Date posted September 28, 2009 | Posted by Michele Cullen | Filed under
Racing and BreedingAustralia’s Horse of the Year Scenic Blast will have to get past a strong domestic field in the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes if the five-year-old is to wrap up the Global Sprint Challenge title – as well as the US$1 million bonus – in the sixth race of the series at Nakayama on Sunday.
Trained by West Australian, Dan Morton, the gelding is the only foreign entry for the Grade I Sprinters Stakes after Hong Kong’s Sacred Kingdom was pulled out due to injury. Scenic Blast holds a two point lead at the top of the table thanks to his victories in the first two legs of the Global Sprint Challenge, the Group I Coolmore Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington and the King’s Stand Stakes (1000m) at Royal Ascot.
The son of Scenic, arrived in Japan last Wednesday, bypassed the lead-up event the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes (1000m), won by Ultima Thule, is coming off a well beaten tenth in the Group I Darley July Cup (1200m) at Newmarket won by Fleeting Spirit.
Fleeting Spirit, trained by Jeremy Noseda is currently sitting in second spot on the Challenge with 15 points.
Art Connoisseur, winner of the Group I Golden Jubilee Stakes (1200m) at Royal Ascot, is fifth on 11 points behind J J The Jet Plane in third (14 points) and Cannonball in fourth (12 points).
Victory in the Sprinters Stakes – or the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint in December, the Global Sprint Challenge finale – would give Scenic Blast his third Grade 1 win in three different countries, making the connections eligible for the US$1 million bonus, US$750,000 of which goes to the owner, US$250,000 to the trainer.
Scenic Blast
The bonus is payable on top of the Sprinters Stakes’ first-place prize money of 95 million yen (AUD$1.2million) from a total purse of more than 202 million yen (AUD$2.5million) – the richest purse of the eight series.
If Scenic Blast does capture the Sprinters Stakes, the gelding will move up to 52 points – points are doubled for horses racing away – and qualify for the Global Sprint Challenge championship; a minimum of 42 points and entry in three different jurisdictions are needed to win the title. Hence, there was no champion last year or in 2007.
With Japan’s defending Champion, Sleepless Night along with Fleeting Spirit, J J The Jet Plane and Cannonball all unlikely to compete in either the Patinack Farm Classic on Nov. 7 at Flemington or the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint in Hong Kong on Dec. 13th, Scenic Blast can become the first Global Sprint Challenge winner since Takeover Target.
Scenic Blast will have a tough group of Japanese horses to topple in the 43rd Sprinters Stakes. Since the Global Sprint Challenge was launched in 2005, only two foreign horses have managed to win the Sprinters Stakes; Hong Kong star Silent Witness won it that year, followed by Takeover Target in 2006.
One of Takeover Target's best victories was recorded in Japan.
The best and brightest of the Japan Racing Association’s sprinting circle will fill out the balance of the field. From this year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Laurel Guerreiro, to Grade 3 Keeneland Cup holder B B Guldan and the Centaur Stakes hero Ultima Thule, the opening Grade 1 race of the Japanese autumn season may not be kind to the lone raider from down under.
The 5-year-old, Shadai Race Horse-owned Ultima Thule turned in a superb performance to win the Centaur Stakes by more than two lengths ahead of Sleepless Night. Also lining up is the 2008 Centaur Stakes winner Kanoya Zakura, Grand Prix Angel and the Sunday Silence 7-year-old Soldier’s Song, who claimed third in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen behind Laurel Guerreiro.
The course at Nakayama’s Chiba 1200m circuit, is nice and tough, it features a downhill run of 200 meters to the first turn, which curves over 400 meters and leads into a sharp final bend heading into the 310-meter home straight, which is known for its steep uphill climb over the last 200m.
The Sprinters Stakes was set up in 1967 as Japan’s only handicapped race at 1,200 meters for 3-year-olds & up, and was given Grade 3 status in 1984. The race was bumped up to Grade 2 status three years later to serve as a major prep race for the Yasuda Kinen. It joined Grade 1 company in 1990, when the JRA fixed the event a week ahead of the Arima Kinen in December as the finale to the sprint season.
The Sprinters Stakes was then opened up to international entries in 1994, and was moved to its current time slot on the calendar in 2000 to launch the JRA’s autumn season of group racing.
