Japan��s two big hopes for LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint glory

07/12/2016

By Kate Hunter

For a long time, it seemed that the one LONGINES Hong Kong International Race the Japanese could not claim was the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint, but that was until the mighty Lord Kanaloa swooped in and won back-to-back renewals in 2012 and 2013. The champion son of Japanese Derby winner King Kamehameha changed the international opinion of Japanese sprinters for good with his dramatically dominant victory in 2013, after which he went on to become Japan’s Horse of the Year. This time there are two contenders for the Sprint that have travelled from the land of the rising sun to try to renew faith in the Japan-born sprinter, Big Arthur, and Red Falx.

Big Arthur is from the second to last crop of champion sprinter Sakura Bakushin O, who was Japan’s 1993 champion sprinter and won 11 of his 12 career starts between 1200m and 1400m. The stallion has been represented by a Graded stakes winner for the past 15 consecutive years. This five-year-old son has proven to carry on his sire’s legacy, winning his first five starts. After a handful of placings in Group races, he made his first Group race victory a record-setting G1 win this spring in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) the first of only two international-standard G1 sprints in Japan’s calendar.

Big Arthur rarely finishes poorly, which made his 12th place finish in the G1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m)  last time out so surprising, at least on the face of it. However, it should be noted that he saw no daylight in the stretch and finished untested, just two and a quarter lengths behind the winner, Red Falx.

“He had a poor trip, never getting a chance to get out behind the horses in front of him,” said jockey Ryan Moore, who will be in the irons on Sunday after regular rider Yuichi Fukunaga was injured last weekend. The way that race played out will be the main reason most Japanese punters will be writing off that bad placing come this weekend; with space to run, Big Arthur should be a force to be reckoned with.

Trainer Kenichi Fujioka said: “Ideally we want a middle barrier like 5, 6 or 7 to keep him out of trouble. We will let Ryan ride how he sees fit, though we probably won’t be on the lead unless no one else is there to take it.”

Big Arthur is one of the first few horses that lifelong racing fan Akira Nakatsuji has owned in his own name. “After such a brief time as an owner, I am grateful for Big Arthur and trainer Kenichi Fujioka for making my dreams come true,” he said. “I feel lucky to be here in Hong Kong and hope we run well on Sunday.”

Bought at the 2012 Hokkaido Selection Sale as a yearling for US$96,000, Big Arthur has earned over US$2.6 million for his owner. He hopes to add to that total this Sunday.

Red Falx, meanwhile, runs in the colours of the racing syndicate Tokyo Horse Racing Co. Ltd., and has had an interesting career bouncing between turf and dirt. He has won four sprints on dirt, including a listed race, and four on turf, the pick being the two most recent, the G3 CBC Sho (1200m) and the G1 Sprinters Stakes. He wins by narrow margins, but his versatility is impressive, having won from both the far-most inner and outer barriers.

Jockey Mirco Demuro was paired with the five-year-old son of Swept Overboard for both of his Group race victories and has seemed to bring out the best in him. Red Falx’s Sprinters Stakes victory was a G1 first for both his sire and his trainer Tomohito Ozeki. They passed over the chance to run in the JPN G1 JBC Sprint on dirt for a shot at the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint.

“Fitting in the JBC Sprint so soon after the Sprinters looked like it might be too hard on the horse and since he is doing so well on turf we will focus on that surface,” Ozeki said back in November, “He is a really good traveller; he doesn’t seem to be overly affected by any change in his surroundings.”

With the winners of both 2016 domestic G1 sprint winners, Japan is ready for a double barrel attack on the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint.