Sporting the famed Gestut Rottgen silks in Cologne's Preis vom Weidenpescher Park on Sunday, Naila (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}) overpowered her peers to become the latest German TDN Rising Star. Sent off the 9-10 favourite for the 1850-metre maiden, the Markus Klug-trained chestnut broke well from the widest stall to track the leading duo throughout the early stages. Taking control approaching the two-furlong marker, she surged clear to win unchallenged by 10 lengths with Andrasch Starke easing down.
The winner is the last known foal out of the listed-winning dam Naomia (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), who has produced the G3 Zukunftsrennen scorer Narella (Ire) (Reliable Man {GB}). She is a daughter of the G1 Oaks d'Italia heroine Nagoya (Ger) (Goofalik), who is also the second dam of Nepal (Ger) (Kallisto {Ger}) who also captured that Milan Classic when it was staged as a group 2 in 2016.
Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), who bravely dead-heated for the victory with defending champion Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in this year's G1 Dubai Turf after making all the running, put on an even bolder show in Sunday's G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) at Tokyo Racecourse. But after turning into the long straight with a double-digit advantage, he could not quite stave off favoured Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), who whistled home down the centre of the course to lead in the dying strides.
It was a third Tenno Sho in four years for the Silk Racing partnership, whose Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) won it in 2019 and 2020.
Off at a generous 21-1, Panthalassa bounced well from his low gate, but had some surprising early company in the form of North Bridge (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), and that may have had a material impact on the race, as a keyed-up Panthalassa rumbled right along through early fractions of :23.5 and :46 for the opening 800 metres. Equinox, making his first start since just missing in the G1 Tokyo Yushun at this track in late May, settled kindly behind midfield and was content to allow the front-runner to do his thing, with no apparent panic from Christophe Lemaire.
Panthalassa led by the better part of 15 lengths as the Tenno Sho field hit the turn and carried that sort of advantage off the final corner, daring the market leaders to catch him if they could. Equinox was steered off the heels of Potager (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) at the 450m and began to progress, but still had around eight lengths to find entering the final furlong. Despite racing on his incorrect leg, Equinox gathered up Panthalassa late on, who gamely held for second ahead of Danon Beluga (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}). Equinox covered his final 600 metres in :32.7, a tenth of a second quicker than Danon Beluga. Jack d'Or (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) was a further neck back in fourth, while 2021 Derby hero and this year's G1 Dubai Sheema Classic winner Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was fifth in a useful prep for the G1 Longines Japan Cup Nov. 27.
“I'm happy that we were able to catch Panthalassa,” said Lemaire, winning his third Tenno Sho in four years and his 42nd Group 1 on the JRA circuit. “I saw him way in front of us after turning into the straight, the huge gap did worry me a bit, but my colt gave his best and displayed an incredible turn of foot. If he comes out of this race safe and well, he has every chance to do well in the Japan Cup or the Arima Kinen. This was his first Group 1 win but definitely not his last.”
Pedigree Notes:
Equinox is one of 54 winners to date for his second-crop sire and is his first top-level scorer. Kitasan Black, now responsible for three group winners following the victory of Ravel (Jpn) in Saturday's G3 Artemis S., is a son of Deep Impact's full-brother Black Tide (Jpn) and put together one of the great careers in recent memory.
Third to the late Duramente (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in the 2015 G1 Satsuki Sho, Kitasan Black won that year's G1 Kikuka Sho (3000m) before adding his first G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) over two miles the following May. Named Horse of the Year after closing his 4-year-old season with a score in the G1 Japan Cup (2400m), he added the G1 Osaka Hai (2000m), a successful defence of his title in the Tenno Sho (Spring) in his next appearance and this race nearly five years to the day of Equinox's win. Run in heavy ground in 2017, Kitasan Black clocked 2:08.3. He retired as a dual Horse of the Year following success in the G1 Arima Kinen with 12 wins–seven at Group 1 level–from 20 starts for earnings of $16.5 million.
Out of Silk Racing colourbearer Chateau Blanche, Equinox is a half-brother to the operation's Group 3 winner Weiss Meteor, a 2-year-old colt by Just a Way (Jpn) and a yearling filly by Kizuna (Jpn). She did not produce a foal in 2022. Equinox is the second Group 1 winner out of a daughter of Dancing Brave son King Halo (Jpn), joining Sprinters' S. hero Pixie Knight (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}).
