By Heather Anderson
Just a handful of days after her passing from colic, Ecurie des Monceaux's star broodmare Starlet's Sister (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) came up with her fourth group winner, the now two-for-two Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who won the G3 Radio Nikkei Hai Kyoto Nisai S. at Kyoto on Saturday.
The chestnut full-brother to G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) was made the 5-2 pick by the Kyoto faithful, but his task was not made easier when he made a slight hop at the break and was outfooted early for speed with the majority of the 14-strong field in front of him in this 2000-metre contest. Kazu Gorty's (Jpn) (Al Ain {Jpn}) loped along on the front end, covering the first 800 metres in :46.80, and was left to his own devices for the majority of the backstretch run.
Under a canny Joao Moreira, Shin Emperor had improved his position willingly to midfield through 1200 metres in 1:11.90. His forward progression stalled later on the final turn however, as he desperately needed a gap with 400 metres remaining, but none appeared. Moreira tried to shift deeper out into the course for the stretch run, but was shut off again. Fortunately, a hole opened inside the furlong grounds, and Shin Emperor drove through, before displaying plenty of late dash to win by a half-length. Prelude City (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}), who came from midfield, closed strongly to take second, a nose in front of Satono Strasse (Jpn) (Just A Way {Jpn}), who had perched nearer the pace, in third.
The win was part of a four-timer on the card for Joao 'Magic Man' Moreira, who told Net Keiba, “We could not position ourselves in the ideal place and it was slow-paced. I was able to guide him in the way he can stay focused and not be too keen to run. That paid off and was able to race nicely in the second half of the race.”
He added, “He is from a family of the Arc winner and I can see why he is good. He won in a style which only high-class horses can do.”
A three-length winner of his Tokyo unveiling earlier this month, the colt was making his debut in Pattern company.
Pedigree Notes
Shin Emperor, a €2.1 million Arqana August purchase–and 2022 sale topper–by trainer Yoshito Yahagi, is the 74th stakes winner and 40th group winner for his sire, who stands under The Aga Khan Studs' banner at Haras de Bonneval.
Placed on the racecourse, Starlet's Sister delivered three straight group winners, beginning with Eclipse champion Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) as her first foal. That seven-time Grade I winner was also a group winner in France and second in the 2017 Prix de Diane. Her second produce, My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}), won a Group 3 in France, before taking a pair of American Grade III races and also placing three times at the highest level there, including a second in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly And Mare Turf in 2021 behind the Yahagi-trained Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), three years after her elder sister won it for Peter Brant. Brant also campaigned My Sister Nat, and he paid €340,000 at the Arqana August Sale for Shin Emperor's full-brother Sottsass. That colt won the 2019 G1 Prix du Jockey Club and would later win the Arc in 2020 before being retired to Coolmore Stud for stallion duty.
Thanks to her earlier foals' exploits, the yearling prices for Starlet's Sister's progeny rose appreciably, with her 2017 Charm Spirit (GB) gelding Radiant Child (Ire) making €400,000, and her 2018 Fastnet Rock (Aus) colt, the winner Parliament (GB), hammering for €700,000. Queen of them all was €2.5-million 2019 Dubawi (Ire) filly Pure Dignity (GB), and she too has won in the colours of Victorous Racing and KHK Racing.
Monceaux retained Starlet's Sister's winning juvenile filly Snowpark (Fr), a full-sister to Pure Dignity, and her final foal, a yearling colt by Siyouni, was also retained after injuring himself in his paddock earlier this year.
This is the extended family of stakes winner Anabaa's Creation (Ire) (Anabaa), herself placed in both the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. and the G1 Prix Saint-Alary.
Saturday, Kyoto, Japan
RADIO NIKKEI HAI KYOTO NISAI S.-G3, ¥63,310,000, Kyoto, 11-25, 2yo, 2000mT, 1:59.80, fm.
1–SHIN EMPEROR (FR), 123, c, 2, Siyouni (Fr)
1st Dam: Starlet's Sister (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Premiere Creation (Fr), by Green Tune
3rd Dam: Allwaki, by Miswaki
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. (€2,100,000 Ylg '22
ARQAUG). O-Susumu Fujita; B-Ecurie Des Monceaux (Fr);
T-Yoshito Yahagi; J-Joao Moreira; ¥33,497,000. Lifetime
Record: 2-2-0-0, ¥40,697,000. *1/2 to Sistercharlie (Ire)
(Myboycharlie {Ire}), Ch. Turf Female-US, MGISW-US, GSW &
G1SP-Fr, $3,786,003; My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}),
GSW-Fr, MGSW & MGISP-US, $1,165,672; and a full to Sottsass
(Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), Hwt. 3yo-Eur at 11-14f, Hwt. 3yo-Fr at 11-
14f, Hwt. 3yo-Fr at 9 1/2-11f; Hwt. Older Horse-Fr at 11-14f;
Hwt. Older Horse-Fr at 9 1/2-11f; MG1SW-Fr, $4,166,375.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Prelude City (Jpn), 123, c, 2, Harbinger (GB)–Somnia City
(Jpn), by Meisho Samson (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP
BLACK TYPE. O-Yushun Horse Club; B-Kataoka Farm (Jpn);
¥13,142,000.
3–Satono Strasse (Jpn), 123, c, 2, Just a Way (Jpn)–Wonder of
Lips (Ger), by Champs Elysees (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST
GROUP BLACK TYPE. (¥47,000,000 Wlg '21 JRHAJUL).
O-Hajime Satomi; B-Oiwake Farm (Jpn); ¥8,371,000.
Margins: HF, NS, HD. Odds: 2.70, 35.60, 5.80.
Also Ran: Danon Decile (Jpn), Keep Calm (Jpn), Di Speranza (Jpn), Allnatt (Jpn), Cosmo Kuranda (Jpn), Ho O Purosangue (Jpn), Kazu Gortys (Jpn), Gamble Room (Jpn), Power Hall (Jpn), Lucullan Feast (Jpn), Cosmo Esmeralda (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.
G3 2000m Kyoto 2YO Stakes full replay:
Win by 2c SHIN EMPEROR 🇫🇷 under Joao Moreira 🇧🇷
1.59.8
Full to Arc winner SOTTSASS
Now 2 for 2 and loving the rock hard JRA tracks !#JRA
— Graham Pavey (@LongBallToNoOne) November 25, 2023
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