Yoshito Yahagi | Horse Racing Free Tips

Loves Only You Finishes Career With Hong Kong Cup Victory

Loves Only You set the perfect seal on one of international racing's most colorful careers with a spellbinding success in the HK$30 million Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) on Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong.

Yoshito Yahagi's globetrotting mare has flown the Hinomaru flag from Dubai to Hong Kong and on to the USA then back to Sha Tin again in 2021, leading home a Japanese 1-2-3-4 in the G1 FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) in April and then creating history by becoming the first horse from her nation to score at the Breeders' Cup.

Hong Kong's richest race had been nominated as the final race of the Deep Impact mare's career soon after she crossed the line in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (2200m) at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., on November 6.

Her fifth long flight of the year took her annual distance covered to over 20,000 miles but Loves Only You was produced in perfect condition and completed the final leg of her global odyssey with a last-gasp success under the coolest of rides from Yuga Kawada.

The 36-year-old rider, who was extremely fortunate not to be brought down when previous winner Danon Smash was badly hampered in a dramatic G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) earlier in the day, was understandably thrilled to record his first HKIR success. “Thank you very much, I'm very proud,” he said.

“She jumped well. The pace was a bit slow but then she relaxed and I was able to find a good position. She's given me two big presents and is the best female horse I've ever ridden. I hope she will be a good mother.”

Sent off the 2.6 market leader, Loves Only You jumped alertly from stall four and was soon traveling keenly just behind a steady early pace set by Mac Swiney, Ka Ying Star, and the wide-running Bolshoi Ballet.

Russian Emperor made a bold move to hit the front as a packing field jostled for position early in the home straight but last season's BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) runner-up edged right with his tongue lolling out as he did so, placing Loves Only You in a pocket on the inner at a crucial point.

Hishi Iguazu produced a storming run from the rear on the outside soon after under Joao Moreira to draw level briefly well inside the final furlong.

However, Kawada had Loves Only You in full stride by this stage and the five-year-old repeated her Del Mar heroics, quickening valiantly between horses under pressure to lead close home and beat her fellow Japanese raider by a short head.

Russian Emperor ran the race of his life for Douglas Whyte and Blake Shinn to finish a length away in third, while British raider Dubai Honour never looked like becoming the first European runner to win the Cup since Snow Fairy in 2010 but stayed on powerfully for fourth once in the clear for William Haggas and Tom Marquand.

Three years on from seeing his star filly Lys Gracieux beaten narrowly by Exultant in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m), winning trainer Yoshito Yahagi was completing an incredible end to 2021 which has also produced a 50-1 Breeders' Cup Distaff success for Marche Lorraine and a commanding Japan Cup success for his superstar colt Contrail.

The colorful 60-year-old was unable to accompany Loves Only You on the final leg of her journey but his stable representative Yusaku Oka was on hand to savor a perfect finale.

“I'm so glad to win this race for our trainer, who is watching on in Japan,” he said.

“She won the Breeders' Cup very well and in the spring she came over here and had a good result, so we were always confident she would run well.

“She's got a good pedigree – so we are looking forward to the next stage of her career – and as we have quite a lot of good horses in the stable we hope we will be back in Hong Kong with them in the future.”

Dusk was gathering over Sha Tin as an elated Kawada left the racecourse on a day that illustrated every aspect of the joy and pain that defines racing at the highest level.

The sun is also setting on Loves Only You's racing career but, if the 2021 edition of the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races confirmed one thing, it is that the Land of the Rising Sun is now a true powerhouse on the global racing stage.

Following in the footsteps of A Shin Hikari, Maurice, Win Bright, and Normcore, this success for Loves Only You means Japan has now won five of the last seven Hong Kong Cups and four of the eight HKIR races run in the last two years.

HKJC racecaller Mark McNamara summed up the latest thrilling finish to Hong Kong's most cherished prize by saying: “It's Japan 1-2, Loves Only You says sayonara with the Cup!”

Leave them wanting more is never a bad motto. But, who knows, maybe Japan's latest Cup queen will have a son or daughter to represent her on the LONGINES HKIR stage in years to come.

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Loves Only You Looks To Finish Career With Win In Hong Kong Cup

As the end of Loves Only You's storied racing career approaches and the next chapter of her life beckons, trainer Yoshito Yahagi has his eyes firmly fixed on Sunday's HK$30 million Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong, hopeful of a fairy tale end for his globetrotting mare.

