Sent off at 11-1 in this return, the Koji Maeda colourbearer was not quickly into stride and raced near the tail of the field behind splits of :24 flat and :46.70. Saving all the ground on the rail, he improved incrementally until the quarter-mile pole, and came under a drive from Kosei Miura. Still third inside the final furlong, he clawed his way to the front and stood firm against the rallying Danon The Tiger (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) to earn a first group rosette. It was close for third, with Hearts Concerto (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) a half-length behind Danon The Tiger, and a neck to the good of fourth-place finisher Dura Erede (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}), the only horse to stick around at the death, after sitting on or near the pace for much of the contest.

Pedigree Notes

One of 13 stakes winners and six group winners for his sire, Gastrique is the second Hai Nisai scorer after Danon The Kid (Jpn). Incidentally, Danon The Kid is the lone Group 1 scorer so far for Just A Way, having triumphed in the G1 Hopeful S. His G2 Hochi Hai Fillies' Revue victress Epos (Jpn) is out of a Smart Strike mare, who is the sire of Curlin.

The third foal and second winner from three runners, Gastrique has a yearling half-brother by Al Ain (Jpn) and a weanling half-sister by Mind Your Biscuits. His dam, the Curlin mare A Shin Epona, won three times at 1800 metres–once on turf at three, and twice on dirt as a 4-year-old. Her dam was the three-time Grade III heroine Wild Gams (Forest Wildcat), who has also produced dual graded winner Cazadero (Street Sense), the stakes-winning Mt. Brave (Malibu Moon), and the GIII Matt Winn S. third Almost Famous (Unbridled's Song).

Saturday, Tokyo, Japan
TOKYO SPORTS HAI NISAI S.-G2, ¥72,550,000, Tokyo, 11-19, 2yo, 1800mT, 1:45.80, fm.
1–GASTRIQUE (JPN), 121, c, 2, by Just a Way (Jpn)
                1st Dam: A Shin Epona, by Curlin
                2nd Dam: Wild Gams, by Forest Wildcat
                3rd Dam: Diamonds and Legs, by Quiet American
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Koji Maeda;
B-Eishin Farm (Jpn); T-Hiroyuki Uehara; J-Kosei Miura.
¥38,385,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. Click for the
   free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: D+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Danon the Tiger (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–She's a
Tiger, by Tale of the Cat. 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK
   TYPE. (¥270,000,000 Wlg '20 JRHAJUL). O-Danox Inc.;
B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥15,110,000.
3–Hearts Concerto (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–Nasuno
Sibelius, by Unbridled's Song. 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP
   BLACK TYPE. O-Green Farm; B-Hashimoto Farm (Jpn);
¥9,555,000.
Margins: NK, HF, NK. Odds: 11.40, 4.10, 0.80.
Also Ran: Dura Erede (Jpn), Fate (Jpn), Silver Spade (Jpn), Josho Hope (Jpn), Schillthorn (Jpn), Rock Creek (Jpn), Tenkano Gijin (Jpn), Taisei Courageux (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.

The post Just A Way Colt Claws Out Hai Nisai Victory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Land of Liberty (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) went to the front soon after the start as Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente [Jpn}), who was pursued by Orthoclase (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), prompted the issue through the first turn. Meanwhile, Danon the Kid advanced to third along the outside as the field continued down the backstretch. As the field approached the final bend, pacesetting Land of Liberty swerved suddenly, dislodging his rider, and the advantage quickly went to Danon the Kid, who carried the most momentum turning for home. In full flight late, the favorite kicked on in the final 100 meters, crossing the wire by 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Orthoclase with Yoho Lake (Jpn) (Deep Impact) third.

Winning rider Yuga Kawada commented following the race, “I’m just so happy that I have at last been able to win on one of my mentor and teacher, [trainer Takayuki] Yasuda. The stable staff did a great job in tuning up the colt and he ran much better than he did in his previous start but still, he couldn’t find a good rhythm and was not steady in the last two corners today. There is still a lot of room for improvement and we intend to work hard so he can kick off a good 3-year-old campaign.”

The 2-year-old kicked off his career with a victory going 1,800 meters at Hanshin in June before returning from a five-month break to collect his first graded stakes success in the 1,800m G3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes at Tokyo Nov. 23.

Saturday, Nakayama, Japan
HOPEFUL S.-G1, ¥135,560,000, Nakayama, 12-26, 2yo, 2000mT, 2:02.80, fm.
1–DANON THE KID (JPN), 121, c, 2, by Just a Way (Jpn)
1st Dam: Epic Love (Ire) (GSW & G1SP-Fr, $205,233), by Dansili (GB)
2nd Dam: Leopard Hunt, by Diesis (GB)
3rd Dam: Alcando (Ire), by Alzao
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (¥100,000,000 wnlg ’18 JRHAJUL).
O-Danox Inc.; B-Northern Farm; T-Takayuki Yasuda; J-Yuga
Kawada; ¥71,092,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0. *1/2 to Mikki
Brillante (Jpn) (Deep Brillante {Jpn}), GSP-Jpn, $826,288.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: B.
2–Orthoclase (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Epiphaneia (Jpn)–Marialite (Jpn),
by Deep Impact (Jpn). O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm;
¥28,312,000.
3–Yoho Lake (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Crow Canyon
(Jpn), by French Deputy. O-Makoto Kaneko Holdings;
B-Northern Farm; ¥18,156,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, HF, 1HF; Odds: 1.10, 4.70, 12.10.
Also Ran: Titleholder (Jpn), Chevalier Rose (Jpn), Tenkaharu (Jpn), Aoi Sho (Jpn), Machaon d’Or (Jpn), Vigore (Jpn), Admire Sage (Jpn), Whole Shebang (Jpn), Vanishing Point, Say Hello to You (Jpn), Moriden Arrow (Jpn). DNF: Land of Liberty (Jpn)
Click for the Racing Post chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. japanracing.com Video.

The post Danon the Kid Posts Emphatic Hopeful Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post