Sleepless Night put the Sprinters Stakes field to rest as the No. 1 choice won the sixth leg of the Global Sprint Challenge with her fifth consecutive victory on Sunday afternoon at Nakayama Racecourse.
With a strong finish that held off Kinshasa no Kiseki and B B Guldan, jockey Hiroyuki Uemura made a Grade 1 champion out of himself as he led trainer Kojiro Hashiguchi's 4-year-old filly.
It was the 34-year-old Uemura's first Grade 1 win of his 17-year career, which also happened to come on Hashiguchi's 63rd birthday. Sleepless Night cut a time of 1 minute, 8.0 seconds over the 1,200 meters on a firm track, finishing a length and a quarter in front of runner-up and second favorite Kinshasa no Kiseki.
"I've managed to come this far because of Mr. Hashiguchi and I can't thank him enough," said Uemura, tears in his eyes. "He gave me the opportunity to ride Sleepless Night. I just tried not to worry about anything because it wouldn't do the horse any good."
B B Guldan, the sixth pick ridden by big-race veteran Katsumi Ando, came home third a further neck behind. Suzuka Phoenix, the 2007 Takamatsunomiya Kinen champion, took fourth while the winner of that race this year, Fine Grain, slumped to 10th.
Sleepless Night collected 10 points in the Global Sprint Challenge with two races remaining in the series. Former Sprinters Stakes champion Takeover Target currently leads the competition with 16 points, three points ahead of Kingsgate Native and five points ahead of Marchand d'Or.
Four horses - Apache Cat, Equiano, Kanoya Zakura and now Sleepless Night - are tied on 10 points. Further down the standings is Symboli Gran on five points. Kanoya Zakura, the winner of last month's Grade 2 Centaur Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse, and Symboli Gran fizzled to seventh and 12th, respectively, on Sunday.
Hashiguchi said he could not have asked for a bigger birthday gift.
"There has been a lot of pressure on me in the past week, so this result is great," he said. "I had no concerns with her, physically, but this is the Sprinters Stakes. A bad start or a single mistake can cost you."
The trainer said he is weighing several options for his new star, including the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint on Dec. 14, the final leg of the Global Sprint Challenge. The seventh race, the Patinack Farm Classic at Flemington, will be held on Nov. 8.
"I don't think there is a lot left for her, domestically," Hashiguchi said. "The Hong Kong Sprint is an option. I'm also thinking Dubai because she can handle the dirt. But there's no question she's a specialist at 1,200 meters."
Hashiguchi added that he could not be happier for Uemura, who has had to overcome a lot up until Sunday.
"That is actually the best thing about this victory," Hashiguchi said of Uemura, who was forced to battle a severe eye infection that put his career at jeopardy. "He had to have surgery four times on his eye, and he nearly lost his career. I'm happy but I think his family is the happiest."
The post time of 3:40 p.m. arrived under fair skies in Chiba Prefecture, and the race opened with long-shot Western Venus jumping out to the lead along the back stretch, followed by M O Winner, Apollo Dolce and B B Guldan just to the outside. Sleepless Night shadowed Ando's mount, patiently waiting for the final turn to arrive.
"The only concern I had was the start," Uemura said. "But she broke well and everything worked out. I waited and waited until the last turn, and she just exploded on the straight.
Sleepless Night, by Kurofune out of What Katy Did, is 9-for-16 with career earnings of more than 309 million yen.
© Japan Association for International Racing and Stud Book (JAIRS). All Rights Reserved.
