By Alan Carasso
The locally based Vacation (Jpn) (Espoir City {Jpn}), sent off the fifth wagering choice at odds of 39-5, was given an outstanding ride by Hiroro Yoshihara and managed to grab the long-time leader, JRA invader Iolite (Jpn) (Laurel Guerriero {Jpn}), on the wire to take Wednesday's Listed Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse south of Tokyo. T's Dunk (Jpn) (Smart Falcon {Jpn}) defied massive odds to finish third, while Meisho Tensui (Jpn) (Dunkirk) could do no better than fourth as the 3-2 chalk.
Settled in the second half of the field after breaking from the two hole, Vacation saved ground as Iolite–stretching out to a mile off two daylight victories sprinting at Nakayama–showed the way. Taken out into the clear in the middle stages, Vacation rallied three deep on the second turn and opted for an inside run into the lane. That decision proved critical, as he went on the attack three off the inside at the furlong marker and dropped his nose on the wire first.
Vacation won his first two career starts at Kawasaki by approximately 22 lengths combined, returned from a three-month freshening to be third at Ohi Sept. 17 and was an allowance winner trying 1600 meters for the first time at Funabashi when last seen Oct. 30.
A paternal great-grandson of Sunday Silence, Vacation led home a 1-2-3 result for the Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association's yearling sales series. The winner's dam produced a full-sister to Vacation this past Feb. 11 and was most recently covered by treble Group 3 winner and two-time G1 February S.-placed Best Warrior (Majestic Warrior).
The Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun is the second of four races on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, offering points on a 20-8-4-2 scale. Dieu du Vin (Jpn) (Declaration of War) annexed the first leg, the Nov. 23 Cattleya Sho, earning 10 points in the process. The series continues with the Listed Hyacinth S. (1600m) at Tokyo Feb. 16 and concludes with the Fukuryu allowance (1800m) at Nakayama Mar. 29.
WATCH: Vacation arrives on time at Kawasaki
Wednesday's Results:
ZEN-NIPPON NISAI YUSHUN-Listed, ¥59,500,000 ($542,915), Kawasaki, 12-18, 2yo, 1600m, 1:41.9, ft.
1–VACATION (JPN), 121, c, 2, by Espoir City (Jpn)
1st Dam: Tenno Benibara (Jpn), by Soccer Boy (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Fate Green (Jpn), by Fate Maker (Jpn)
3rd Dam: Tochino Midori (Jpn), by Great Heron
1ST STAKES WIN. (¥4,320,000 Ylg '18 HOKSUM). O-Masahiro Ogishi; B-Takanori Maekawa; T-Kenichi Taktasuki; J-Hiroto Yoshihara; ¥35,000,000. Lifetime Record: 5-4-1-0, ¥54,630,000.
2–Iolite (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Laurel Guerriero (Jpn)–Stellar Actress (Jpn), by Opera House (GB). (¥2,700,000 Ylg '18 HOKSUM). ¥12,250,000.
3–T's Dunk (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Smart Falcon (Jpn)–Before Dark (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). (¥4,536,000 Ylg '18 HOKAUT). ¥7,000,000.
Margins: NO, HF, 2. Odds: 7.80, 6.10, 116.70.
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