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Japan lands double 1-2 in Seoul, tickets to Breeders' Cup.
For the second year in a row Japan continued its domination in Korea, with last year's champs Crown Pride and Remake claiming second consecutive victories in the Korea Cup and Korea Sprint on Sunday, Sept. 8. The two headline G3 dirt races, new additions to the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, handed the two winners their tickets to the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar.
Not only did Japan's entourage of five (four JRA challengers and one currently with the local NAR circuit) land two firsts, Wilson Tesoro and Jasper Krone scored seconds in the Cup and Sprint, respectively, while the Kawasaki-based Light Warrior finished fourth in the Korea Cup. (JRA's Keiai Dorie was scratched from Korea Sprint due to injury.)
The 5-year-old Crown Pride, a former starter in the Kentucky Derby and a G2 winner in Dubai, captured the Korea Cup over 1,800 meters and secured his berth in the BC Dirt Mile. The Lani-sired Remake, the overwhelming favorite in he 1,200-meter Korea Sprint, topped the 15-strong field to springboard him to the BC Sprint.
First up on Sunday was the Korea Sprint with a 3:20 p.m. post time and a first-place prize of 700 million won. Remake made his move from well off the pace and pulled clear to finish 2 lengths ahead of runnerup Jasper Krone, a Hideyuki Mori-trained American-bred 5-year-old by Frosted. The American-based Anarchist finished third under Edwin Maldonado 8 lengths behind Crown Pride.
Remake, a seasoned sprinter owned by Koji Maeda, was returning to the track from a fourth-place finish in the G1 Golden Shaheen in Dubai at the end of March. The previous month, he had clinched the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint. His winning time at Seoul was 1 minute 10.3 seconds.
Like last year, Yuga Kawada, a current narrow second to Christophe Lemaire in Japan's jockey rankings, had the ride. "I came here this year to win once again with Remake, so I'm relieved we were able to do just that.
"The frontrunner pulled the field at a good clip and when we went to catch him this horse really gave it his all. The plan has always been to go to the Breeders' Cup, so it's good to have won nicely here and safely landed our ticket. We'll return to Japan to prepare and I think we can look forward to a good race in the Breeders' Cup."
The 47-year-old Ritto-based Koichi Shintani fielded both big winners of the day. Of Remake, he said, "He was a bit laidback coming off a layoff, but Kawada knows the horse's strength, and it looks like he knew just where to make his move turning into the straight.
"To have won like he did returning from Dubai shows what a mentally strong horse he is. He had gotten pretty tensed up after his last race and I was concerned, but the staff did a great job. I'm very happy, and relieved as well, to have won both races 2 years in a row.
"We have our next goal in sight and the schedule will be tight with quarantine, but I'm hoping to have him in great shape for the race."
Jasper Krone, a two-time G3 winner in Japan, had last raced just over a month ago and was taking on his second race on dirt. Jockey Taisei Danno said, "The rotation was tight, but the staff have always had him in good shape even with a busy schedule. He did well today too but the winner was very strong."
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Next on the card of nine was the 1,800-meter Korea Cup, carrying a first place bounty of 800 million won. Teruya Yoshida's Crown Pride (by Reach the Crown), under Takeshi Yokoyama, broke from the No. 11 gate, dashed unhesitatingly to the rail, held the lead, and topped the field of 10 by 5 lengths. His winning time was 1 minutes 51.8 seconds.
Eventual runnerup Wilson Tesoro (a Kitasan Black 5-year-old) traveled in seventh position under Kawada, moved into second place at the top of the stretch and gave chase, but was unable to close the gap and finished 5 lengths behind the winner in second place. The home team's Global Hit finished in third another 5 lengths behind Wilson Tesoro.
"I was really happy to have been asked to ride," said the 25-year-old Yokoyama. "He's a strong horse, so it was good we were able to get the results we did and I'm proud to have won in Korea.
"I was very careful to let the horse run at his own pace, and being able to do that helped us get the position we did. It was a great day."
Shintani expressed his relief, saying, "Crown Pride had been pretty worked up after his last race, but the staff did a very good job. I'm happy and relieved to have been able to win both races two years in a row."
Hitoshi Kotegawa trains the Miho-based runnerup Wilson Tesoro, fourth in this year's Dubai World Cup and second last out at the Ohi Racecourse Teio Sho at the end of June (both over 2,000 meters).
"Since Kawada had ridden the winner in this race last year, I left it up to him to decide on his position," Kotegawa said. "He looked really good coming up the stretch but Crown Pride had the best ground. It's unfortunate that we, as the strong favorite, weren't able to meet the expectations."