“I'm just concentrating on her race in Hong Kong, so I don't feel sad at the moment but probably after the race I will be sad,” Yahagi said.

Retiring with seven wins from 15 starts (before Sunday's race), Loves Only You has savored top-level victories in Japan, the United States, and Hong Kong. She also boasts a close-up third in Dubai and following her final foray, she will be sent to Northern Farm, south of Sapporo in Japan, for broodmare duties.

With a Breeders' Cup success under her belt last month, Loves Only You can join an elite club at Sha Tin with victory by becoming the fifth horse to complete the Queen Elizabeth II Cup and Hong Kong Cup double in the same year after Jim And Tonic (1999), Vengeance Of Rain (2005), Designs On Rome (2014), and Win Bright (2019).

“I'm so glad we made history because a Japanese horse had never won the race (Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, 2200m), but we were always thinking those tough races in America that our Japanese horses still had a chance, so I'm glad we won at the Breeders' Cup,” Yahagi said.

Undefeated over 2000m at Sha Tin, she nailed a sublime win over Glory Vase, Daring Tact, and Kiseki in April to lead home a Japanese-trained first four in the FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

“After we won at the Breeders' Cup, we decided that this was going to be the final run of her career,” Yahagi said.

Yuga Kawada – who guided her to Breeders' Cup glory – will again be in the saddle.

“I went to win and we prepared this horse so well at the races – I'm so glad to make history with a Japanese horse to win at the Breeders' Cup,” Kawada said.

Earlier this week on Wednesday, December 8 at Sha Tin, Kawada took Loves Only You through a 1200m gallop on the dirt, clocking 1:16.6 (:30.0, :24.5, :22.1).

“I think barrier four is a good draw for her,” the rider said.

November proved a big month for Yahagi, who savored his maiden G1 Japan Cup (2400m) triumph with the (Japanese) Triple Crown-winning Contrail.

“This horse is a very special horse for me, he has a new life as a stallion now and we're looking forward to seeing him do an excellent job in the future,” Yahagi said.

Yahagi has been training since 2004 and boasts G1 wins in Japan, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Australia.

Earlier on the card, Stay Foolish lines up in the HK$20 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) for Yahagi and partners with Vincent Ho from gate four.

The six-year-old is a two-time winner including once at G2 level. This will be his sixth attempt in G1 company with his previous best effort at the top-level returning third place in the Hopeful Stakes (2000m) of 2017.

Sunday's 10-race fixture at Sha Tin kicks off at 12:25 pm with the Class 2 Maurice Handicap (1600m).

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Loves Only You: History Made And In The Making

No matter where she finishes in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m, or 1 1/4 miles), those watching will be witnessing both history in the making and a history maker, Japan's champion mare with an endearingly fetching name – Loves Only You.

The LONGINES Hong Kong Cup will be the final race for Loves Only You, capping a short, star-studded, and decidedly international career, which has seen the now 5-year-old daughter of Deep Impact land one of the most elusive overseas wins for Japan – its first Breeders' Cup victory, while her FWD QEII Cup (2000m, 1 1/4 miles) triumph at Sha Tin earlier this year came at her first Hong Kong sortie.

Debuting in late 2018, Loves Only You pocketed her first G1 the next year in the fourth start of her career, with a win of the classic Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, 2400m, 1 1/2 miles).

And she did it unbeaten.

She'd been the race favorite from her career second start through her run in Japan's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2200m, 1 3/8 miles) in the autumn, when Loves Only You failed for the first time to meet expectations. It was still a far-from-shabby third behind older females, as she finished 0.2 seconds off winner Lucky Lilac who, the following month, finished second in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m, 1 1/2 miles).

Six months passed without a race, after which Loves Only You was given five starts for 2020, none of them wins and three out of the frame. They ran the gamut from understandable to forgivable to downright inexcusable.

On paper alone, it looked like the filly's career was on the rocks. But, key to her inability to show her form, incredible spring and a nimbleness that assistant trainer Kazunari Yoshida likens to a cat, was to be found in those six months at the beginning of 2020. That key was the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, or more specifically, the wrench it threw into racing.

When it was announced in late March 2020 that the Dubai World Cup meeting would be cancelled after all, 20 horses from Japan – its biggest team yet and Loves Only You among them – were already on site and had to return to Japan without racing.

The stress of quarantine, travel, and strange surroundings apparently took its toll on Loves Only You. It wasn't until Japan's Queen Elizabeth II Cup that year that the then 4-year-old started to look like her old self, finishing in third place for the second year in a row, this time only 0.1 seconds behind repeat winner Lucky Lilac.

