By Heather Anderson
G1 February S. hero Gold Dream (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}) salvaged his up-and-down season with a neck victory in the G1 Champions Cup over favoured T M Jinsoku (Jpn) (Kurofune) at Chukyo Sunday. Under capable handling from Ryan Moore, the 4-year-old secured an ideal position glued to the rails near the tail of the strung out field as dual February S. scorer Copano Rickey (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}) showed the way and T M Jinsoku sat second in the vanguard. Shifted one off the fence as the first 1000 metres was covered in 1:01.5, the colt relaxed well, and was content to bide his time until the final straightaway. Moore gunned the bay to the attack out in the center of the track and the 12-1 eighth choice produced a strong finishing kick, bursting past a game Copano Rickey and T M Jinsoku to win narrowly in the shadow of the wire. The latter bested Copano Rickey by a neck for second.
“It was a pleasure to ride the horse,” Moore commented, as Gold Dream became just the third horse to capture the JRA's two dirt Group 1 races and equaled last year's victor Sound True (Jpn) (French Deputy)'s stakes record. “He was a Group 1 winner already and he showed class. He's won both the two main Group 1 races on dirt in Japan, so he's rightly a champion. He had a lovely run. He was a little bit upset in the stall, but he landed in a good spot, the race was very smooth for him and he showed good acceleration at the end. He's a very talented horse. It's a hard thing to do [to win both Group 1 dirt races in the same year] and hopefully, he can improve and win some more.”
A winner of the Listed Hyacinth S. and G3 Unicorn S. early in 2016, Gold Dream ended his sophomore season with a runner-up performance in the G3 Musashino S. last November and a 12th place run in last year's G1 Champions Cup on Dec. 4. He resumed with a career best when taking the Feb. 19 G1 February S., but was unplaced in Arrogate (Unbridled's Song)'s G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan in March. Given over three months off, Gold Dream trailed in seventh over sloppy going in the Listed Teio Sho at Ohi June 28 and he was fifth most recently in the Listed Mile Championship Nambu Hai cut back to 1600 metres at Morioka on Oct. 9.
Pedigree Notes…
Kanto Oaks third-place finisher Mon Vert (Jpn) has produced four winners from four foals, with her third foal, Gold Dream, her lone black-type winner. He is followed by the winning 3-year-old Pelerin Vert (Jpn) (Smart Falcon {Jpn}). Mon Vert is a half-sister to New Zealand SW and Group 3-placed Tucanchoo (NZ) (Pentire {GB}) and SPs Northern Rock (Jpn) (Northern Taste) and Jungle Boots (NZ) (Jungle Pocket {Jpn}). His fourth dam is the impeccably bred MGSW Number (Nijinsky II), responsible for Grade I winner Jade Robbery (Mr. Prospector), GSWs Numerous (Mr. Prospector) and Chequer (Mr. Prospector) and SP Add (Spectacular Bid).
Sunday, Chukyo, Japan
CHAMPIONS CUP-G1, ¥189,500,000 (US$1,689,443/£1,254,068/€1,419,916), Chukyo, 12-3, 3yo/up, 1800m, 1:50.10, gd.
1–GOLD DREAM (JPN), 126, c, 4 by Gold Allure (Jpn)
1st Dam: Mon Vert (Jpn) (SP-Jpn, $575,280),
by French Deputy
2nd Dam: Special Jade, by Cox's Ridge
3rd Dam: Statistic, by Mr. Prospector
O-Katsumi Yoshida; B-Northern Farm; T-Osamu Hirata; J-Ryan
Moore; ¥100,360,000. Lifetime Record: 13-6-2-1,
¥302,134,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–T M Jinsoku (Jpn), 126, h, 5, Kurofune–My Discovery (Jpn), by
Forty Niner. O-Masatsugu Takezono; B-Hidaka T. M. Farm
(Jpn); ¥39,960,000.
3–Copano Rickey (Jpn), 126, h, 7, by Gold Allure (Jpn)–Copano
Nikita (Jpn), by Timber Country. O-Sachiaki Kobayashi;
B-Yanagawa Farm (Jpn); ¥24,480,000.
Margins: NK, NK, 1 1/4; Odds: 12.00, 3.80, 12.20.
Also Ran: K T Brave (Jpn), Awardee, Mitsuba (Jpn), Kafuji Take (Jpn), King's Guard (Jpn), Nonkono Yume (Jpn), Glanzend (Jpn), Sound True (Jpn), Rose Princedom (Jpn), Molto Bene (Jpn), Meisho Sumitomo (Jpn), London Town (Jpn). Scratched: Apollo Kentucky.
Click for the Racing Post chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. JRA Video.
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