Takamatsunomiya Kinen (Group 1)
JAPAN’s top sprinter Satono Reve defended his Takamatsunomiya Kinen title in fine style at Chukyo Racecourse last Sunday.
Sent off favourite, Satono Reve lowered the race record and missed the Chukyo course record by 0.1 seconds over the six furlongs.
Following last year’s victory, the now seven-year-old son of Lord Kanaloa was runner-up twice in Group 1s in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize in Hong Kong and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
He was initially scheduled to race in the Al Quoz Sprint last weekend, but his trip to Dubai was cancelled due to the unrest in the Middle East.
Christophe Lemaire, on board for trainer Noriyuki Hori for the first time, claimed his 59th JRA-Group 1 victory.
Satono Reve raced around 10th in the 18-horse field early on, before angling to the outside entering the stretch and he unleashed a powerful late charge to collar the leaders 100m out, before pulling away for a comfortable two-length victory.
“I’m glad Satono Reve was able to win the race for two consecutive years. He’s a very strong horse. The pace was fast from the start, but he knows what he’s supposed to do, so I just let him run in his own rhythm,” Lemaire told Japanese media.
“Once we entered the stretch, he really accelerated - it felt great. Having raced alongside him many times, I knew him well. He’s an easy horse to ride.”
Outsider Red Mon Reve, another seven-year-old by Lord Kanaloa, travelled just behind Satono Reve and continued to chase the favourite to the finish to overtake the duelling Win Carnelian and Panja Tower, securing second place.
France
THE group races on the flat won’t be long coming and, in France, the Group 3 Prix Edmond Blanc over a mile got things going last weekend. The winner Dreamliner was sent off an outsider here, but he won by half a length with the even-money favourite Silius only third of the 10.
Stephane Wattel’s gelding had some good form last season at Deauville - namely last August, when he won the Group 3 Barriere Prix Quincey, beating the subsequent QEII winner Cicero’s Gift.
The Aga Khan studs and Francis Graffard had a good weekend and following Calandagan’s Dubai triumph they had two winners on the card.
The favourite Asmarani, a four-year-old gelding by Sottass, took the Listed Prix Right Royal over a mile and seven furlongs. His second win this season over the 2024 Prix Royal Oak winner Double Major and winning by a length and three-quarters, but the huge eye-catcher was in the first race, the Prix Kashmir II for newcomers over a mile.
The Aga Khan-bred Erdenali justified favouritism again, but the manner of the victory certainly caught the eye, as he sprinted clear to win by six and a half lengths over Tocoa. The winner is another gelding, a three-year-old by Caravaggio out of a daughter of the dual Group 1 winner, Ervedya.