Do Deuce justified strong favouritism in the 44th renewal of Japan’s most famous race – and with a thrilling last-to-first success under legendary jockey Yutaka Take – as the European challenge ultimately underwhelmed in the £5m Gr1 Japan Cup in Tokyo.
Yasuo Tomomichi’s five-year-old flopped in the 2022 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe after edging out Equinox in that year’s Japanese Derby and, while his form had been up and down since then, his victory in last month’s Tenno Sho (Autumn) had established him as the one to beat and he duly gave his 55-year-old rider a record fifth success in the race.
Do Deuce (Yutaka Take) gets there to beat Shin Emperor (Ryusei Sakai) and Durezza (William Buick) in a thriller (Pic – JRA)
Goliath fared the best of the international raiders in sixth and the King George winner ran well given he was keen enough off steady early fractions, while Auguste Rodin- who sweated up beforehand – looked in a decent position under Ryan Moore but just couldn’t pick up in the straight as he finished eighth on his final career start.
Fantastic Moon made some early ground in the straight before flattening out to finish 11th of the 14 runners.
European form was advertised in the big-race finish, however, as Shin Emperor- just a length behind Economics in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes in September – dead-heated for second after racing on the pace while fellow joint-second Durezza, ridden by William Buick, showed his true colours after finishing fifth behind City Of Troy in the Juddmonte International at York last time.
Do Duece was last of the runners with six furlongs to run and his victory here was top-class given how he got himself to the front, coming wide into the straight with a brilliant, loping move around the outside and then not being hard pressed to keep his rivals at bay in the finish.
Racing TV’s Fran Berry said of the winner: “He’d arguably been frustrating as a four-year-old and hard to win with, but this autumn he’s been awesome and he’s really coming of age as a five-year-old by Heart’s Cry.
“I imagine the Arima Kinen at Christmas time – the race he won last year and where he really came back to form as a four-year-old – would be his swansong.
“At the age of five and given what he’s done this year – and beng a Japanese Derby winner as a three-year-old – I don’t think he has a lot more to prove.”
But Berry added: “We’ve seen with this owner, the ambition is to win an Arc with Yutaka Take on board. Who knows – will he come back to Europe?”
“The ground will always be the thing with him at Longchamp but he’s a more battle-hardened horse and he’s got a big engine and getting better with age.”
The Japan Cup, in its 44th year, and won for the past 18 years by home -based gallopers, continues to attract some of the top turf horses from around the world—67 runners from North America, 155 from Europe, 26 from Oceania and five from Asia—while a number of runners have made this race their starting point towards further international success in following years.
In last year’s edition, Equinox (JPN, by Kitasan Black) capped off his stellar career with an overwhelming victory and was given the top rating of 135 to become the World’s Best Racehorse.
Moreover, the Japan Cup itself was recognized as the world’s highest rated race with a rating of 126.75.
The winner:
