Lord Kanaloa’s Bellagio Opera Ekes Out Osaka Hai Win

Looking for his first Group 1 tally following a productive second-place effort in the Feb. 11 G2 Kyoto Kinen, Bellagio Opera (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) got up in time to land Sunday's G1 Osaka Hai at Hanshin.

A winner in last season's 1800-meter Spring S., he was a well beaten 10th in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) prior to finishing fourth in the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) over 2400 meters. He concluded his 3-year-old season with a victory in Hanshin's G3 Challenge Cup in December.

Breaking sharply from the outer stall this time, Bellagio Opera rushed into contention and settled just behind Stunning Rose (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) who led the way. Keeping that front-running rival in his sights through the final two turns, the second betting choice took over before the 200-meter pole and managed to fend off a game Rousham Park by a nose with fast-closing Rouge Eveil (Jpn) (Just a Way {Jpn}) getting up for third. Race favorite Tastiera (Jpn) (Satono Crown {Jpn}) hugged the rails in fourth and shifted slightly to the outside after entering the lane to make bid, but the colt was one paced and gradually fell back in the last 200 meters to finish 11th.

Jockey-turned-trainer Hiroyuki Uemura, who opened his yard in 2019, celebrated his first JRA Group 1 and fifth graded title while jockey Kazuo Yokoyama registered his third Group 1 title.

“I was so disappointed when we lost the Derby that I really wanted to win a Group 1 with this horse. So, I'm really, really happy. Bellagio Opera has very good maneuverability, and I knew that he was in good condition, so I decided to race him toward the front. He's really strong when it comes to a close rally. I'm glad he held off his rivals,” commented jockey Kazuo Yokoyama.

 

Pedigree Notes:
The 10th Group 1 winner for Lord Kanaloa, Bellagio Opera is out of Air Routine, a sister to Group 3 winner Air Anthem (Jpn) (Symboli Kris S). and multiple group placed Satono Helios (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}). This represents the family of Champion 3-year-old and Japanese Classic winner Air Shakur (Jpn).

Sunday, Hanshin, Japan
OSAKA HAI-G1, ¥384,800,000, Hanshin, 3-31, 4yo/up, 2000mT, 1:58.20, fm.
1–BELLAGIO OPERA (JPN), 128, c, 4, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)
1st Dam: Air Routine (Jpn), by Harbinger (GB)
2nd Dam: Air Magdalene (Jpn), by Sunday Silence
3rd Dam: Air Deja Vu (Jpn), by Northern Taste
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Shorai Hayashida; B-Shadai Farm;
T-Hiroyuki Uemura; J-Kazuo Yokoyama; £203,360,000.
Lifetime Record: 8-5-1-0. . Werk Nick Rating: A++
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree
2–Rousham Park (Jpn), 128, h, 5, by Harbinger (GB)–Reinette
Groove (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). O-Sunday Racing;
B-Northern Farm; ¥80,960,000.
3–Rouge Eveil (Jpn), 123, m, 5, Just a Way (Jpn)–Nothing But
Dreams (GB), Frankel (GB). O-Tokyo Horse Racing; B-Shadai
Farm; ¥50,480,000.
Margins: NO, NK, 2; Odds: 2.60, 2.40, 31.80.
Also Ran: Stella Veloce (Jpn), Geoglyph (Jpn), Pradaria (Jpn), Sol Oriens (Jpn), Stunning Rose (Jpn), Catedral (Jpn), Epiphany (Jpn), Tastiera (Jpn), Hayayakko (Jpn), Harper (Jpn), Mikki Gorgeous (Jpn), Killer Ability (Jpn), Licancabur (Jpn)
Click for the JRA chart & video. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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Rulership Colt Gives Rivals ‘More’ Than They Can Handle In Royal Cup

Fresh off an Aug. 20 newcomers' victory going 1500 metres at Sapporo, Dolce More (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) subdued longtime leader Granite (Jpn) (Danon Ballad {Jpn}) to take the G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup at Tokyo on Saturday.

Sent off as the 5-1 second choice, the colt settled in an ideal perch, as 39-1 longshot Granite ran off and hid from the field, spotting them at least 10 lengths. However, his lead began to look shaky with 400 metres remaining, and Dolce More was gaining on his erstwhile rival with every stride. Five jumps from the wire, the leader succumbed to Dolce More's determined rally, and the margin on the wire was 1 1/4 lengths. The 7-1 third choice, Silver Duke (Jpn) (Silver State {Jpn}) sat third the whole way around and maintained that finishing position, 2 1/2 lengths off of Granite. Favoured Nocking Point (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), who was 40 cents on the dollar, closed from near the rear of the pack to take fourth, another length back.