WATCH: Equinox catches Panthalassa in the Tenno Sho
Sunday, Tokyo, Japan TENNO SHO (AUTUMN)-G1, ¥384,500,000, Tokyo, 10-30, 3yo/up, 2000mT, 1:57.5, fm.
1–EQUINOX (JPN), 123, 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 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm; T-Tetsuya Kimura; J-Christophe Lemaire; ¥203,150,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-2-0, ¥403,242,000. *1/2 to Weiss Meteor (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), GSW-Jpn, $820,531. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
2–Panthalassa (Jpn), 128, h, 5, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)–Miss Pemberley (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire). O-Hiroo Race; B-Hidenori Kimura; ¥80,900,000.
3–Danon Beluga (Jpn), 123, c, 3, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–Coasted, by Tizway. (¥160,000,000 wnlg '19 JRHAJUL). O-Danox Inc; B-Northern Farm; ¥50,450,000.
Margins: 1, NK, HF. Odds: 1.60, 21.80, 6.30.
Also Ran: Jack d'Or (Jpn), Shahryar (Jpn), Karate (Jpn), Maria Elena (Jpn), Uberleben (Jpn), Geoglyph (Jpn), Ablaze (Jpn), North Bridge (Jpn), Cadenas (Jpn), Potager (Jpn), Red Galant (Jpn), Babbitt (Jpn). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Click for the JRA chart.
It was tight at the end of Sunday's G3 Prix Miesque at Chantilly, but R.T. Racing Stable's Moon Ray (Fr) (Saxon Warrior {Jpn}–Demeanour, by Giant's Causeway) had her nose in front where it mattered to provide her owners with a landmark pattern success in Europe. Having split Eternal Dance (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Lady Mia (Fr) (Outstrip {GB}) when second in the Listed Prix Saraca over this seven-furlong trip and track Oct. 8, the Nicolas Clement-trained chestnut was able to turn that form around with Stephane Pasquier judging the pace perfectly.
Reserved in mid-division against the rail initially, the 5-1 shot needed an out in the straight as the front-running Lady Mia saw off all other challengers and it came in time for her to wear down that rival close home and prevail in a bobbing finish. The 9-5 favourite Eternal Dance had too much ground to make up, having taken too much time to hit top stride, and wound up half a length further away in third.
“She was a 55,000 Arqana October yearling who was a bargain–you couldn't ask for any more. She will probably return in a Guineas trial and we'll find out whether we go for the Pouliches,” Clement said of the breakthrough Euro runner for Dr Ramon Tallaj's operation. “The first three fillies in the prep were the first three here, so it shows they are consistent and tough. I'm delighted for the owner, who started with horses two years ago in New York with my brother.”
Pedigree Notes
Moon Ray, who had broken her maiden over six furlongs here Sept. 10, becomes the third individual group winner for her first-season sire and is the third black-type performer for the Swedish listed-winning dam. Demeanour's others of that kind were the Norwegian listed scorer and G3 Marit Sveaas Minnelop runner-up Swedish Dream (Fr) (Helmet {Aus}) and the G3 Silver Flash S. runner-up Moravia (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}). A half to three other black-type performers including the G3 Cumberland Lodge S. Runner-up Sugar Ray (Ire) (Danehill), Demeanour is a granddaughter of the G1 Irish St Leger heroine Dark Lomond (Ire) (Lomond) whose descendants include the G2 Railway S.-winning sire Lilbourne Lad (Ire). Her yearling colt by Postponed (Ire) was a €37,000 purchase by Morten Buskop Bloodstock at the recent Arqana Deauville October auction that Moon Ray emanated from.
Sunday, Chantilly, France PRIX MIESQUE-G3, €80,000, Chantilly, 10-30, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:29.24, sf.
1–MOON RAY (FR), 123, f, 3, by Saxon Warrior (Jpn) 1st Dam: Demeanour (SW-Swe), by Giant's Causeway 2nd Dam: Akuna Bay, by Mr. Prospector 3rd Dam: Dark Lomond (Ire), by Lomond 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€55,000 Ylg '21 ARQOCT). O-R. T. Racing Stable; B-Team Hogdala A B & Sms Racing A B (FR); T-Nicolas Clement; J-Stephane Pasquier. €40,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-1, €69,550. *1/2 to Swedish Dream (Fr) (Helmet {Aus}), SW & GSP-Nor, $160,835, & to Moravia (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), GSP-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Lady Mia (Fr), 123, f, 2, Outstrip (GB)–Mrs Micawber (GB), by Nayef. (€110,000 RNA HRA '22 ARQARC). O-Michele Cazaubon, A & G Botti, Daniel Cole & Rana Khaddam; B-D Cole, Mme V Dubos & Kleber (FR); T-Alessandro & Giuseppe Botti. €16,000.
