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Hong Kong Jockey Challenge Hong Kong Cup Entries Hong Kong Cup woeks Closing Day at Del Mar Japan Cup & Cattleya |
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 Mickael Barzalona celebrates aboard Calandagan after winning the Japan Cup. |
The most prestigious race in Japan is the 960 million yen ($6.4 million US) Japan Cup (G1), for older horses going 2400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) around 2 turns of the Tokyo Racecourse turf course. Conditions were typical for late November, with sunny skies and a race time temperature of 15 C (59 F) for the 77,099 fans, with the course rated good-to-firm.
Masquerade Ball was sent off as the 5-2 favorite in the field of 17 (after Durezza scratched) off his win in the Tenno Sho Autumn (G1) after finishing second in the Tokyo Yushun Japanese Derby (G2). In to challenge him included 3-1 second choice Calandagan, here off a 3 race win streak including the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1), King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (G1), and QIPCO Champion Stakes (G1), and 4-1 third choice Danon Decile, 5th in the Juddmonte International (G1) after winning the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1).
 Approaching the finish with Calandagan on the outside and loose horse Admire Terra on the inside. |
After 49-1 Admire Terra unseated jockey Yuga Kawada at the break and ran loose with the field the rest of the way, jockey Akihide Tsumura sent 160-1 longshot Seiun Hades to the lead first time by through fractions of 23.1, 46.0, 1:09.2, 1:33.4, and 1:57.5 while pressed by 166-1 Ho O Biscuits and stalked by 9-1 Justin Palace. Turning for home Seius Hades continued to lead to the 3/16 pole before tiring badly. Masquerade Ball and Calandagan broke free from the pack at the 1/16 pole setting up an epic duel to the line with the riderless Admire Terra to their inside. Calandagan, confidently ridden by Mickael Barzalona, outfinished Masquerade Ball to win by a head in new track record time of 2:20.3. It was another 2 1/2 lengths back to Denon Decile third. Calandagan is the first foreign-trained winner of the Japan Cup in 20 years, after Alkaased in 2005.
Payoffs and odds are from the North American pool.
Pgm Horse Jockey Win Place Show 8 Calandagan Barzalona 8.10 3.60 2.70 15 Masquerade Ball Lemaire 3.50 2.60 14 Danon Decile Tosaki 3.80 Winning Time: 2:20.3 (new track record) $1 Exacta 8-15 17.45 $1 Trifecta 8-15-14 110.00 $1 Superfecta 8-15-14-2 317.20Results chart |
Calandagan in the winner's circle. Winning trainer Francis-Henri Graffard said, "We were a little bit worried with the speed in the early parts of the race, but Mickael found a good lead behind Christophe Lemaire, and he travelled the whole way behind the right horse in the race, so that gave me a lot of confidence. And then, we never had any trouble into the running, especially in the last bend and climbing up to the front. And the horse, after that, has been really really brave. He's a real champion as everybody saw today. The race went really according to plan, and well done to the jockey for getting the right lead.
Calandagan is a very well-balanced horse. The mechanic of this horse is just unbelievable. And obviously, he has a very big heart. His action is fantastic—he is able to accelerate for a long period and keep that acceleration for a long time—so I think he has a physical attribute to be the champion he is."
Calandagan returns after the race. Winning jockey Mickael Barzalona said, "We did a little bit of a warm-up canter before entering the gate. He broke quick from the gate, but he's not the quickest. We were a bit roughed up by the horses coming from the outside and was tight in the beginning, but once we found our position and we found our rhythm, he traveled all the way very well. I'm very happy with where I ended up during the race, which is when Christophe came up with the favorite. I knew a good horse (Masquerade Ball) could bring me very close and just when we got to the straight, I wasn't sure if (Lemaire) was going or not, so I had to give a clear run to Calandagan and started to increase my pace. Chris, of course, actually was very close to us and he even got probably a head in front of me when we got to the top of the hill, but Calandagan was the strongest. Calandagan had a perfect season and proved in Europe that he was the best and then coming here, proved he was the best again in Japan."
Winning owner Princess Zahra Aga Khan said, "I don't think our operation has ever had a Japan Cup runner before because we didn't have a horse for the day. Calandagan was the horse for this race and (Graffard) had planned this for a very long time. I wasn't sure in March that we were going to get here. But it's very amazing, the enthusiasm, we went to Shadai yesterday and saw the stallions there and the breeding operations, it's fascinating to see the bloodlines that exist in this country, very actually remote to the European bloodlines we have today standing in Europe, so it's very interesting to me to see what Japan has produced in terms of stallions and bloodlines and I think it's going to be fascinating to see what those bloodlines do in the future. Calandagan is the perfect horse to travel for international races, and next year's Japan Cup is an option. Of course, for next year, we never know, they're horses. But if we can, we can do it. If we can, we probably will. And it's been a great honor to win this race today and to be here. It's been truly an amazing experience."
Left: Satono Voyage in the winner's circle. Winning trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka said, "The Kentucky Derby is of course one of the most prestigious races that this quality of horse can target, but it's not easy to say at this point whether we will target the Kentucky Derby. Before this race I was thinking about the Saudi Derby if he ran well here. I will talk to the jockey after this and see what he thinks, but it is one of the options."
Right: Satono Voyage heads back to the barn.
Left: Satono Voyage in the walking ring before the race. Tanaka added, "Forever Young's great performance has certainly encouraged us, and me, to send horses overseas, including America. This horse has a lot of potential and I am personally very happy to be able to train a horse of this caliber. He's by Into Mischief, whose crops do very well in the United States, and I think he has a good chance to perform well in the U.S. as well. Going into a race with two turns will be one of the tasks for him because he hasn't raced over that distance so I would like to be able to condition him to handle two turns. I've been training top dirt horses in my stable so my next aim is to get my first win in an overseas Grade 1 race."
Right: Trophy girls in the winner's circle.
Left: Second place finisher Don Erectus in the post parade.
Right: Third place finisher Arcadia Cafe in the walking ring before the race.
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