Lugal storms home under Atsuya Nishimura (Pic – HKJC)
The 58th running of the Gr1 Sprinters Stakes at Nayakama Racecourse in Japan on Sunday produced the quickest renewal since 2012.
The 1200m contest heralded the much-anticipated return of JRA Grade 1 action in Chiba Prefecture, just a short distance outside of Tokyo. The race is one of just two top-level sprints on the JRA calendar.
Lugal won for jockey Atsuya Nishimura and trainer Haruki Sugiyama. The Duramente colt was 10th in a rain affected Gr1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) last March.
“I’m so happy, I’m so thrilled to be able to win a Group 1 race for the first time. I’m happy for Lugal as well because it’s his first Group 1 win as well. I don’t remember anything in the straight,” Nishimura said.
The winning time was 1m 07s, the fastest run edition since Lord Kanaloa in 2012 (1m 06.70s).
Toshin Macau finished second by a neck under Akira Sugawara for trainer Mizuki Takayanagi, while Namura Clair flashed into yet another Group 1 placing for jockey Takeshi Yokoyama and trainer Kodai Hasegawa.
Sugiyama mentioned post-race that he is open to campaigning Lugal overseas.
This was Lugal’s first Gr1 title in his comeback race after being sidelined for half a year due to a fracture.
Debuting as a two-year-old in November, the Duramente colt broke his maiden in his fourth career start in January of his three-year-old season.
Though winless during that season after winning the Tachibana Stakes (Listed, 1,400m) in May, he marked two runner-up efforts in the Aoi Stakes (Gr3, 1,200m) and the Keihan Hai (Gr3, 1,200m).
He captured his first graded title in his four-year-old kickoff start, the Silk Road Stakes (Gr3, 1,200m), but was 10th in the following Takamatsunomiya Kinen (Gr1, 1,200m), after which the colt was found to have a fracture in his left foreleg.
Trainer Haruki Sugiyama marked his sixth JRA-G1 title following his Tenno Sho (Spring) victory with Justin Palace last year, and jockey Atsuya Nishimura captured his ninth graded win and first Gr1 title in his seventh year of riding..
Hong Kong representatives Victor The Winner and Mugen will return from Japan to target the HK$26 million Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint on 8 December at Sha Tin after the pair were unplaced in Sunday’s feature.
Beaten for speed early after breaking from a tricky barrier 14, Victor The Winner and jockey Joao Moreira positioned fourth in running as Puro Magic burst to the front, stringing the field out and holding a near-four length advantage at the top of the home straight. Puro Magic covered the opening 600m of the race in 32.1s.
Trainer of Victor The Winner, Danny Shum, said: “I thought he ran a reasonable race, not a sensational race. It was a really fast pace and Joao Moreira kept him in fourth spot, where he had every chance.
“He’s not really used to the fast pace, but he didn’t give up – he kept trying. The JRA (Japan Racing Association) have told me the owner gets 680,000 Hong Kong dollars for finishing sixth.”
Shum will now point Victor The Winner towards the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint, expecting to run first-up in the December showpiece instead of contesting the HK$5.35 million G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) on 17 November.
“It’s experience. Our target now is December – the Hong Kong Sprint. I don’t think we’ll run in the Group 2, straight to the Hong Kong Sprint. Hopefully Joao Moreira can come, he says he would like to come again for this horse,” Shum said.
“He tried very hard. It’s not easy to come over, but he tried very hard. It’s too fast for him, he ran a reasonable race. I’m not disappointed and I’m not happy – little bit in the middle.”
Contesting just his second Group 1 race and first outside of Hong Kong, Mugen trailed Victor The Winner in 13th under Karis Teetan for trainer Pierre Ng.
“He was quite nervous behind the gates and he was sweating up. It’s his first race this season, he’ll learn from that and learn to travel. He didn’t like the track today as Karis said with the kickback,” Ng said. “We’ll see how he recovers from here, but we’ll run him in November.”
No joy today! Mugen goes to post under Karis Teetan (Pic – HKJC)
Mugen was first-up since last June, when he won the HK$4.2 million G3 Premier Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin.
“He just didn’t seem to travel like he usually does, he thought he was following Damian (Lane on Satono Reve) and he could take him in the straight, but he didn’t like the ground at all. It was quite a challenge, we probably think this is a leaders track today,” Ng said.