But at year-end, her 10th-place finish nearly a full second behind the winner in the G1 Arima Kinen seemed to bode poorly for the future. The distance of 2500m was her longest assignment yet and barrier four had seemed advantageous. But Mirco Demuro blamed her loss on the trip.

“The inside ground was torn up and I'd wanted to travel about 4 widths off the rail, but there was too much pressure on the outside and I couldn't find a way out,” he said.

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The start of 2021 brought a new rider and new hope. Most importantly, it brought fantastic results. Loves Only You has yet to figure out of the top three in her five starts this year, all graded stakes, three of them top level. And, despite the continuing pandemic, Loves Only You has done more flying than most humans.

She started with a win of the G2 Kyoto Kinen (2200m, 1 3/8 miles) at Hanshin in February under Yuga Kawada, and the next month flew off to Dubai, this time finishing third G1 in the Dubai Sheema Classic (2410m, about 1 1/2 miles) under Oisin Murphy. In April, she debuted in Hong Kong and, with Vincent Ho up, led a Japanese 1-2-3-4 over the finish line of the G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m, 1 1/4 miles).

“In one word, 'strong', is what she was,” said 60-year-old Yoshito Yahagi, currently only two wins from the top of Japan's trainers' championship. “She lost a shoe going into the first turn and, yet, was able to show the kind of speed she did in the stretch.

“Having kept her condition while training alone in Dubai before going to Hong Kong was quite an achievement. I think it shows how tough she is mentally.”

Ho agreed she was top notch.

“She was extremely calm and professional. She held on very strongly and won impressively,” he said.

Back home, after four months off, Loves Only You was given her first start for the campaign in the G2 Sapporo Kinen (2000m, 1 1/4 miles). She finished second, less than a length behind dual G1 winner Sodashi and, more importantly, was able to show her prowess over the specific grass unique to the Hokkaido tracks. And that was part of the plan.

The venue for this year's Breeders' Cup venue was of special interest to Yahagi.

“It is at Del Mar on the west coast, close to Japan. And, the turf at Sapporo is similar to the turf at Del Mar and I believe California turf will suit Japan horses,” he predicted leaving for the Breeders' Cup.

On Oct. 22, when Loves Only You departed Japan with stablemate Marche Lorrainel, Yahagi noted: “I think with two horses, it will make conditions very favorable. I think we have the best chances of success of any so far.”

The rest is history. Both horses won their respective races, Loves Only You with a gutsy, spine-tingling finish in the G1 Filly & Mare Turf (2200m, 1 3/8 miles) and Marche Lorraine in the Distaff, giving Japan not only its first long-coveted Breeders' Cup victory after 25 years of trying, but two wins for good measure.

“There's no words for how overjoyed I am,” Yahagi said post-race. “There were some difficult places, and I must admit I thought she wasn't going to make it.

“It was a very exciting race. There's nothing better than to be able to send that exciting news back home to Japan.

“I have nothing but gratitude for Loves Only You and wish to say to her, 'Thank you for bringing me here.' She is to me like a most-beloved daughter.”

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Triple Crown Winner Contrail Bows Out With Japan Cup Triumph

Odds-on favorite Contrail romped to a two-length victory claiming this year's Japan Cup and fifth G1 triumph in his career-finale performance. After claiming the 2019 Hopeful Stakes as a 2-year-old, the Deep Impact colt went on to sweep the Triple Crown—the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, 2,000m), the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, 2,400m) and the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, 3,000m). Trainer Yoshito Yahagi is now the proud owner of 14 JRA-G1 wins—his latest victory was with the colt in last season's Kikuka Sho—while jockey Yuichi Fukunaga, following his recent Sprinters Stakes victory with Pixie Knight in October, has collected a total of 32 JRA-G1 wins.

Breaking well from the second most inner stall, Contrail was settled under Fukunaga in mid-pack and two-wide, while Kiseki made rapid headway in the backstretch from the rear, taking over the front at the third corner, extending his lead by six to seven lengths. By the time the field hit the top of the straight, the brown colt had shifted to the outside with clear running room in front of him and displayed his trademark explosive kick, shaking off Shahryar after a brief rally at the furlong pole then turned up an extra gear to easily put away Authority 100 meters out for a convincing two-length win.