 

Pedigree Notes

King Kamehameha (Jpn) horse Rulership, who won the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, now has 25 stakes winners (16 group) to his name, with the winner's victory on Saturday. Most of them 18/25 or 72%, are out of mares by Sunday Silence or one of his sons, including both of Rulership's Group 1 winners–Mer De Glace (Jpn), who won the G1 Caulfield Cup, and G1 Japanese St Leger hero Kiseki (Jpn).

The fourth foal and third winner produced by G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) heroine Ayusan (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Dolce More has a half-brother by Rey De Oro (Jpn) born this spring. Ayusan is a half-sister to two-time stakes winner Saki To Me (Fusaichi Pegasus), and a full-sister to G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies third Mau Lea (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). Third dam Buy The Firm (Affirmed) claimed the GI Top Flight H., and also threw the GIII Ben Ali S. hero Storm Broker (Storm Cat) and the French listed scorer Royal Arrow (Dayjur) among her quintet of winners.

 

Saturday, Tokyo, Japan
SAUDI ARABIA ROYAL CUP, ¥63,060,000, Tokyo, 10-8, 2yo, 1600mT, 1:33.40, fm.
1–DOLCE MORE (JPN), 121, c, 2, by Rulership (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Ayusan (Jpn) (G1SW-Jpn, $1,664,039),
                                by Deep Impact (Jpn)
                2nd Dam: Buy the Cat, by Storm Cat
                3rd Dam: Buy the Firm, by Affirmed
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Three H Racing;
B-Shimokobe Farm (Jpn); T-Naosuke Sugai; J-Kazuo Yokoyama.
¥33,322,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. Click for the
  free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Granite (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Danon Ballade-(Jpn)–Intiwatana
(Jpn), by Fusaichi Concorde (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST
   GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Mill Farm; B-Yoshiaki Saruhashi (Jpn);
¥13,092,000.
3–Silver Duke (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Silver State (Jpn)–Vanadis (Jpn),
by Rock of Gibraltar (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK
   TYPE. (¥40,000,000 Ylg '21 JRHAJUL). O-Toshihiko Tabata;
B-Hiroshi Okita (Jpn); ¥8,346,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2HF, 1. Odds: 5.80, 39.40, 7.80.
Also Ran: Nocking Point (Jpn), Meiner Celerius (Jpn), Boukephalas (Jpn), Miscela Dorata (Jpn), From Now On (Jpn), Red Solid (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.

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A Stayer Supreme: Titleholder Wires Tenno Sho

Classic hero Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) secured the 3200-metre G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) in wire-to-wire fashion at Hanshin on Sunday. The first winner to make all of the running since Kitasan Black (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}) in 2016, Titleholder was followed home by multiple group winner Deep Bond (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), who was second in 2021, as well. The progressive G3 Diamond S. winner T O Royal (Jpn) (Leontes {Jpn}) ran third.

Second choice in the wagering at 7-2 behind the even-money pick Deep Bond who also won the G2 Prix Foy when sent abroad for a crack at the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe last term, the Hiroshi Yamada colourbearer was immediately hustled up to the head of affairs by Kazuo Yokoyama. Crescendo Love (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) kept a close eye on Titleholder, while Tagano Diamante (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) sat third and Deep Bond perched in fourth alongside T O Royal.

Left to his own devices with an open-length lead, Titleholder covered the first half-mile in :48.50 and Yokoyama let up on the gas approaching the half-way point to give his colt a breather. Meanwhile, the stalking horses had to contend with the riderless Silver Sonic (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), who had dropped his jockey at the break and forged up the rail to sit second in Titleholder's wake. The leader dropped the hammer on his rivals several furlongs later and covered 2400 metres in 2:27.90.

Able to maintain his rhythm from there, the 4-year-old had built up too much cushion and strolled across the line seven lengths to the good of Deep Bond, who had taken over from a leg-weary T O Royal in the final 100 metres, with a length separating them on the line. Titleholder covered his final half-mile in :48.30, with all bar the final furlong navigated in under :12 seconds per furlong.

It was an especially poignant first Group 1 win for Yokoyama, who became the third generation of his family to win the Tenno Sho (Spring). Yokoyama's grandfather Tomio was aboard Mejiro Musashi (Jpn) (Wallaby {Fr}) in 1971, while is father Norihiro enjoyed a treble in the race-Sakura Laurel (Jpn) (Rainbow Quest) in 1995, Ingrandire (Jpn) (White Muzzle {GB}) in 2004 and Gold Ship (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) in 2015.

