In the 36th running of the Group 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen over 1200m at the Chukyo racecourse just outside the city of Nagoya in Japan, the 6yo son of Sunday Silence, Orewa Matteruze broke through for his first Group 1 win, and gave leading Japanese jockey Yoshitomi Shibata his first Group 1 win since winning the same race in 2000 on King Halo.
In a race that was expected to be a very open affair, the 4yo Grand Lodge entire Symboli Gran was sent out favourite on the back of several impressive lead up performances. However, after losing ground early in the race, Symboli Gran made up some ground during the later stages, but never challenged the leaders.
The race was led, as expected, by Gallant Arrow, with outsiders Copano Fujin and Precise Machine close up ensuring that the pace was on throughout the race. 3rd favourite She's Tosho was also close up, as was the 2-time Group 1 winning filly Rhein Kraft who was sent out second favourite. Orewa Matteruze was the 4th favourite for the race, and he sat handy just behind the leading group.
As the field entered the straight, the leaders were feeling the pressure and She's Tosho, the track record holder for the 1200m course, loomed up and looked set to hit the lead. However, Shibata - who is consistently one of the leading jockeys in Japan without having much success in Group 1 races, was able to weave a path through the tiring leaders and burst to the lead on Orewa Matteruze with about 200m to go. Rhein Kraft had come around the leaders, and gamely chased Orewa Matteruze all the way down the straight, but the 1200m just proved too short and the margin was still a neck at the finish. She showed she was back as a major force on the sprinting/miler scene in Japan this year, and will be aimed at the inaugural Fillies & Mares 1600m Group 1 (the Victoria Mile) to be run at Tokyo racecourse in May.
Precise Machine battled away well, as did She's Tosho, with She's Tosho narrowly grabbing 3rd place by a head. NAR horse Native Heart produced his traditional barnstorming finish to grab 5th.
The time for the race was 1:08.0 after the leader Gallant Arrow had taken the field through the first 600m in 33.7 seconds. The official margins were a head between 1st and 2nd, with another 1 3/4 lengths back to 3rd.
The winner Orewa Matteruze made it back-to-back wins in the race for champion sire Sunday Silence, after Admire Max was successful last year, and took his individual earnings past 150 million yen. He is owned by Mr. Y. Odagiri, was bred at Northern Farm in Hokkaido, Japan, and is trained by Mr. Hidetaka Otonashi.
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