By Adam Houghton
Runner-up to T O Royal (Jpn) (Leontes {Jpn}) when tackling 3,200 metres in April's G1 Tenno Sho (Spring), Blow The Horn (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) made full use of his staying power as he ran out an impressive winner of Sunday's G1 Takarazuka Kinen at Kyoto Racecourse, a 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. With the victory, he defeated Sol Oriens (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) by two lengths to gain the first Group 1 success of his career.
Blow The Horn was dropping back fully 1,000 metres in distance for the Takarazuka Kinen, but the rain-softened ground at Kyoto ensured that stamina was at a premium. He was settled at the rear of the 13-strong field in the early stages, with favourite Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) for company, before starting to make gradual headway out wide approaching the home turn. Brought widest of all in the straight by jockey Akira Sugawara, Blow The Horn proceeded to pick off his rivals one by one and was never stronger than at the finish, quickly powering clear after being produced to lead with 100 metres to run.
Last year's G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas) scorer Sol Oriens also made up plenty of ground in the closing stages to snatch second from Bellagio Opera (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), the winner of the G1 Osaka Hai on his previous start. Just a neck separated that pair at the line, with the same distance back to Pradaria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in fourth. Do Deuce, a three-time Group 1 winner who had earned the most votes in the fan poll which helps to determine the final field for the Takarazuka Kinen, could manage only sixth.
Sugawara and trainer Tatsuya Yoshioka were both celebrating their first Group 1 wins with Blow The Horn, who arrived at Kyoto as the winner of six races, including a listed contest at Sapporo last August and the G2 Nikkei Shinshun Hai, also at Kyoto, in January this year.
“We were able to win the race because the horse ran really hard despite the heavy going,” said Sugawara. “Although we were positioned further back than planned and took the widest route, the horse seemed to have plenty of strength left when we turned the fourth corner so I urged him to go at the stretch and he responded with a remarkable turn of speed.”
Only the Japan Cup, the Sheema Classic, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes rate higher! 🏆
The world's fifth best race, the G1 Takarazuka Kinen, goes to BLOW THE HORN! 🎺#ブローザホーン | #宝塚記念 | #競馬pic.twitter.com/RgUC6z8m4T
— World Horse Racing (@WHR) June 23, 2024
Pedigree Notes
Blow The Horn becomes the fourth new Group 1 winner for Epiphaneia in 2024, adding to the Classic victories of Stellenbosch (Jpn) in the Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas) and Danon Decile (Jpn) in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), plus the win of Ten Happy Rose (Jpn) in last month's Victoria Mile.
The five-year-old Blow The Horn is the only runner to date out of Halteclere (Jpn) (Durandal {Jpn}), a four-time winner in Japan and a half-sister to the Listed-placed Desert Snake (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}). His third dam, Assertaine (Assert {Ire}), is a half-sister to the US champion filly Go For Wand (Deputy Minister) and the Grade II scorers Dance Spell and Discorama, both by Northern Dancer and also placed at the top level on multiple occasions.
Sunday, Kyoto, Japan
TAKARAZUKA KINEN-G1, ¥421,900,000, Kyoto, 6-23, 3yo/up, 2200mT, 2:12.00, sf.
1–BLOW THE HORN (JPN), 128, h, 5, Epiphaneia (Jpn)
1st Dam: Halteclere (Jpn), by Durandal (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Joy Assertaine (Jpn), by Forty Niner
3rd Dam: Assertaine, by Assert (Ire)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Makio Okada; B-Okada Stud (Jpn);
T-Tatsuya Yoshioka; J-Akira Sugawara; ¥222,730,000. Lifetime
Record: 21-7-3-4, ¥485,373,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
*Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sol Oriens (Jpn), 128, c, 4, Kitasan Black (Jpn)–Skia (Fr), by
Motivator (GB). O-Shadai Race Horse; B- Shadai Farm (Jpn);
¥88,780,000.
3–Bellagio Opera (Jpn), 128, c, 4, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)–Air
Routine (Jpn), by Harbinger (GB). O-Shorai Hayashida; B-Shadai
Farm (Jpn); ¥55,390,000.
Margins: 2, NK, NK; Odds: 6.50, 10.90, 10.60.
Also ran: Pradaria (Jpn), Rousham Park (Jpn), Do Deuce (Jpn), Deep Bond (Jpn), Rouge Eveil (Jpn), Yamanin Sympa (Jpn), Justin Palace (Jpn), Struve (Jpn), Heat on Beat (Jpn), Karate (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart & video.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
