Duramente Filly Earns Flowers At Nakayama

 The late Duramente (Jpn) continues to pad his stallion resume, and his Mi Anhelo (Jpn) claimed the spoils in the 1800-metre G3 Flower Cup at Nakayama on Saturday.

Sent off as the 5-2 second choice behind Cantiamo (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), the Silk Racing colourbearer found an ideal tracking position while glued to the fence, as Elf Struck (Jpn) (California Chrome) showed the way under mild pressure. Content to rate in midfield, Mi Anhelo began to wind up with 600 metres remaining while still saving every inch of real estate on the fence. Cued in upper stretch, she swung off the inside and burst past Elf Struck to take over inside the furlong pole. Strong to the line, she had built up enough cushion to repel the late charge of Hohelied (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}), with Cantiamo a neck back in third with the first six home tightly bunched.

Mi Anhelo donned cap and gown over this course and distance when unveiled in September, and closed to take fifth as the favourite in a blanket finish in the Nanohana Sho on Jan. 13, her 3-year-old bow.

Pedigree Notes

The much-lamented Duramente, posthumous champion sire in his native land in 2023, has his final crop of 3-year-olds this year. Mi Anhelo is his first stakes winner from that group, while he has 18 stakes winners worldwide (14 group) so far lifetime. Six of his progeny have landed Group 1 races, and Japanese Triple Tiara heroine Liberty Island (Jpn) is a leading fancy for the upcoming G1 Dubai Sheema Classic later this month.

The winner is a half to Frankel (GB) 'TDN Rising Star' Mi Suerte (Jpn) who won the G3 Fantasy S. in Japan. Originally a $1.7-million Keeneland November weanling, Mi Sueno won both the GIII Sorrento S. and GI Debutante S. as a juvenile. Since being purchased for $1.9 million out of the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in 2013 by Katsumi Yoshida, Mi Sueno has produced eight foals in Japan, with six winners to show for it. Her latest runner-to-be is Shonan Xanadu (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), who just turned two, while she also has a Real Steel (Jpn) yearling colt and was covered by American Horse of the Year Bricks And Mortar last spring.

Second dam Madcap Escapade (Hennessy) claimed the GI Ashland S., four other graded races and ran third in the 2004 GI Kentucky Oaks. She, in turn, is a half-sister to GI Ballerina Breeders' Cup S. victress Dubai Escapade (Awesome Again).

 

Saturday, Nakayama, Japan
FLOWER CUP-G3, ¥72,610,000, Nakayama, 3-16, 3yo, f, 1800mT, 1:48.00, fm.
1–MI ANHELO (JPN), 121, f, 3, Duramente (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Mi Sueno (GISW-US, $288,400), by Pulpit
                2nd Dam: Madcap Escapade, by Hennessy
                3rd Dam: Sassy Pants, by Saratoga Six
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Silk Racing;
B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Toru Hayashi; J-Akihide Tsumura;
¥38,427,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, ¥46,697,000. *1/2 to
Mi Suerte (Jpn) (Frankel {GB}), GSW-Jpn, $447,954. Click for
   the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Hohelied (Jpn), 121, f, 3, Rulership (Jpn)–Golden Harp (Jpn),
by Stay Gold (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE.
O-Haruya Yoshida; B-Shiraoi Farm (Jpn); ¥15,162,000.
3–Cantiamo (Jpn), 121, f, 3, Epiphaneia (Jpn)–Libiamo (Jpn), by
Admire Vega (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE.
O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥9,381,000.
Margins: 3/4, NK, NK. Odds: 2.70, 23.80, 2.30.
Also Ran: Rabbiteye (Jpn), Elf Struck (Jpn), Canicule (Jpn), Teleos Sarah (Jpn), Marcottage (Jpn), For The Boys (Jpn), Stick By Me (Jpn), Teleos Lulu (Jpn), Hiraboku Minnie (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart & video.

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HH Sheikh Mohammed Racing Excellency Award Winners Revealed

 The winners of the His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Racing Excellence Awards, with Japanese superstar Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) named the Best Horse Award winner, were announced during the Super Saturday card at Meydan Racecourse on Saturday.

The award winners are selected on criteria designated by the Dubai Racing Club (DRC), overseen by the Trustee's Committee. The public selects the People's Choice Award. The full list of winners are as follows:

  • Best Horse: Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn})
  • Best Jockey: Ryan Moore
  • Best Trainer: Aidan O'Brien
  • Best Owner: Silk Racing
  • People's Choice: Hamdan Sultan Al Sabusi
  • Lifetime Achievement: Colonel Ali Khamis Al Jafleh & Sheikh Abdulla Al Qasemi
  • Excellence Award: Saeed bin Suroor

“We are honoured to receive a prestigious award such as this one,” said Masashi Yonemoto, representing Silk Racing. “Equinox's win here in Dubai was very special and we enjoyed watching the horses who finished behind him go on to win several big races around the world.”

