RESULT - 2010 SPRINTERS STAKES - G1

1200 m / 6f

6th LEG GLOBAL SPRINT CHALLENGE

TRACK: Firm            

Hong Kong darkhorse Ultra Fantasy Captures Sprinters Stakes

Hong Kong managed to take the G1 Sprinters Stakes winner’s share out of Japan for the first time in four years with a photo-finish victory Sunday at Nakayama Racecourse. It was not, however, Hong Kong’s Green Birdie, the race favorite, that took the honors, but race tenth choice Ultra Fantasy. The 8-year-old gelding dominated the race to beat Dasher Go Go to the line by a nose and capped a stupendous long weekend for trainer Poon Fai Yiu. Yiu had just jetted in from Hong Kong after seeing his other champion sprinter Sacred Kingdom bag the HK G3 Sha Tin Sprint Trophy on Friday.

The photo finish that put Ultra Fantasy in the winner’s spot was decided within 7 minutes and was met with a joyous embrace by the winning jockey Hoi Wing Lai and trainer Yiu. Things proved less joyous for trainer Takayuki Yasuda as a 20-minute-long inquiry involving his Dasher Go Go and San Carlo (trained by Yokichi Okubo) ended in Dasher Go Go being demoted to fourth place. Coming in to the stretch with San Carlo on his inside on the rail Dasher Go Go moved sharply in to take advantage of a hole, a move by rider Yuga Kawada, 24, that forced San Carlo to lose momentum. The decision was met by groans from the crowd and promoted this year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Kinshasa no Kiseki, the race third choice, to second place, San Carlo to third. Race second pick One Carat failed to live up to expectations, as she just made the board in fifth place.

The 16 entrants in the 44th running of the Sprinters Stakes broke from the gate on schedule at 3:40 p.m. with Premium Box and Kinshasa no Kiseki a bit slow out. Lai pushed Ultra Fantasy hard as they sped to the front, where they momentarily held a 2-length lead before being overtaken by Laurel Guerreiro. Regaining the lead into the stretch and increasing it once again to 2 lengths, Ultra Fantasy was able to hold his ground to the end despite a sharp acceleration by Dasher Go Go in the final 70 meters. Ultra Fantasy covered the 1,200 meters of firm turf in a time of 1:07.4 and gave Hong Kong its second win of the Sprinters Stakes following the victory by Silent Witness in 2005.

Ultra Fantasy had failed to win popularity among Japan’s race fans going into the Sprinters Stakes. His arrival in Japan was followed by a drop in weight of 18 kg and rain was said to be playing havoc with his training. His connections nonetheless had maintained that he had the staying power to win if their prayers for an inside draw were met. Ultra Fantasy drew the No. 7 slot, which indeed proved to be a lucky one.

The win of the Sprinters Stakes gave Ultra Fantasy the second graded win of his 48-start career, his first G1 victory ever. The 8-year-old Australia-bred son of Encosta de Lago had not raced since May and was coming off a crushing 14th-place finish in the Sha Tin Vase. He had, however, beaten Green Birdie earlier that month in the G2 Sprint Cup, which earned him his first win of a graded race.

Sprinters favorite Green Birdie was unable, despite an advantageous No. 6 slot, to gain a forward position early in the race. Ridden by Mark Du Plessis, Green Birdie failed to get a clear run in the stretch and finished in seventh place a good length off the winner.

Ultra Fantasy is the sole racehorse currently owned by Tai Fai Lam, a member of the Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. The win of the Sprinters Stakes, worth 95 million yen, improved Ultra Fantasy’s career record to 9 for 48.

The winning No. 7 paid 2,930 yen on a 100-yen wager to win. The winning exacta 7-14 returned 22,400 yen, the winning trifecta 7-14-3 paid 358,410 yen on 100 yen down.

RESULT - 2010 CENTAUR STAKES - G2

1200 m / 6f

5th LEG GLOBAL SPRINT CHALLENGE

TRACK: Firm            

Dasher Go Go captures Centaur Stakes (G2); Hong Kong’s Green Birdie Finishes Runnerup

Dasher Go Go captures Centaur Stakes (G2); Hong Kong’s Green Birdie finishes runnerup
Race fourth choice Dasher Go Go, coming off an out-of-character 11th-place finish in his last outing, the Kitakyushu Kinen (G3) on Aug. 15, overcame the odds with a win in the Centaur Stakes (G2) at Hanshin Racecourse on Sunday. Dasher Go Go narrowly missed being caught by a charging Green Birdie, the race’s second pick and contender from Hong Kong.

Dasher Go Go finished a neck ahead of Green Birdie, who was running with a full 4 kg heavier 59-kg weight allowance. Fifth choice Melissa crossed the line in third place a length behind Green Birdie, with third pick Headliner and longshot Tamamo Nice Play making the board in fourth and fifth places, respectively. Race favorite Sky no Dan finished in sixth place

The 16-horse Centaur lineup had been reduced by one Saturday morning by the unexpected scratching of likely favorite Kinshasa no Kiseki. A case of colic that appeared Friday evening after the Miho-based horse was transported to Hanshin Racecourse did not subside by Saturday morning and prompted trainer Noriyuki Hori to announce the horse’s withdrawal.

Eventual 14th-place finisher K T Love jumped into the lead followed closely by Headliner and Sky no Dan. Dasher Go Go’s jockey Yuga Kawada moved up gradually from midfield and inward to within four widths’ of the rail. With 600 meters left the pair was positioned strategically in fifth position, then reduced their reach on the lead to less than a length as they rounded into the stretch.

Meanwhile, Green Birdie was being given a kid-glove ride by Zimbabwe-born jockey Mark Du Plessis, 34. Breaking from the No. 1 slot, considered a disadvantage in a Hanshin 1,200 meter race, Du Plessis held the rail just rear of midfield until the straight, where he eased Green Birdie out to three widths from the rail as they looked for an opening. With 200 meters to go and a good four lengths off the lead, the pair shot gutsily up between Sky no Dan on their inside and Melissa on the out. From there Green Birdie reached down and showed the powerful kick that won him the KrisFlyer International Sprint at Singapore and helped earn him the Centaur field’s top rating of 118. He ate up the ground gaining on the now front-running Dasher Go Go with no encouragement from the whip, but missed out on the win by a neck.

Winning jockey Kawada, the 24 year-old Ritto-based rider, won the Centaur Stakes for his second time following a win aboard Sans Adieu in 2007. In 2008, he won his first and thus far only Grade 1 event, the classic Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) paired with Captain Thule.

Winning trainer Takayuki Yasuda, a 57-year-old Kyoto native based in Ritto, has consistently increased his number of wins each year since his debut as trainer in 1995. Last year was his best year yet, ending in a total 39 wins. It was Yasuda’s first win of the Centaur Stakes and his first win of a Grade 2 race yet. Yasuda also has four G3 wins to his name.

Dasher Go Go is owned by Shin Ashida. Sired by Sakura Bakushin O, out of the Miswaki mare Negano, the 3-year-old bay was bred at Shimokobe Farm in Mombetsu, Hokkaido. Sunday’s victory was the colt’s third in 10 starts. His winning time was 1 minute, 8.0 seconds, which was 0.9 seconds off the record set by Believe in 2002.