Open Garden wins the Pegasus Jump Stakes

Long-shot Open Garden threw his hat in the ring for the upcoming Nakayama Grand Jump on Saturday, wining the Pegasus Jump Stakes by a cool three lengths ahead of Hishi Battle.

In what turned out to be a wild, wild finish, Open Garden, the 30-year-old Yusuke Eda up, comfortably held off the favorites in the 3,350-meter race as the 5-year-old went under the wire in 3 minutes, 44.9 seconds on a beautiful afternoon at the Chiba Prefecture track.

Ginolad, the only foreign entry in the Pegasus Jump Stakes and headed for next month's Nakayama Grand Jump, went off as the fourth choice among 14 with Craig Durden in the irons, but the Australian jumper never had a moment and ended up a disappointing 10th despite the firm going.

The 9-year-old Ginolad, only the fourth horse and the first in 27 years of Australian racing history to win the Grand National Steeplechase and Grand Annual Steeplechase double, has until April 18 to rebound for the world's richest steeplechase race with a purse of more than 170 million yen (the winner receives 80 million yen).

Six-year-old and favorite Apollo No Satori did not fare much better, crossing the finish line eighth after the field was reduced to 13 when second choice Penetrator threw off his mount just ahead of the second lap.

Open Garden had just one victory from his past 17 jump races going into the Pegasus Jump Stakes, but the Hiroyuki Gohara-trained horse's performance on Saturday certainly did not reflect his career record.

Open Garden stayed well with a brisk pace cut from the start by Gran Turismo until Eishin Peking took over during the final lap. Eda made his move on the back stretch, gingerly bringing his mount on the outside as the Makoto Nishitani-ridden Eishin Peking tried to make a run for it along the railing.

Bu turning for home, Open Garden lit up the boosters and caught up to Eishin Peking in no time, passing the frontrunner early in the straight. And once he was out in front, Open Garden never looked back as the son of Gokai pulled away from the pack with each stride. Third pick Hishi Battle left it late to close the gap, edging Eishin Peking by a neck for the silver.