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Equinox Crowned Longines World’s Best Racehorse 

LONDON, UK — Japan stole the show at the Longines World Racing Awards in London, with Silk Racing's Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) named the Longines World's Best Racehorse for 2023 while the G1 Japan Cup claimed the title of Longines World's Best Horse Race. The top-rated three-year-old filly in the world was Japan's Triple Tiara winner Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}).

Equinox's top rating of 135 – the highest ever awarded to a Japanese horse – was achieved in his four-length romp in the Japan Cup, his final appearance on a racecourse in which he had Liberty Island and her fellow Classic winners Stars On Earth (Jpn) and Do Deuce (Jpn) behind him. Such a strong first four meant that the 2023 running of the Japan Cup was awarded a rating of 126.75.

Trainers, jockeys, owners and breeders from across the racing world attended the ceremony at the Savoy to celebrate the 11th time that Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) had joined forces to celebrate the best in the sport. 

The Tetsuya Kimura-trained Equinox was the second Japanese horse to receive the accolade after Just A Way (Jpn) in 2014. Ridden throughout his career by Christophe Lemaire, he was unbeaten in 2023, with his other victories coming in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, G1 Takarazuka Kinen (G1), and G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn).

“To be honest it was quite enjoyable,” said Lemaire with no little understatement of his association with Equinox as he accepted his award on Tuesday.

“Each time he ran there was a big expectation but on that horse I had such confidence. I tried to do my job as well as possible and I will miss him a lot. Like most top athletes he had a combination of physical strength and mental strength. His physical strength allowed him to run fast and use his beautiful stride. Also he was very clever, is he understood very quickly what he had to do to win. My job was just to get a good start and put him in a good position to let him express his talent.”

He added, “He was nearly the perfect racehorse and we have to congratulate the breeder for producing such a beautiful horse and the trainer for allowing him to mature and getting the best out of him. 

“Equinox was something special. He had an aura. Most of the people first discovered him in Dubai but in Japan he was already a rising star.”

Masashi Yonemoto, the CEO of Equinox's 300-strong ownership group Silk Racing, was in London to collect his award along with Kimura and Lemaire. A strong Japanese contingent was bolstered by the presence of Masayoshi Yoshida, the president of the Japan Racing Association (JRA), and Masayuki Goto, the JRA's executive adviser of international affairs, who received the trophy for the world's best race, which was a first for the Japan Cup in its 43-year history.

Equinox was rated 7lbs clear of last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, the unbeaten Ace Impact (Fr) (Cracksman {GB}), who was joint-second in the ratings with the G1 Prince of Wales's S. and Juddmonte International winner Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) on 128. They were thus Europe's top-rated runners for 2023, a pound clear of G1 Queen Elizabeth S. winner Big Rock (Ire) (Rock Of Gibraltar {Ire}) and the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) who were joint fourth on 127.

Hukum's runner-up at Ascot, Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}), and Hong Kong's champion Golden Sixty (Aus) were next on 126, while the dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) was awarded a mark of 125 for his victory in the G1 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, the same as Lucky Sweynesse (NZ), who was judged to have run to that mark on three occasions at Sha Tin and was the top-rated sprinter in the world.

There was a five-way tie for tenth place with a rating of 124 having been awarded to White Abarrio (Race Day), Cody's Wish (Curlin), Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) and Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}).

In total, 36 horses achieved a rating in excess of 120. Of these, nine were trained in Britain, seven in Japan, seven in the USA, four in Hong Kong, and three each in France, Ireland and Australia. Frankel was the sire of four of the top 15 horses in Europe – Mostahdaf, Westover, Onesto (Ire) and Triple Time (Ire) – and grandsire of the co-top-rated Ace Impact, who was also the highest-rated three-year-old in the world. 

It was a particularly good year for European three-year-old colts, with Ace Impact being joined by Big Rock, Auguste Rodin, Paddington and King Of Steel among the top 20 horses globally. 

Three of the four top-rated fillies or mares in the world were also trained in Europe and all hail from the Newmarket stable of John and Thady Gosden. Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was awarded a mark of 121 for her G1 Dahlbury Coronation Cup win, while Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was on 120 for her success in the G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois, the same mark given to Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) for her G1 Falmouth S. win. The aforementioned Liberty Island tied with Emily Upjohn on a mark of 121.

Also on 121 was the top-rated stayer, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid's Melbourne Cup winner Without A Fight (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who started his career with Simon and Ed Crisford in Britain before switching to the Australian stable of Anthony and Sam Freedman. With Lucky Sweynesse leading the way for the older sprinters, the top three-year-old sprinter in the world for 2023 was the G1 Commonwealth Cup and G1 July Cup winner Shaquille (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) on 120.

Four of the top ten races in the world in 2023 were staged in Japan, with the Takarazuka Kinen in fifth spot, the Tenno Sho (Autumn) joint-sixth and the Arima Kinen in eighth. The Equinox factor had a firm say in the rankings of the races, with the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic ranked second with an average rating of 126.50. The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, a regular winner of this title, was third on 124.75, just ahead of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on 124.50. The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion S was co-sixth, while the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois was ninth and the Juddmonte International tenth. 