“I felt that he was in good form when I rode him in the post parade, so I just believed in him and concentrated on riding him in [a] good rhythm,” said Yokoyama. “We were able to slow down the pace in the backstretch to conserve his stamina and I was not worried about the horses behind us in the last stretch. I'm happy that I was able to win this race with Titleholder, rather than being able to win my first Group 1 title. I think he will get stronger and stronger going foward.”

First in the G2 Hochi Hai Yayoi Sho Deep Impact Kinen in March of 2021, the bay was second to eventual Japanese Horse of the Year Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) before a pair of unplaced runs in May and September. In October of 2021, he secured the G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) with Yokoyama's brother Takeshi at the controls, his first try beyond 2400 metres. Kazuo picked up the ride on Titleholder in the Dec. 26 Arima Kinen, as his brother is the regular rider for Efforia, and reported home fifth, once again to that rival. The 4-year-old colt warmed up for the Tenno Sho with a victory in the 2500-metre G2 Nikkei Sho on Mar. 26.

Pedigree Notes

One of a quartet of black-type winners for Japanese Champion 3-Year-Old Colt and dual Classic scorer Duramente, Titleholder is his most decorated runner to date. Stars On Earth (Jpn) is the other Group 1 winner for her sire, having taken the G1 Oka Sho, while Arrivo (Jpn) won the G3 Kokura Daishoten and was third in the G1 Osaka Hai. A grandson of G1 Derby hero Motivator, Titleholder is one of 10 black-type winners–five group–for the stallion as a broodmare sire and only Group 1 victor.

Picked up by LEX for just 30,000gns at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale from Catridge Farm Stud, agent, in 2009, Mowen did her best running at three and four, winning as short as 1200 metres and up to 2600 metres for five wins from 22 starts on the JRA circuit. Mowen's first foal, the winning Melody Lane (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), was fifth in the 2019 Kikuka Sho and finished ninth to Titleholder on Sunday. She produced a dead foal in 2017 prior to foaling the Tenno Sho winner. She has not had a live foal since Titleholder in 2018, although she has visited in successive years Gold Ship (Jpn), Victoire Pisa (Jpn), and Duramente. A half-sister to listed winner and dual Group 3-placed Zato (Ire) (Zafonic) and black-type winner Krispy Knight (GB) (Kris {GB}), Mowen was covered by Kizuna (Jpn) last spring, but once again failed to add to her brood.

Farther back in the family is dual listed winner and G1 Lockinge S. third Centre Stalls (Ire) (In the Wings {GB}) and Classic winner On The House (Fr) (Be My Guest). That 1979 filly was successful in the G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Sussex S., and second and third in the G1 Cheveley Park S. and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, respectively.

 

Sunday, Hanshin, Japan
TENNO SHO (SPRING)-G1, ¥385,400,000, Hanshin, 5-1, 4yo/up, 3200mT, 3:16.20, gd.
1–TITLEHOLDER (JPN), 128, c, 4, Duramente (Jpn)
                 1st Dam: Mowen (GB), by Motivator (GB)
                 2nd Dam: Top Table (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB)
                 3rd Dam: Lora's Guest (Ire), by Be My Guest
(¥20,000,000 Wlg '18 JRHAJUL). O-Hiroshi Yamada; B-Okada
Stud (Jpn); T-Toru Kurita; J-Kazuo Yokoyama. ¥203,780,000.
Lifetime Record: 11-5-2-0. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple
   Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Deep Bond (Jpn), 128, h, 5, Kizuna (Jpn)–Zephyranthes (Jpn),
by King Halo (Jpn). (¥17,820,000 Ylg '18 JBBAJUL). O-Shinji
Maeda; B-Murata Farm (Jpn); ¥81,080,000.
3–T O Royal (Jpn), 128, c, 4, Leontes (Jpn)–Meisho Ohi (Jpn), by
Manhattan Café (Jpn). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Tomoya
Ozasa; B-Mishima Bokujo (Jpn); ¥50,540,000.
Margins: 7, 1, 3HF. Odds: 3.90, 1.10, 8.90.
Also Ran: Heat on Beat (Jpn), Iron Barows (Jpn), Meiner Fanrong (Jpn), Robertson Quay (Jpn), Valcos (Jpn), Melody Lane (Jpn), Tosen Cambina (Jpn), Machaon d'Or (Jpn), Divine Force (Jpn), You Can Smile (Jpn), Crescendo Love (Jpn), Hayayakko (Jpn), Heart's Histoire (Jpn), Tagano Diamante (Jpn). DNF: Silver Sonic (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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