“Calstone Light O pulled off a dominant wire-to-wire victory, having successfully dodged a field of struggling horses on the heavy track. He finished 4 lengths ahead of Durandal [who placed 2nd]. Calstone Light O, who used all his energy to sprint like a bullet, has reached the top.

“A giant star-shaped blaze peeked out from his yellow blinkers. His expression, having proved himself faster than anyone else, was that of pride.”
– Norauma, on Calstone Light O’s legacy in Uma Furi. Extensive editing has been done on the machine translation for clarity and impact.

History might not repeat itself as much as the adage would have implied, but some mythos proved themselves more prevalent than others. A master when it comes to straight lines, having come off from an awesome win in the only graded race in Japan to have no corners whatsoever has claimed victory in one of the country’s biggest sprint championships under softer grounds. This happened not once, but twice with a 22-year gap between coincidences. What does this say about the trials to become the best? What will come next of the entrants? How will this shape their future destinies for years to come?

Final Results (In a Nutshell)

And she ran away like a thief in the night! Puro Magic’s seeming upswing trajectory had been fully realised as she scored a fabled Group 1 win following a ruthless pacesetting run on dampened turf. World’s End attempted to make a lunge forward on the final straight only to fall just short as he nabbed 2nd place by a neck. Sound Moryana attempted to make a similar move in the attempt to build on her graded breakthrough to snag 3rd place by a nose. The top three all have double-digit betting odds in a sobering reminder of the race’s typical unpredictability.

Positions at Bends

Sectional Times

Amateurish Analysis (Top 3)

Well, there has to be something about the best-performing racehorses in the race to warrant a deeper look into why they are able to excel as well as they did. In focusing on the top 3, we can look into both the moves made and the context surrounding their pedigree and their race records.

Puro Magic

Despite getting the outermost gate along with a history of struggles against uphill undulations, Puro Magic completed her constant Calstone Light O comparison with yet another point to draw between the two. They claimed a G1 race soon after establishing their more well-known magnum opus performance-wise in a straight-line G3 race. And their approaches were remarkably similar as well. They pushed through on the softer turf well ahead of the other entrants, always first in position to claim a wire-to-wire victory before anyone’s able to catch up to them. Calstone Light O was admittedly more dominant in his showing than Puro Magic based on the margin however.

Puro Magic herself still showed some weaknesses even if she finally won a G1 race in her career. Because she sets up a fast pace, you can see from the sectional times that even if she managed to handle undulations better compared to her past records, it would’ve been a killer to her hopes of winning the race. She tired out right when World’s End and Sound Moryana made their lunges on her to claim glory for themselves. Luckily enough, the lead she managed to build up along with some bit of underestimation from others allowed her to push through to a well-earned victory. Had anyone noticed right before the final straight that she’s in top form, she would’ve nabbed a top 3 placement which was still commendable. That goes to show the value of being a relative underdog with clear-cut flaws prior to the run as you would be less prone to being marked as someone whose physique could be pushed to its limit for a premature gassing out.

There were green flags on Puro Magic’s end to wipe away some assumption that this was a fluke win and how a hypothetical retry would see her lose out. Her running was aggressive in the race with a fast tempo based on the conditions of Nakayama Racecourse which allowedfor a gambit to wear out unprepared entrants. The outermost opening gate enables her to get the ideal frontrunning position even with the heightened risk of tiring out before the final straight. Her jockey Mirai Iwata clearly understood the circumstances that she had in the race and he allowed her to run the way she wanted to without being constrained. It’s by no means a flawless conquest like Lord Kanaloa’s bids, but the run was in many ways a by-the-book performance that paid off in the end.

Puro Magic’s connections confirmed that her final race in her career will be the G1 Hong Kong Sprint at the end of this year where she’ll be facing off against the Chinese autonomous city’s gelding superstar Ka Ying Rising. If we’re honest about her chances, it will take a miracle for her to beat a definite Sha Tin maestro on his home turf so the absolute best case would be for her to get a 2nd place like Satono Reve. Following that, she’ll become a broodmare prospect with the hopes that her kids know how to handle straights well like her. All you can say is to wish her well, hope that she gives it her all, and that she’ll finish her final run in good condition to enjoy what is hopefully a stress-free retirement as a broodmare.

World’s End

Following his 2nd place in the G1 Yasuda Kinen, World’s End sought to flex out his affinity in shorter-distance races. And he proved it well enough with another 2nd place in the Sprinters’ Stakes. Could we see a silver collector on the horizon like Namura Clair? The consistency is a compliment to the 5-year old’s breakthrough to the top of the competition as much as it sucks for him and his main jockey Akihide Tsumura to miss out on the G1 victory twice. While Puro Magic’s performance is akin to a lightning caught in the bottle, World’s End’s showing is one of a quiet major breakthrough. Much of what can be said about him and how well he did comes down to his discipline over the course of the race.