The official rankings are compiled by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee, which is co-chaired by Nigel Gray and Dominic Gardiner-Hill, and they are published by the IFHA.

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Scintillating Equinox Smashes Sheema Classic Record

Japan's Horse of the Year Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) took a huge step towards global recognition with a dominant victory in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, routing his nine rivals under a motionless Christophe Lemaire.

Despite being eased down towards the line, the Tetsuya Kimura-trained 4-year-old lowered the course record previously held by Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) by exactly a second to stop the clock at 2:26.65.

G1 Irish Derby winner Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}) gave chase in vain, running home best of the rest to reduce the winning margin to 3 1/2 lengths, with French-trained Zagrey (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) taking third.

Equinox had the race at his mercy almost from the off, charging to the front from gate six to bowl along with ease. As jockeys on runners in behind started to ask serious questions of their mounts, Lemaire had merely to ease his rein out an inch for the leader to increase his stride–and his lead–with no further effort required from the rider who had partnered another Japanese Horse of the Year, Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), to victory in the Dubai Turf of 2019.

“I knew he was the best horse and so I was happy to make the pace,” Lemaire said of Equinox. “I'm really happy for all of the connections. It's been a long time since I won the Sheema; the last time was with Heart's Cry, and he passed away two weeks ago. So I am very grateful for this horse; he has allowed me to pay tribute to Heart's Cry.”

He continued, “Race after race, he's going up the rankings of the horses I have ridden. It was a great, great performance against these kind of horses at the top level. I couldn't be happier.”

Tetsuya Kimura had already saddled his stable star to win the G1 Tenno Sho and G1 Arima Kinen in the last six months but even he appeared staggered by Equinox's bloodless victory. He said, “It was a tough field with some very strong horses but he's a champion and he was just the best. He got the job done and made it all look so simple.”

Ryan Moore had already secured two wins on the Dubai World Cup card but he had to settle for second on Juddmonte's Westover. The 4-year-old's trainer Ralph Beckett expressed relief after a testing time in the build-up to Saturday.

“It hasn't been easy this week–he did two laps of the training track on Tuesday when he was only meant to do one,” said Beckett. “Although he's keen you have to leave him alone. He's been beaten by a very good horse, to finish second to him is fantastic. I wouldn't rule out dropping back to 10 furlongs for an Eclipse or a Tatts Gold Cup.”

Long-shot Zagrey, who was runner-up in the G3 Dubai Millennium S. on his last start, has his trainer Yann Barberot dreaming of major targets closer to home after his third-place finish. He said, “It's fantastic. He's a proper Group 1 horse and I'm delighted. He wasn't precocious, as is the case with quite a lot of Zarak's progeny. Then he got injured at three after he was second in the Prix Eugene Adam but that turned out to be a blessing in disguise. He loves soft ground so he might be a horse for something like the Champion S. at Ascot. He's been beaten by a phenomenon.”

 

Pedigree Notes

A son of the young Shadai stallion Kitasan Black, whose sire Black Tide (Jpn) is a full-brother to Deep Impact (Jpn), Equinox is the third foal of his Group 3-winning dam Chateau Blanche (Jpn) (King Halo {Jpn}). His year-older half-brother Weiss Meteor (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) won the G3 Nikkei Sho, and the mare has a 3-year-old colt whose sire Just A Way (Jpn) won the Dubai Turf of 2014. Chateau Blanche's current 2-year-old filly is a daughter of Kizuna (Jpn), and she is due to foal a full-sibling to Equinox this season.

 

Saturday, Meydan, Dubai
LONGINES DUBAI SHEEMA CLASSIC-G1, $6,000,000, Meydan, 3-25, NH 4yo/up & SH 3yo/up, 2410mT, 2:25.65 (NCR), gd.
1–EQUINOX (JPN), 125, c, 4, 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 Co Ltd; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Tetsuya
Kimura; J-Christophe-Patrice Lemaire. $3,480,000. Lifetime
Record: Horse of the Year & Ch. 3yo Colt-Jpn, MG1SW-
Jpn, 7-5-2-0, $9,516,220. *Half 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–Westover (GB), 125, c, 4, Frankel (GB)–Mirabilis, by Lear Fan.
O-Juddmonte; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-Ralph Beckett.
$1,200,000.
3–Zagrey (Fr), 125, c, 4, Zarak (Fr)–Grey Anatomy (GB), by
Slickly (Fr). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€32,000 RNA Ylg '20
ARQSEP). O-Ecurie Altima & Gerard Augustin-Normand; B-
Ecurie Euroling (Fr); T-Yann Barberot. $600,000.
Margins: 3HF, 2 1/4, 1 1/4.
Also Ran: Mostahdaf (Ire), Shahryar (Jpn), Win Marilyn (Jpn), Rebel's Romance (Ire), Russian Emperor (Ire), Botanik (Ire), Senor Toba (Aus). VIDEO.

 

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