THERE was no fairytale end to Auguste Rodin’s career in Japan at the weekend. Rather, it was the race favourite Do Deuce (Heart’s Cry), coming off his Group 1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) triumph, who claimed his fifth Group 1 victory in this year’s Japan Cup, adding to his success in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes at two in 2021, the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) in 2022 and the Arima Kinen in 2023.

This was trainer Yasuo Tomomichi’s 21st JRA Group 1 win while jockey Yutaka Take claimed his 83rd. For Tomomichi, this is his second Japan Cup title after his win in 2017 with Cheval Grand, (also a son of Heart’s Cry), while Take increased the record of the most Japan Cup titles won by the same jockey to five, adding to wins with Special Week (1999), Deep Impact (2006), Rose Kingdom (2010) and Kitasan Black (2016).