While his Yasuda Kinen showing involved him putting on a solid enough lead from the front that could be classified as a runaway, World’s End put on a more restrained showing in the Sprinters’ Stakes. His position was more of an on-pace runner as he’s right behind Flicker Jab (aside from a keen break out of the gate in the first third of the race) up until the final straight. It’s clear that Tsumura marked him as an opponent to try and overtake him as soon as he showed any signs of wavering which he did. While Puro Magic would have made for a better target in retrospect, at least World’s End didn’t find himself feeling too constricted as to be prematurely worn out from more inefficient moves nor did he take the bait in chasing after her. He’s definitely smart in the sense that he knew how to set his own pace, with a small bit of guidance from Tsumura, even if it’s inconclusive whether he knows that he’s actually racing himself.

The performance thus sets up a lot of avenues for World’s End to go for now that he’s hitting his strides as an expert in handling shorter distances. On the sprinting side, he can go for the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen where his experiences in Tokyo Racecourse would allow him to adapt to Chukyo’s layout if the main objective next year is to focus on domestic success. His flexibility as a miler could also position him towards taking part in the upcoming G1 Mile Championship with his main threat being Gaia Force. If there are some bits of interest in globetrotting, he can run in the G1 Hong Kong Mile at the end of this year as it’s a more open field before a dip into the Middle East at the beginning of next year. 

The past few years saw many of Lord Kanaloa’s sons retire to stand as studs as prospective successors to their ageing father. Two-time G1 champion Bellagio Opera entered the prestigious Shadai Stallion Station following a hard-fought 2nd place in the G1 Hong Kong Cup at the end of last year. The same year also saw the 2022 G1 NHK Mile Cup winner Danon Scorpion retire for a more adventurous siring career in South Africa after his unsuccessful transition to dirt to try and win a race. This year saw Satono Reve head into Shadai after his second Takamatsunomiya Kinen win as well as an eventful European expedition. With World’s End looking to peak between now and next year, I imagine that his connections will want to put him in several G1 races to bolster interest in him as a stud.

Sound Moryana

Right in third place by a nose was none other than Sound Moryana who not only proved that her G3 Keeneland Cup win didn’t come down to a lucky jockey draw, but also left a crucial hint towards her affinity with softer turf. Much like World’s End, she’s positioned behind Flicker Jab in the clear bid to mark and overtake him with the extra bit of challenge being that she’s side-by-side with this year’s G3 Ocean Stakes winner Pair Pollux who has a similar strategy. Luckily for Sound Moryana, she handled the dampened turf well enough to make a lunge into a duel with World’s End which she only lost by a very small margin of a nose. This is reflected in her last 3 furlong time which recorded the third fastest time of 35.2 seconds.

Kudos are worth giving to her jockey Hayato Yoshida whose form had recently started to look better since last month as he’s able to make a more competitive bid in graded races. On the 20th of September, he rode 4-year old Voulezvous to 3rd place in the G2 All Comers and in the last weekend, he got last year’s G1 Spring Tenno Sho winner Redentor to 5th place with the fastest L3F time of 34.2 in the G2 Kyoto Daishoten. Time will tell if this is a sign towards him being back on track towards more promising rides once he gets a graded win, but it’s certainly clear that he at least lets Sound Moryana to do her usual run with a solid placing.

Sound Moryana’s future starts would likely involve confirming whether her form’s starting to peak as a sprinter. Another domestic graded win by the end of this year could help develop enough confidence in her to enter G1s as one of the top favourites. Because her Keeneland Cup win happened on the grass that’s the same as Europe’s and her 3rd place in the Sprinter’s Stakes are on softer turf, there’s a reasonable gamble to be had in testing her limit towards an overseas expedition in one of the United Kingdom’s G1 races like the King Charles III Stakes or the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. Given its entirely straight racecourse layout on top of potential fatigue from travelling, it wouldn’t be surprising for her to falter in her attempt. Nonetheless, she has given her all and you can’t help but wish to keep a close eye on her on where she’ll go from there.

Amateurish Analysis (Other Competitors)

For the rest of the entrants, some have made moves that might have shaped the very way the race is run which makes for unexpected leanings that play to the advantage of others. This section is for those who either had done better than expected even if outside the top 3 or have shaped the race in a way that might have tilted the results in favour of others.

Star Anise and Red Mon Reve

Filling in 4th and 5th place respectively was the 3YO top filly miler Star Anise and the most recent Takamatsunomiya Kinen runner-up Red Mon Reve whose spurts were among the best in the race. With Star Anise clocking in 35.1 and Red Mon Reve having 35, the two have shown some clear class even if their backend position leaves no room for error for them to win the race which was set from the start. Star Anise’s jockey Christophe Lemaire could do with some criticisms over how he didn’t make her run on-pace as had shown in her 2 G1 wins. Red Mon Reve’s positioning issue is more chronic given that most of his starts often put him well towards the back end as if to imply that that’s his comfort spot.

