “When he accelerated in the stretch, I knew we were going to win. To see him beat such a strong field today over the 3,000-meter distance means we can look forward to him doing well among Grade 1 company over 2,000 and 2,400 meters also.”
Lemaire enjoyed a third victory in the Kikuka Sho following wins in 2016 and 2018 with Satono Diamond and Fierement, respectively.
Sent off the second choice, Tastiera, Tokyo Yushun (G1) (Japanese Derby) winner, was settled around ninth and traveled wide in the backstretch before turning home alongside the favorite Sol Oriens. Tastiera showed a good turn of foot down the center of the lane with the second fastest late kick but failed to threaten the winner in a runner-up effort.
Race favorite Sol Oriens was unhurried traveling wide in fifth to sixth from the rear, made headway at the third corner and made a wide sweeping bid into the straight. The Satsuki Sho (G1) (Japanese 2000 Guineas) winner picked off his tired opponents and dug in fiercely for third in the final strides, finishing 1 1/2 lengths behind Tastiera.
Durezza is trained by Tomohito Ozeki for owner Carrot Farm Co. Ltd. He was bred by Northern Racing from the Australian-bred More Than Ready mare More Than Sacred.
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