By Heather Anderson
Sunday Racing's Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) booked her ticket to the Breeders' Cup while defeating nine other Group 1 winners in the G1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday. The 1600-metre feature is a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland in November. It was 2 1/2 lengths back to 2018 Japanese Horse of the Year and 1-5 favourite Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), who was slowly away. 2019 victor Indy Champ (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) was third.
Made an 11-1 proposition, Gran Alegria raced solidly in midfield for much of the backstretch with plenty of room both fore and aft in the 14-horse field. Swung out to the center of the course on the far turn, the bay slipped back towards the fence and into the four path as she tackled pacesetter Danon Smash (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) at the quarter-mile pole. Almond Eye was coming with her customary turn of foot, but she had several more lengths to make up on the new leader, and by the time she truly got going, the line had come and gone. She just pipped fellow Silk Racing colourbearer Indy Champ by a half-length for second. He was a neck to the good of the late-closing 2019 G1 Victoria Mile victress Normcore (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}).
“First of all, I must thank everyone at the stables who tuned her up so well,” said jockey Kenichi Ikezoe. “I was focused on keeping her in good rhythm and in a good position which all worked out beautifully. She just gave her best with such a tenacious run down the stretch—I was afraid up to the line that we were going to be caught, especially by Almond Eye. I hurt myself when a chunk of grass hit my eye at the third corner, but it doesn't hurt at all now.”
“We had a poor break but I think we recovered well and made a smooth and strong bid turning for home with Gran Alegria in aim,” said Almond Eye's jockey Christophe Lemaire. “She showed her good turn of foot but she could have done better. The winner was just so strong, it wasn't our day.”
A winner of her first two starts, including the G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over track and trip in October of 2018, Gran Alegria finished her juvenile season with a third in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. at Hanshin that December. Back on top in the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) last April, she was only fifth in the G1 NHK Mile Cup locally that May. Not seen again until a winning effort in the G2 Hanshin Cup on Dec. 21, the 2019 Japanese Champion 3-Year-Old Filly warmed up for this with a third (placed second) in soft going in the 1200-metre G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at Chukyo on Mar. 29.
Pedigree Notes
One of 46 Group 1 winners for the late Deep Impact, Gran Alegria is also among his 127 group winners and 158 black-type winners overall. The 4-year-old joins young sires Real Impact (Jpn) and Satono Aladdin (Jpn) as Yasuda Kinen scorers for the former Shadai Stallion Station resident.
Barren in 2015, Listed Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Tapitsfly, who went on to capture the GI Longines Just a Game S. and GI First Lady S. as a 5-year-old before selling to Katsumi Yoshida for $1.85 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in 2012, produced the Yasuda Kinen winner in 2016. She had the winning full-brother Blutgang (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in 2017 and was not bred back.
Tapitsfly is a full-sister to the SP Flying Tipat (Tapit), while her second dam, the winning Fortunate Prospect mare Morning Dove was a half-sister to SW & GSP Moonshine Hall (Spinning World) and MSW & GI Del Mar Invitational Oaks runner-up Malli Star (Baldski). The latter also found success as a broodmare in the Land of the Rising Sun, as she foaled the Japanese SW & G1SP Bella Rheia (Jpn) (Narita Top Road {Jpn}), who ran second in the Japanese Oaks, as well as the SP Mallos (Jpn) to the cover of Sunday Silence.
Gainesway Farm's Tapit has 36 black-type winners as a broodmare sire so far, with Gran Alegria one of two Group 1 winners alongside G1 South Australian Derby heroine Qafila (Aus) (Not a Single Doubt {Jpn}).
Sunday, Tokyo, Japan
YASUDA KINEN-G1, ¥252,380,000 (US$2,302,386/£1,817,673/€2,039,306), Tokyo, 6-7, 3yo/up, 1600mT, 1:31.60, gd.
1–GRAN ALEGRIA (JPN), 123, f, 4, Deep Impact (Jpn)
1st Dam: Tapitsfly, by Tapit
2nd Dam: Flying Marlin, by Marlin
3rd Dam: Morning Dove, by Fortunate Prospect
O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Kazuo Fujisawa;
J-Kenichi Ikezoe. ¥133,066,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 3yo
Filly-Jpn, 8-5-1-1. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click
for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Almond Eye (Jpn), 123, m, 5, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)–Fusaichi
Pandora(Jpn), by Sunday Silence. O-Silk Racing; B-Northern
Farm (Jpn); ¥52,876,000.
3–Indy Champ (Jpn), 128, h, 5, Stay Gold (Jpn)–Will Power
(Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). O-Silk Racing; B-Northern
Farm (Jpn); ¥33,438,000.
Margins: 2HF, HF, NK. Odds: 11.00, 0.30, 6.00.
Also Ran: Normcore (Jpn), Keiai Nautique (Jpn), Admire Mars (Jpn), Danon Kingly (Jpn), Danon Smash (Jpn), Persian Knight (Jpn), Vin de Garde (Jpn), Mr Melody, Seiun Kosei (Jpn), Danon Premium (Jpn), Kluger (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart & video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
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