3–Eternal Dance (GB), 123, f, 2, Dubawi (Ire)–Yellow Band, by Dalakhani (Ire). O/B-Merry Fox Stud Limited (GB); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €12,000.
Margins: NO, HF, SNK. Odds: 5.30, 11.00, 1.80.
Also Ran: Solaire (Fr), Onyxka (Fr), Blue Bayou (Fr), Showay (Fr), Crystallium (GB), Speedaara (Fr). Video, sponsored by TVG.
Striving to maintain her unbeaten record in Saturday's G3 Artemis S., Ravel (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) managed that feat by a neck over the favoured Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) in the 1600-metre feature in Tokyo.
Sent off as the 6-1 third choice on the back of her one-length triumph in a Kokura maiden in July, the Northern Farm-bred and U Carrot Farm colourbearer was not the quickest away and dropped anchor last but one as Alice Verite (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) established a slight advantage over the pressing duo of Dynato Selene (Jpn) (Red Falx {Jpn}) and Masculine (Jpn) (One And Only {Jpn}). Unhurried on the bend, Ravel swooped widest of all in the lane, but still had most of the field to get by as Alice Verite set sail for home at the quarter-pole.
Closing with gusto, the bay had the leader in her sights inside the final furlong and wore that foe down in deep stretch, before withstanding the late charge of Liberty Island. It was another neck back in third to a game Alice Verite.
Pedigree Notes
By two-time Japanese Horse of the Year Kitasan Black (Jpn), himself a son of Deep Impact (Jpn)'s full-brother Black Tide (Jpn), Ravel is the third black-type winner and third group winner for her sire, whose oldest foals are just 3-year-olds. She joins the colts and Group 2 scorers Gaia Force (Jpn) and Equinox (Jpn), with the latter also second in both the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese St Leger). Equinox leaves from gate seven in Sunday's G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn). Like Gaia Force, the bay carries inbreeding to the influential Sunday Silence.
Ravel's damline has inhabited the Land of the Rising Sun since the late 40s, and she is the third foal and winner for G3 Fairy S. third Sambre Et Meuse (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) after the G3 Falcon S. placegetter Westerwald (Jpn) (Novellist {Ire}) and G2 Tulip Sho heroine Namur (Jpn). That daughter of Harbinger (GB) played the bridesmaid in the G1 Shuka Sho (Japanese Fillies St Leger) and was third in the G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) this season.
One of four black-type horses out of her winning dam Vite Marcher (Jpn) (French Deputy), Sambre Et Meuse is a half-sister to none other than 2021 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff victrix Marche Lorraine (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}).
Saturday, Tokyo, Japan ARTEMIS S.-G3, ¥56,110,000, Tokyo, 10-29, 2yo, f, 1600mT, 1:33.80, fm.
1–RAVEL (JPN), 119, f, 2, by Kitasan Black (Jpn) 1st Dam: Sambre et Meuse (Jpn), by Daiwa Major (Jpn) 2nd Dam: Vite Marcher (Jpn), by French Deputy 3rd Dam: Kyoei March (Jpn), by Dancing Brave
O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Yoshito Yahagi;
J-Ryusei Sakai. ¥29,357,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. *1/2 to
Westerwald (Jpn) (Novellist {Ire}), GSP-Jpn, $761,865; and
Namur (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}), GSW & MG1SP-Jpn, $1,309,898. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: D. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Liberty Island (Jpn), 119, f, 2, Duramente (Jpn)–Yankee Rose
(Aus), by All American (Aus). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn);
¥12,102,000.
3–Alice Verite (Jpn), 119, f, 2, Kizuna (Jpn)–Lumiere Verite, by
Cozzene. 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Makoto
Kato; B-North Hills (Jpn); ¥7,351,000.
Margins: NK, NK, HF. Odds: 6.90, 0.40, 14.70.
Also Ran: Dane Balance (Jpn), Malaki Naia (Jpn), Dynato Selene (Jpn), Masculine (Jpn), Kosei Maria (Jpn), Mississippi Tesoro (Jpn), Nishino Kofuku (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart and video.
