Sunday Racing Co. Ltd.'s 4-year-old filly Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) bested Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}), also owned by Sunday Racing, by a neck to win the G1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse Sunday. With this victory, Songline earned an automatic berth, including fees paid, to the $2-million GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile.
In an 18-horse field, Songline settled behind Salios (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and in front of Schnell Meister in midpack as the field cruised down the backstretch at a leisurely pace. Making headway while shifting to the outside before the final turn, the 7-1 chance picked up the tempo, catching Salios in deep stretch before fending off Schnell Meister by a neck at the wire. In their previous meeting, the filly finished a nose behind Schnell Meister in last season's G1 NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo.
“I'm just relieved and happy that I was able to live up to the team's expectations,” said winning rider Kenichi Ikezoe. “It was a tight schedule for the filly, but the staff at the stables prepared her remarkably. She broke well and I decided to settle her behind Salios, who rushed up in front of us. Trying not to make the same mistake as last time, we made an early bid before the last corner and she responded well and stretched all the way for a strong finish.”
In her two previous starts this year, Songline won the G3 1351 Turf Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Saudi Arabia Feb. 26, before closing late to finish fifth in the May 15 G1 Victoria Mile, a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race for the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.
Pedigree Notes:
Already the sire of 18 stakes winners with his oldest foals just 5-year-olds, Kizuna has 11 group winners, including G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup heroine Akai Ito (Jpn), who is also out of a Symboli Kris S mare. Songline, who is the second Group 1 scorer for her young sire, is the first foal out of her four-time winning dam who specialized at 1200-1400 metres. Her dam, a half-sister to dual Japanese group winner Jeune Ecole (Jpn) (Kurofune), did not produce a foal to the cover of Real Steel (Jpn) in 2020. Luminous Parade has a yearling colt by Real Impact (Jpn) and visited Songline's sire Kizuna in 2021.
Under the unraced third dam are group winners Renforcer (Jpn) (Symboli Kris S), Northern River (Jpn) (Agnes Tachyon {Jpn}) and the G1 Shuka Sho/G1 Nassau S. heroine Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}). The Classic-winning French champion 3-yearold filly Sonic Lady (Nureyev) is the fourth dam and boasts the Classic-placed Furner's Green (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) and Lady Lupus (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), both group winners.
Sunday, Tokyo, Japan
YASUDA KINEN-G1, ¥347,460,000, Tokyo, 6-5, 3yo/up, 1600mT, 1:32.30, fm.
1–SONGLINE (JPN), 123, f, 4, Kizuna (Jpn)
1st Dam: Luminous Parade (Jpn), by Symboli Kris S
2nd Dam: Luminous Point (Jpn), by Agnes Tachyon (Jpn)
3rd Dam: Soninke (GB), by Machiavellian
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm;
T-Toru Hayashi; J-Kenichi Ikezoe; ¥183,822,000. Lifetime
Record: 11-5-2-1. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Schnell Meister (Ger), 128, c, 4, Kingman (GB)–
Serienholde (Ger), by Soldier Hollow (GB). O-Sunday Racing;
B-Northern Farm; ¥73,092,000.
3–Salios (Jpn), 128, h, 5, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–Salomina (Ger), by
Lomitas (GB). O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm; ¥45,546,000.
Margins: NK, HD, HF; Odds: 7.20, 3.90, 14.7.
Also Ran: Serifos (Jpn), Fine Rouge (Jpn), Danon the Kid (Jpn),
Air Lolonois (Jpn), Elusive Panther (Jpn), Naran Huleg (Jpn), Lotus Land, Resistencia (Jpn), Ho O Amazon (Jpn), Soul Rush (Jpn), Diatonic (Jpn), Vin de Garde (Jpn), Karate (Jpn), Cafe Pharoah, Catedral (Jpn).
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Click for the JRA chart and video.
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