By Emma Berry
Sunday Racing's Magic Sands (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) retained his unbeaten tag when reeling in long-time leader Arma Veloce (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) to land the G3 Sapporo Nisai Stakes in a tight finish.
Heavy rain through the night and into the early afternoon in Sapporo had rendered the turf track yielding but the sun was out by the time the sole graded race of the card was run, with 12 runners facing the judge, seven of whom had raced just once previously.
Bred by Northern Farm, Magic Sands made his two-length winning debut in a newcomers' race at Hakodate on July 7. The margins were a little tighter here, with fellow Northern Farm graduate Arma Veloce having made most of the running going the shortest route along the inside rail. Only a nose separated the pair as Magic Sands closed late up the centre of the track to force a photo. There was another length and a half back to Feiern Kranz (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) in third.
Pedigree Notes
Magic Sands is the sixth foal of the King Kamehameha (Jpn) mare Kona Brewers (Jpn}), herself a stakes winner at Sapporo when landing the Ozora Tokobetsu over 1,200m. She is a daughter of the G3 Hakodate Nisai winner Ambroise (Jpn) (French Deputy). Kona Brewers's five-year-old son Kona Black (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {GB}) has also won at the same track this season, lifting the Sapporo Sponichi Sho back in early August. The latter's full-sister Kona Coast (Jpn) was runner-up in last year's G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas).
Saturday, Sapporo, Japan
SAPPORO NISAI STAKES-G3, ¥59,230,000, Sapporo, 8-31, 2yo, 1800mT, 1:50.30, sf.
1–MAGIC SANDS (JPN), 121, c, 2, by Kizuna (Jpn)
1st Dam: Kona Brewers (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Ambroise (Jpn), by French Deputy
3rd Dam: Fusaichi Mignon (Jpn), by Sunday Silence
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm
(Jpn); T-Naosuke Sugai; J-Daisuke Sasaki; ¥31,441,000.
Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, ¥38,641,000. *1/2 to Kona Coast
(Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), G1SP-Jpn, $750,704. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Arma Veloce (Jpn), 121, f, 2, Harbinger (GB)–Rakuami (Jpn),
by Daiwa Major (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. (¥30,000,000 Wlg '22
JRHAJUL). O-Teruo Ono; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥12,126,000.
3–Feiern Kranz (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Duramente (Jpn)–Colorful
Blossom (Jpn), by Heart's Cry (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Sunday
Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥7,863,000.
Margins: NS, 1HF, 3HF. Odds: 3.30, 22.40, 2.50.
Also Ran: Mondo Dell'Amore (Jpn), Reve De l'Opera (Jpn), Matenro Son, Ask Stein (Jpn), Shonan MacBeth (Jpn), Laurel Orb (Jpn), Nishino Tanguy (Jpn), Top On The Hill (Jpn), Vaselina (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart & video.
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