Having raced only on dirt since his debut in October of his 2-year-old season, the son of Sinister Minister marked a win and two thirds during his debut year and landed three more wins out of seven starts the following year, which included his first graded challenge in NAR's year-end Tokyo Daishoten (G1, dirt, 2,000m, or 1 1/4 miles) where he finished sixth. T O Keynes kicked off this season with three consecutive wins, which included the Antares Stakes (G3, dirt, 1,800m, or 1 1/8 miles) in April and the Teio Sho (dirt, 2,000m) in June, and came off a fourth in the JBC Classic (dirt, 2,100m) on Nov. 3.

This win marked trainer Daisuke Takayanagi's first JRA-G1 and third JRA graded title and jockey Kohei Matsuyama's fifth JRA-G1 win following his victory in the Shuka Sho with Daring Tact last year.

T O Keynes, overcoming his weak start, broke smoothly from stall six and traveled two wide around sixth from Sodashi who set a slow pace. Though meeting traffic at the top of the stretch, the four-year-old chestnut shifted to the outside toward a narrow space outside Inti and, once finding an open space, broke loose from the pack 300 meters out and produced a remarkable turn of speed that timed the fastest last three furlongs to pull away for an overwhelming six-length victory.

“Though the JBC Classic result was disappointing due to the slow start, he broke smoothly today, thanks to the gate practice he went through at the stable,” commented jockey Kohei Matsuyama. “I was able to ride him in good rhythm and he responded remarkably well turning the fourth corner, so everything was perfect. I think he's a very strong horse and I'm glad I was able to bring out his strong performance.”

Defending champion Chuwa Wizard traveled wide toward the rear of the front pack, around 10-11th from the front, and rounded the last two corners the widest of the field. The King Kamehameha brown ran persistently in the stretch, passing his rivals one by one, and, while no match for the winner, managed to overtake Another Truth 50 meters out for a runner-up effort.

Fourteenth pick Another Truth settled around fifth outside the race favorite, closed ground turning the last two corners wide and was at the top of the field running side by side with the eventual winner 300 meters out. Though unable to follow T O Keynes's fast closing speed and overtaken by the runner-up 50 meters out, the seven-year-old chestnut dueled strongly with Inti before the wire to notch third place.

Other Horses:
4th: (4) Inti—tracked leader in 2nd, took lead at early stretch, soon overtaken by winner, weakened in last 100m
5th: (3) Sunrise Nova—positioned around 13th, showed 3rd fastest late kick but belatedly
6th: (9) Auvergne—ran around 8th, dropped position turning last corners, accelerated in last 200m
7th: (15) Meisho Hario—made 3-wide trip around 11th, driven after 3rd corner, lacked needed kick
8th: (8) Suave Aramis—settled along rails near rear, passed tired rivals after meeting traffic 200m out
9th: (5) Air Spinel—saved ground around 8th, showed brief effort, outrun in last 100m
10th: (2) Casino Fountain—hugged rails inside winner around 5th, failed to respond at stretch
11th: (16) Cafe Pharoah—raced 3-wide around 11th, made headway to 6th, showed little at stretch
12th: (1) Sodashi—set pace, maintained lead up to 400m pole, dropped back
13th: (10) K T Brave—trailed in rear, gradually advanced, never fired at stretch
14th: (12) Clincher—sat 3-wide around 7th, found little room after entering stretch
15th: (7) Sunrise Hope—chased leaders around 3rd, checked at early stretch, faded
16th: (14) Danon Pharaoh—traveled in 13th early, fell back to last in backstretch

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Priced at 2-1, the 4-year-old colt rated kindly in sixth as Group 1-winning white mare Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune {Jpn}), making her dirt bow, opened up to lead past the winning post and into the first turn. Positions were unchanged on the backside and the chestnut was poised to pounce exiting the final bend. Sodashi was swarmed by rivals inside the quarter-mile marker and T O Keynes found a gap at the perfect time to take the lead shortly thereafter. He sped away from his rivals to win comfortably, with Chuwa Wizard, who was second in the G1 Dubai World Cup earlier this year, closing from off the pace to take second, 3/4 of a length in front of stalker Another Truth (Jpn) (I'll Have Another). Sodashi faded to 12th.

“Though the JBC Classic result was disappointing due to the slow start, he broke smoothly today, thanks to the gate practice he went through at the stable,” said Kohei Matsuyama. “I was able to ride him in good rhythm and he responded remarkably well turning the fourth corner, so everything was perfect. I think he's a very strong horse and I'm glad I was able to bring out his strong performance.”

Second in the Listed Betelgeuse S. at Hanshin last December, the colt ran sixth in the G1 Tokyo Daishoten at Oi just nine days later on Dec. 29. He opened 2021 with a win in the muddy Nagoyajo S. in March and claimed his first group victory with a score in the G3 Antares S. on Apr. 18. He stretched his winning streak to three when taking the June 30 Listed Teio Sho, and, given a break, ran fourth in the Listed JBC Classic at Kanazawa on Nov. 3.

Pedigree Notes
One of 11 black-type winners-three at the group level–for his sire, T O Keynes has become the most decorated runner for the 2006 GI Toyota Blue Grass S. hero.
T O Keynes is the fourth foal and fourth of five winners for his placed dam. Maxim Café has since produced colts by Copano Rickey (Jpn) in 2019 and 2021, with the juvenile christened Copano Austin (Jpn). She is a half-sister to black-type winner and G3 Leopard S. third Tamano Brunette (Jpn) (Deep Sky {Jpn}).

Sunday, Chukyo, Japan
CHAMPIONS CUP-G1, ¥194,860,000, Chukyo, 12-5, 3yo/up, 1800m, 1:49.70, gd.
1–T O KEYNES (JPN), 126, c, 4, Sinister Minister
                1st Dam: Maxim Café (Jpn), by Manhattan Café (Jpn)
                2nd Dam: Cafe Pinoko (Jpn), by Jade Robbery
                3rd Dam: Pinochet, by Storm Cat
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Tomoya Ozasa; B-Yanagawa Farm (Jpn);
T-Daisuje Takayanagi; J-Kohei Matsuyama. ¥103,402,000.
Lifetime: 15-8-2-2. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Chuwa Wizard (Jpn), 126, h, 6, King Kamehameha (Jpn)–
Chuwa Blossom (Jpn), by Durandal (Jpn). O-Shinobu Nakanishi;
B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥40,972,000.
3–Another Truth (Jpn), 126, g, 7, I'll Have Another–Kyoei Truth
(Jpn), by Fuji Kiseki (Jpn). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK-TYPE.
O-Normandy Thoroughbred Racing; B-Okada Stud (Jpn);
¥25,486,000.
Margins: 6, 3/4, NK. Odds: 2.30, 3.60, 114.40.
Also Ran: Inti (Jpn), Sunrise Nova (Jpn), Auvergne (Jpn), Meisho Hario (Jpn), Suave Aramis (Jpn), Air Spinel (Jpn), Casino Fountain (Jpn), Cafe Pharoah, Sodashi (Jpn), K T Brave (Jpn), Clincher (Jpn), Sunrise Hope (Jpn), Danon Pharaoh (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart & video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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