By Heather Anderson
Turning back to his pet distance of a mile for the first time since his G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. win in December, Japanese champion 2-year-old colt Admire Mars (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) regained the winning thread with a half-length victory in the G1 NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo on Sunday. The second choice on the board at 3-1 after favoured Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), the Riichi Kondo colourbearer was just a bit tardy breaking from his wide draw, and had no choice but to sit in midpack three or four deep behind a half-mile in :45.80 delivered by Iberis (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}). Scrubbed on 500 metres from home, he forged farther out into the center of the course, and, with some solid handling from pilot Mirco Demuro, ground up into contention inside the final quarter mile. As many as a dozen horses looked in with a chance a furlong from the winning post, but Admire Mars found more to shrug off the rallying Cadence Call (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}). Catedral (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), sprinting up the rails to join the conversation, was only a nose behind in third.
G1 Japanese 1000 Guineas heroine Gran Alegria finished fourth, but was demoted to fifth behind Danon Chaser (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) following a stewards' inquiry. The crowd's pick solidly bumped that foe as she came through a gap at the quarter pole, knocking that rival off stride.
“Our draw was wide, his start wasn't so good and we had to race in a lower position than hoped, but he just hates to
lose—once another runner came up next to him, he found his second wind,” said Demuro, who was winning his 29th Group 1 on the JRA circuit. “He's truly an amazing miler.”
A winner of his first four starts-all at 1600 metres–including the G2 Daily Hai Nisai S. at Kyoto and the 1600-metre G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. at Hanshin on Dec. 16, Admire Mars lost his unbeaten record with a second to Danon Kingly (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the 1800-metre G3 Kyodo News Hai (Tokinominoru Kinen) while making his sophomore bow over this course Feb. 10. He was most recently fourth in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) when trying 2000 metres for the first time Apr. 14.
Pedigree Notes
G3 Prix de Lieurey victress Via Medici's last known produce is a juvenile filly by Kinshasa no Kiseki (Aus). The second dam of Admire Mars is the G3 Prix des Reservoirs heroine Via Milano (Fr) (Singspiel {Ire}), who also counts GSW and G1 Prix Rothschild runner-up Via Ravenna (Ire) (Raven's Pass) and GSP Via Manzoni (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}) among her brood.
Sunday, Tokyo, Japan
NHK MILE CUP-G1, ¥205,080,000 (US$1,843,734/£1,400,149/€1,647,482), Tokyo, 5-5, 3yo, c/f, 1600mT, 1:32.40, fm.
1–ADMIRE MARS (JPN), 126 c, 3, Daiwa Major (Jpn)
1st Dam: Via Medici (Ire) (GSW-Fr, $111,524),
by Medicean (GB)
2nd Dam: Via Milano (Fr), by Singspiel (Ire)
3rd Dam: Salvinaxia (Fr), by Linamix (Fr)
(¥52,000,000 Ylg '17 JRHAJUL). O-Riichi Kondo; B-Northern
Farm (Jpn); T-Yasuo Tomomichi; J- Mirco Demuro.
¥108,906,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt-Jpn, 7-5-1-0. *1/2
to Via Pisa (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}), SW & G1SW-Ity, $104,884; and
Via Firenze (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), SW & MGSP-Fr, GSP-UAE,
$150,624. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Cadence Call (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)–Inductee
(Jpn), by Heart's Cry (Jpn). O-Sunday Racing; B- Northern Farm
(Jpn); ¥43,116,000.
3–Catedral (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–Abyla (GB), by
Rock of Gibraltar (Ire). O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn);
¥26,558,000.
Margins: HF, NO, 1 1/4. Odds: 3.30, 86.70, 31.80.
Also Ran: Danon Chaser (Jpn), Gran Alegria (Jpn), Val d'Isere (Jpn), Happy Hour (Jpn), Toya Rito Seito (Jpn), Wide Pharaoh (Jpn), Groove It (Jpn), Meiner Flap (Jpn), Pourville (Jpn), Fantasist (Jpn), Kurino Gaudi (Jpn), Wittelsbach (Jpn), Iberis (Jpn), Mikki Black (Jpn), Lord Gladio (Jpn) *Gran Alegria (Jpn) finished fourth, but following a stewards' inquiry, was demoted to fifth. Click for the JRA chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. JRA Video.
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