By Heather Anderson
The 20-1 shot Panja Tower (Jpn) (Tower Of London {Jpn}) defended his unbeaten record with a neck score in the G2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes at Tokyo on Saturday. The Deep Creek runner won a newcomers' affair at Chukyo on Sept. 8.
Away without incident, the bay drifted back through the field to sit in seventh as rail-runner Marino Tonitrus (Jpn) (Thunder Snow {Ire}), Craspedia (Jpn) (Mr Melody {Jpn}) to her outside, and Shin Forever (Complexity), three deep, battled for supremacy during the early stages and approaching the turn. On the bend, Marino Tonitrus and Shin Forever continued to slug it out with Craspedia stalking them. At the quarter pole, Panja Tower was rallying strongly up the center of the course. Just a quarter-mile from home, he continued to close relentlessly to just nail new leader Meiner Ticket (Jpn) (Danon Ballad {Jpn}) on the wire. Yankee Barows (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) closed from well off the pace to take third, 1 1/2 lengths back.
Pedigree Notes
Japanese first-crop sire Tower Of London, who's biggest claim to fame was a tally in the 2019 G1 Sprinters Stakes, sired his first stakes winner and group winner with Panja Tower. Seventeen of his 57 runners have won to date, with Arlington Row also third in the G3 Kokura Nisai Stakes.
The first winner for his unraced dam Clarksdale (Jpn) (Victoire Pisa {Jpn}), Panja Tower is her second foal. She has a yearling filly by Declaration Of War and a weanling Pyro colt still to come.
Japanese stallion and 3-year-old champion Logi Universe (Jpn) (Neo Universe {Jpn}), who won the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) prior to the race receiving international Group 1 status, is a half-brother to Clarksdale. Globetrotter and multiple Group 1 winner Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), named the Japanese Champion Miler and Older Mare in 2023, is under the third dam.
Saturday, Tokyo, Japan
KEIO HAI NISAI STAKES-G2, ¥72,700,000, Tokyo, 11-2, 2yo, 1400mT, 1:21.20, gd.
1–PANJA TOWER (JPN), 123, c, 2, Tower of London (Jpn)
1st Dam: Clarksdale (Jpn), by Victoire Pisa (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Acoustics (Jpn), by Cape Cross (Ire)
3rd Dam: Soninke (GB), by Machiavellian
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Deep Creek;
B-Champions Farm (Jpn); T-Shinsuke Hashiguchi; J-Kohei
Matsuyama; ¥38,490,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0,
¥45,690,000. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Meiner Ticket (Jpn), 123, c, 2, Danon Ballade (Jpn)–Entry
Ticket (Jpn), by Matsurida Gogh (Jpn). O-Thoroughbred Club
Ruffian; B-Big Red Farm (Jpn); ¥15,126,000.
3–Yankee Barows (Jpn), 123, c, 2, Epiphaneia (Jpn)–Candy
Barows (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST
GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Hirotsugu Inokuma; B-Tomita Farm
(Jpn); ¥9,563,000.
Margins: NK, 1HF, NK. Odds: 20.00, 6.80, 6.60.
Also Ran: Hishi Aman (Jpn), Craspedia (Jpn), Shin Forever, Bunny Rabbit (Jpn), A Shin Wand (Jpn), Kitano Kunikara (Jpn), Endless Summer (Jpn), Marino Tonitrus (Jpn), Lemon Balm (Jpn), Kaga Babel (Jpn), Real Shot (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.
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