Tag: Boldog Hos

Equinox Overpowers Rivals in Arima Kinen

Five years after his sire clinched a second consecutive Horse of the Year title in Japan with a victory in the G1 Arima Kinen, Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) stated his case for top year-end honours for 2022 with a dominating display in front of a pandemic-restricted, but boisterous crowd of roughly 47,000 fans Christmas Day at Nakayama Racecourse.

The firming 13-10 favourite in the fan-voted affair, Equinox left without incident from gate nine and landed in midfield on the back of defending champion and reigning Horse of the Year Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) as Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn})–returning off an 11th in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe–showed the way at an even tempo. Content with his position through the middle furlongs, Christophe Lemaire eased Equinox out for a four-wide sweep around the turn and it was all academic from there, as the flashy dark bay struck the front with a furlong and a half to travel and kicked on smartly. Boldog Hos (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}), this year's G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) runner-up, also made a bold move on the bend from far back and was a brave second ahead of G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup heroine Geraldina (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), who closed off well after missing the kick. Efforia was a meritorious fifth first off a six-month absence.

“What happens twice will happen thrice,” said the winning jockey who was recording a 43rd Group 1 on the JRA circuit. “I won the Arima Kinen with Heart's Cry and Satono Diamond both on Christmas Day, and I'm really happy to be able to win the race on Christmas Day again. We were able to make a good start and the horse was keen to go so I held him and responded strongly when I brought him to the outside. Though he was not mature yet during his spring campaign, he became really strong from this fall and I look forward to his performance next year.”

Winning trainer Tetsuya Kimura indicated that Equinox is likely to travel in early 2023, with the Saudi Cup program a potential starting point.

“But first I need to watch his condition after the race,” the conditioner said.

Pedigree Notes:

Kitasan Black, who was narrowly second to Satono Diamond in 2016 before closing his career in this race, is the sire of 64 winners from his first two crops to the races and is also responsible for group winners Gaia Force (Jpn) from his first crop as well as the 2-year-old filly Ravel (Jpn), who took out this year's G2 Artemis S. Equinox's year-older half-brother Weiss Meteor (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) also carried the Silk Racing colours to victory in last year's G3 Radio Nikkei Sho. Shadai Farm acquired Equinox's fourth dam Blanche Reine (Fr) (Nureyev) carrying Maison Blanche for $410,000 at the 1988 Keeneland November Sale. Chateau Blanche is the dam of a 2-year-old colt by Just a Way (Jpn) and a yearling filly by Kizuna (Jpn). She was blank for 2022 and is due for a full-sibling to Equinox in 2023.

Sunday, Nakayama, Japan
ARIMA KINEN-G1, ¥764,800,000, Nakayama, 12-26, 3yo/up, 2500mT, 2:32.40, fm.
1–EQUINOX (JPN), 121, c, 3, by Kitasan Black (Jpn)
1st Dam: Chateau Blanche (Jpn) (GSW-Jpn, $1,096,970), by King Halo (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Blancherie (Jpn), by Tony Bin (Ire)
3rd Dam: Maison Blanche (Jpn), by Alleged
O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm; T-Tetsuya Kimura; J-Christophe Lemaire; ¥403,360,000. Lifetime: 6-4-2-0, ¥806,602,000. *1/2 to Weiss Meteor (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), GSW-Jpn, $820,531. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Boldog Hos (Jpn), 121, c, 3, Screen Hero (Jpn)–Boldogsag (Fr), by Layman (Fr). O-Shadai Race Horse; B-Shadai Farm; ¥160,960,000.
3–Geraldina (Jpn), 121, f, 4, Maurice (Jpn)–Gentildonna (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn). O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm; ¥100,480,000.
Margins: 2HF, 1HF, 3/4. Odds: 1.30, 13.10, 6.40.
Also Ran: Izu Jo no Kiseki (Jpn), Efforia (Jpn), Win Mighty (Jpn), Justin Palace (Jpn), Deep Bond (Jpn), Titleholder (Jpn), Vela Azul (Jpn), Boccherini (Jpn), Potager (Jpn), Last Draft (Jpn), Aristoteles (Jpn), Akai Ito (Jpn), Breakup (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart.

 

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Pair Can Add To Deep Impact’s Kikuka Sho Grab

With the winners of the first two legs of the Japanese Triple Crown–G1 Satsuki Sho hero Geoglyph (Jpn) (Drefong) and G1 Tokyo Yushun victor Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn})–targeting upcoming spots versus open rivals, Sunday's G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) looms a competitive affair, with a pair of colts from the penultimate crop of the last Deep Impact (Jpn)–who completed his own Triple Crown here in 2005–looming especially large. Deep Impact is already the sire of four Kikuka Sho winners.

Justin Palace (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was Group 1-placed over 10 furlongs as a juvenile, but did not make a serious impact in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, finishing ninth in the Guineas and in the Derby. Given a four-month break, the half-brother to the GI Belmont S. hero Palace Malice (Curlin) made a smashing return to action in the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai Sept. 25, defeating Yaminin Zest (Jpn) (Symboli Kris S) by a resounding 3 1/2 lengths, with Boldog Hos (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) another half-length back in third.

 

 

 

“They did a good job with him at the farm before the Kobe Shimbun Hai,” said trainer Haruki Sugiyama, who will also saddle the well-fancied Gaia Force (Jpn), a son of 2015 Kikuka Sho hero Kitasan Black (Jpn). “The jockey also had some good contact with the horse before the race. In his last run, he easily got into a good position, and getting a good start does seem to be one of the keys with him.”

A ¥190 million (about $1.77 million) purchase out of the 2020 JRHA Select Yearling Sale, Justin Palace will need to be on his best gate behaviour from barrier 17.

Gaia Force is one of the fresh faces in the Kikuka Sho and is drawn at the other end of the stalls. Narrowly second to the Derby winner on debut last September, the gray has since won three of his last four, a track record-setting conditions success at Kokura (2000m in 1:56.80 July 3) and a head defeat of Ask Victor More (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in one of the Leger trials, the G2 Asahi Hai St Lite Kinen (2200m) at Nakayama Sept. 19.

 

 

 

“After winning in record time at Kokura, the switch to Nakayama with the extra distance and strong opposition was never going to be easy, but he ran above my expectations,” Sugiyama said. “We gave him a break at the farm afterwards, as it must have taken a lot out of him, but he seems fine on his return to the stable.”

Ask Victor More got the better of Do Deuce in the G2 Deep Impact Kinen in March before finishing a respectable fifth in the Satsuki Sho and third in the Tokyo Yushun. He was just held by Gaia Force last time, but can certainly improve for that first-up run.

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