“All I have now is mixed feelings of relief and lonesomeness,” said trainer Yoshito Yahagi. “In the colt's latest start (Tenno Sho (Autumn)), he broke poorly so I told him, while he was walking in the paddock earlier, to stay calm at the start. It worried me a bit since the pace was slow and he wasn't in that good a position, but we had tuned him up to perfection and the colt gave us all he had in the straight. I have to admit I was under a lot of pressure during the two years he was at my stable, but I think it has helped me in becoming more mature, and I can't thank him enough. Wouldn't it be wonderful to win the Arc with an offspring of his someday?”

“The colt had issues before his debut, so there were always concerns about his form, but I am so proud of how he proved himself today—I'm overwhelmed,” commented jockey Yuichi Fukunaga after the race. “All I did today was believe in him. He broke well and everything went just perfectly. He has given me every jockey's dream and I am utterly grateful. The colt shone a bright light over a gloomy year due to the pandemic last season. I'm relieved that we can send him off to his next career with this victory.”

Posted third favorite, 4-year-old Authority sat in fourth behind Shadow Diva, turned wide into the lane while passing Wagnerian and ran strongly, inheriting the lead from the tiredpacesetter300 meters out, but was gunned down in the last half furlong by the eventual winner for second.

Second favored 3-year-old colt Shahryar ran in fifth down the backstretch, entered the straight right behind Authority and in front of Contrail, ran willingly up the hill but was checked when rallying with the closing winner and had nothing left to tag the runner-up, finishing 1-1/2-lengths behind Authority in third.

French raider Grand Glory was the top finisher among the three foreign contingents. Unhurried after the break, the Olympic Glory mare saved ground along the rails in mid-division in ninth or tenth position. Angling out off the rails coming into the final turn, Grand Glory exerted an impressive turn of speed going up the long uphill stretch and geared up further from the 200-meter marker to make ground and finish fifth, five-lengths from the winner.

“I am very satisfied with her performance and her result at fifth-place. She appeared to lose a bit of balance and lean to the inside but thankfully Cristian got her back on her feet by the stretch. She's mentally very strong and the experience to run in the Japan Cup was fantastic for us. It's a great race and we would love to come back with another horse,” commented trainer Gianluca Bietolini.

“We couldn't have asked for a better result—having finished fifth in this competition is almost like winning for us. She was in super form, almost as good as when I rode her in the Prix Jean Romanet—which we won. The pace was very fast for this mare, but she handled it remarkably,” commented Cristian Demuro.

Japan broke sharply from an outside stall but was eased back to mid-field, choosing to move to the inside to save ground behind Grand Glory. Angled out at early stretch for a clear run, the Galileo horse attempted to make his bid with the eventual winner in view but was unable to cause a serious threat but held on for eighth.

“The track may have been a bit too fast for this horse. He was able to secure a good spot but wasn't able to keep up with the pace,” commented Patrick Keating.

Broome was slow out of the gate and gradually worked his way up to mid-division along the backstretch outside Grand Glory, but struggled to find another gear with 400 meters to go and even paced to finish 11th.

“He missed his break and that cost him,” said Patrick Keating. “He missed his break. The pace was slow but he wasn't able to pick up speed in the end,” added Ryan Moore.

Other Horses:
4th: (12) Sanrei Pocket—sat in front of winner, angled out, showed effort although unable to threaten top finishers while besting the rest
6th: (14) Uberleben—raced near winner, struggled to find clear path at early stretch, showed 2nd fastest late speed, belatedly
7th: (11) Shadow Diva—chased leaders in third, remained in contention until 100m out, weakened
9th: (9) Aristoteles—disputed lead and made pace, opening gap to 4 to 5 lengths, gave way to Kiseki while keeping second position, unable to sustain bid and overtaken
10th: (5) Kiseki—held back after break, headway along backstretch, led rounding 3rd corner and pulled away to open gap to 6 lengths, soon used up and outrun by foes at furlong pole
12th: (16) You Can Smile—further back than mid-division early, weakened after uphill stretch
13th: (13) Mozu Bello—near rear, raced wide throughout and unable to make up ground
14h: (15) Makahiki—raced second from last, unable to reach contention
15h: (10) Lord My Way—broke a fraction slow and raced behind, unable to make ground from wide turn
16th: (1) Muito Obrigado—trailed in rear, never a factor
17th: (8) Windjammer—mid-division early, even paced and outrun in last furlong
18h: (17) Wagnerian—broke sharply and tracked leader in 2nd, tired and faded

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