Christmas In September As Kitasan Black Filly Sets Stakes Record At Nakayama

G1 Racing's Christmas Parade (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) earned her first stakes victory and group win in the G2 Shion Stakes on Saturday. The filly blitzed the 2000 metres in a new stakes record of 1:56.60.

Sent off at 28-5, the Shizuya Kato runner stalked Isola Felice (Jpn) (Satono Crown {Jpn}) from second as that foe sped through splits of :22.90, :46.70, and 1:10.70. The final four furlongs were all under :12 seconds each, with the eventual winner asked for her best inside the final 600 metres. She surged to the lead in upper stretch and fended off the late charge of Mi Anhelo (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) by a neck. Favoured Bond Girl (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) also closed from near the rear of the field to take third, another 1 1/4 lengths behind. The top three finishers have all booked their spots in the G1 Shuka Sho on Oct. 13.

Jockey Yukito Ishikawa told NetKeiba, “The track was in great condition, and I had a feeling it could produce a record time, but it still surprised me. She's still a bit immature mentally, but the stable has done a fantastic job fine-tuning her, and I think she has a bright future ahead.”

A winner of a 2000-metre Nakayama newcomers affair in December, the dark bay doubled up over 2200 metres there in her 3-year-old bow in February. She was fourth in the G2 Flora Stakes on Apr. 21 and ninth trying dirt for the first time in the Listed Kano Oaks at Kawasaki on June 12, a surface her dam triumphed over four times. This was her first start back.

Pedigree Notes

She is the 10th stakes winner and seventh group winner for her Shadai-based sire who stood for ¥20,000,000 this season. Kitasan Black is the sire of worldwide star Equinox (Jpn), who entered stud this year, and fellow Group 1 winner Sol Oriens (Jpn). Her dam, the $285,000 Keeneland September yearling Miss Erika (Blame), was consigned by Elm Tree Farm for Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings before selling to Katsumi Yoshida in 2013. She would go on to win five times over turf and dirt in her adopted country in the colours of Masami Aramaki. The winner is the second foal out of a half-sister to GII Fountain Of Youth Stakes and GIII With Anticipation Stakes winner and sire Soldat (War Front). She is followed by a juvenile colt named Debug (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) and a yearling colt by Satono Aladdin (Jpn).

Saturday, Nakayama, Japan
SHION STAKES-G2, ¥100,340,000, Nakayama, 9-7, 3yo, f, 2000mT, *1:56.60 (NCR), fm.
1–CHRISTMAS PARADE (JPN), 121, f, 3, by Kitasan Black (Jpn)
                 1st Dam: Miss Erika, by Blame
                 2nd Dam: Le Relais, by Coronado's Quest
                 3rd Dam: Malbay, by Apalachee
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-G1 Racing;
B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Shizuya Kato (Jpn); J-Yukito Ishikawa;
¥52,938,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-0-0, ¥78,834,000. Click for
   the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Mi Anhelo (Jpn), 121, f, 3, Duramente (Jpn)–Mi Sueno, by
Pulpit. O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥21,268,000.
3–Bond Girl (Jpn), 121, f, 3, Daiwa Major (Jpn)–Coasted, by
Tizway. (¥210,000,000 Ylg '22 JRHAJUL). O-Susumu Fujita;
B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥13,134,000.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, HD. Odds: 5.60, 4.60, 2.00.
Also Ran: Lake Crescent (Jpn), For The Boys (Jpn), Hohelied (Jpn), Teleos Sarah (Jpn), Erato (Jpn), Gaju Nori (Jpn), Isola Felice (Jpn), Humming (Jpn), Balance Dancer (Jpn), Saronikos (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart & video.