By Heather Anderson
Last Draft maintained his perfect record with a first group score in the G3 Keiei Hai at Nakayama on Monday. Tracking leader Catedral (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) to his inside from the bell, the 5-1 shot kept tabs on that foe for most of the backstretch run. He challenged 650 metres from the line and Run for the Roses made it a line of three on the far turn. As Catedral faded, Christophe Lemaire asked the first foal of G1 Oka Sho heroine Marcellina, and Last Draft opened up by about two lengths in the stretch. Despite the persistent presence of Run for the Roses, the winning margin was 1 1/4 lengths. Hindu Times was a neck back in third, 1 1/4 lengths to the good of the favoured Secret Run (Jpn) (Dunkirk).
A winner on debut going 1800 metres at Tokyo on Nov. 25, Last Draft is the first black-type and group winner for four-time Group 1 winner Novellist (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}). His dam is out of Italian highweight and G1 Prix d'Astarte heroine Marbye (Ire) (Marju {Ire}), herself also responsible for Japanese MGSW and G1SP Grandezza (Jpn) (Agnes Tachyon {Jpn}).
Monday, Nakayama, Japan
KEISEI HAI-G3, ¥72,610,000 (US$671,048/£520,598/€584,819), Nakayama, 1-14, 3yo, 2000mT, 2:01.20, fm.
1—LAST DRAFT (JPN), 123, c, 3, Novellist (Ire)
1st Dam: Marcellina (Jpn) (G1SW-Jpn, $3,172,700),
by Deep Impact (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Marbye (Ire), by Marju (Ire)
3rd Dam: Hambye (GB), by Distant Relative (Ire)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Shadai Race Horse;
B-Shadai Farm (Jpn); T-Hirofumi Toda; J- Christophe Lemaire.
¥38,427,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. *1st SW & 1st GSW for
his sire (by Monsun {Ger}). Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Run for the Roses (Jpn), 123, c, 3, King Kamehameha (Jpn)–
Last Groove (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn). (¥125,000,000 Ylg '17
JRHAJUL). O-Yoshiro Kubota; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥15,122,000.
3–Hindu Times (Jpn), 123, c, 3, Harbinger (GB)–Mahabharata
(Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn). O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm
(Jpn); ¥9,561,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NK, 1 1/4. Odds: 4.10, 2.70, 22.60.
Also Ran: Secret Run (Jpn), Regal Mane (Jpn), Naimama (Jpn), Madre Voice (Jpn), Crystal Barows (Jpn), Kafuji Jupiter (Jpn), Keiser's Kroon (Jpn), Catedral (Jpn), Danon Luster (Jpn).
Click for the Racing Post chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. JRA Video.
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