Nonetheless, the two have certainly shown the talent for sprinting. Star Anise essentially has all the options in the world on where she can go next should her connections opt to hone her affinity with shorter distances be it a Mile Championship contention if she’s not tired out or the “safer” G2 Hanshin Cup bid given her clear success in Hanshin. And that’s in the short term. Red Mon Reve’s older age along with his clear niche style as an end closer sets him up as a preliminary dark horse in next year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen where the longer straight would leave more chance for him to catch up and clutch out a win. I doubt that he’ll retire to stand as one of Lord Kanaloa’s successor sires with World’s End hitting his peak as well, but you never know how he’ll do in his future starts. He could turn out like the famous late bloomer Company…

Win Carnelian

Sadly for last year’s champion, Win Carnelian saw his finishing placement be right outside the top 5 for this year by a neck. It’s an unfortunate way for him to go out especially in light of news that he’s retiring to stand stud in the Big Red Farm which makes for a dope bit of news. Especially stinging was that from a tactical and positional perspective, Carnelian had rode on as usual. His main jockey Kousei Miura has him placed on-pace due to his outer gate opening with the focus being to spurt and overtake Puro Magic on the final straight like World’s End and Sound Moryana. He just so happened to not have the much-needed extra bit of push needed to unleash his full potential on his final start.

Did the running from the outside wear Win Carnelian out a bit prematurely? It’s possible as he won last year’s race where he stuck closer to the inner rail. It’s certain all things considered how much he means to his modest following given his upstanding victory and his significance to Miura in snagging his first G1 title as a jockey following years’ worth of falling short of claiming it himself. Whatever lessons his jockey might take from riding him would hopefully lead further into securing more top victories across the country for the foreseeable future. Here’s hoping that his kids provide as big a surprise as he had throughout his career and for Miura to finally reach the top that seemed destined for him at the blazing start of his career.

A T Makfi

A small bit of shoutout over an individually impressive showing goes to A T Makfi who shared the third fastest L3F time as Sound Moryana even as he had to make due from the back-end position. His spurt wasn’t as strong as Red Mon Reve’s sadly enough which leaves him in 7th place – a neck behind Win Carnelian’s. It’s hard to say whether his jockey Akatsuki Tomita had placed him too far from the back to be able to make a winning move or if his mood just so happened to leave him too interested in taking his time. Still, there’s a sign there that would leave his trainer Hidenori Take (not related to Yutaka and Koshiro Take) feeling motivated in improving him further on for his next start.

Mama Cocha and Lugal

The two other Sprinters’ Stakes winners had also faltered to a more dramatic extent than Win Carnelian with Mama Cocha at 10th and Lugal at a more stinging 14th place. These faltering performances despite having proven credentials as being among the country’s best sprinters on paper highlight the general unpredictability of the race especially if you either fail to seize a positional spot towards the front or had a track record of relying more on dramatic surges than consistent top speed maintenance. The two were positioned more towards the midfield which tends to be a gamble for a sprinter owing to the need to put on an absurd spurt to catch up to the quick frontrunners. Mama Cocha is retiring now to enjoy a career of being a broodmare at least with the hard-fought achievement being claimed at a relatively younger age. 

Lugal’s spot might be more dodgy given that while he’s the son of the late Duramente whose popularity would leave many rooting for his kids to succeed him as a future top stud, he struggled to build up more G1s to set himself apart. Top stayer Titleholder is currently among one of the more hotly anticipated sires while the likes of Masquerade Ball and Energico could slot into Shadai in a year or so’s time thanks to who their owners are. Most likely he’ll continue on running in the next year as he tries to build more credibility and turn his form around into a considerably tougher opponent to beat. He did at least snag another graded title at the end of last year.

Flicker Jab

One of the biggest disappointments in the race was Flicker Jab who, as the third favourite, had gassed out on the final straight as he struggled to climb up Nakayama’s famous uphill undulation. It’s clear that with his primed-up form from his two graded wins, he’ll be marked by other jockeys with the main strategy of pressuring him into running suboptimally to what his jockey Atsuya Nishimura would’ve wanted. This is what had been seized by Sound Moryana and World’s End who made use of his weakening form to fill in the podium finishes. Flicker Jab himself got an abysmal 12th place with a L3F time of a slow 36.2. I wouldn’t count him out on his future starts however and he can still do well in other G1s; the race was quite simply not his day.

Panja Tower

Perhaps one of the biggest bomb-outs of the year goes to Panja Tower who’s my top pick for winner, the clear betting favourite, and whose past forms had suggested a high performance floor as he had placed top 5 at worst since his NHK Mile Cup win. It’s definitely painful to say the least and there was even some discourse surrounding the procedures around getting the racehorses into the starting gate when a video of him being whipped by employees to get into one had circulated around. As a small aside, I’m in favour of methods that involve calming down the entrants without having to physically force them in so I don’t like the video to say for certain.

Moralising aside, I doubt that the pre-race fiasco had negatively contributed to Panja Tower’s underperformance all that much. His affinity with the softer European turf in Sapporo contrasted with his snail-like 37.8 L3F time in this race on softer ground. His movements looked more forced and his strides came off as inefficient with its width looking short compared to its frequency. His main jockey Kohei Matsuyama initially urged him to unleash his spurt on the final straight, but had then conceded once he noticed how unresponsive he was to his signal. He didn’t even use the whip to make clear the time for going all in. It is a kind of bad day where making an edit with Daniel Powter’s signature song as the soundtrack would have come off as offensively cruel. His connections had made the right call to have him rest for the rest of this year with the plan to get his mental health repaired for next year’s run.