From the JRA...
The 46th Sprinters Stakes - Handicapper's Report on the Japanese Contenders
This year’s Sprinters Stakes features three foreign runners; two from Hong Kong and one from Singapore. Little Bridge (NZ, G6, by Faltaat) from Hong Kong has already claimed the King’s Stand Stakes (G1, 1,000m) title in England, while Lucky Nine (IRE, G5, by Dubawi) is the winner of the 2011 Hong Kong Sprint (G1, 1,200m) in which Curren Chan and Pas de Trois also ran and finished fifth and 14th, respectively.
Meanwhile the Japanese field is of high standard this year, headed by defending champion and this year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1,200m) winner, Curren Chan (JPN, M5, by Kurofune).
Curren Chan is a two-time sprint G1 champion and the JRA award winner for Best Sprinter or Miler of 2011. A powerful front-runner with a good jump from the gate, the gray mare is also consistent in producing another turn of speed nearing the finish. Her performance in her last start, the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1,200m), in which she finished a close fourth, 0.1 seconds from the winner, should be considered satisfactory, taking into account the fact that it was her first start since the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (March) with an excess body weight of 22 kilos while having to carry 56kg. Coming off one prep race before the big G1 event—similar to that before her Takamatsunomiya Kinen victory—she looks well prepared towards a good chance of winning her second consecutive Sprinters Stakes title this year. Rated 113S when winning the Sprinters Stakes last year, she was 111S after capturing the Takamatsunomiya Kinen title.
Lord Kanaloa (JPN, C4, by King Kamehameha) has a record of six wins, two seconds and a third out of nine starts over 1,200 meters on turf. He is also highly appreciated by a majority of fans that have sent him to post race favorite in all 11 career starts. He is versatile in his racing style but has been forwardly positioned in his recent races, so he is predicted to be racing not too far back from his stable-mate Curren Chan. Though his best performances have been over the flat stretch at Kyoto Racecourse, he has also handled the up-hills at Hanshin and Chukyo, so the 1,200-meter turf at Nakayama should not cause much problem. Four years old and on the upward trend, the King Kamehameha colt was rated 113S when winning the Silk Road Stakes (G3,1,200m) and third in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
Dasher Go Go (JPN, H5, by Sakura Bakushin O) is also from the same yard of Takayuki Yasuda who trains Curren Chan and Lord Kanaloa. Though winless in four starts this season, he was fourth by a mere 0.1 seconds margin from the winner while a neck behind Lord Kanaloa in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. He was also third in the CBC Sho (G3, 1,200m), carrying top weights at 59kg which places him among the top sprinters. His three career grade-race victories, won at Nakayama and Hanshin, show that he is well suited to the uphill stretch, and his versatility allows him to be positioned a little further back as most of the favorites are presumed to be racing in front. The five-year-old bay was rated 112S when fourth in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
Epice Arome (JPN, F3, by Daiwa Major) is the winner of the Centaur Stakes, one of the main prep races towards the coming G1. The three-year-old filly won over a strong field that included Curren Chan and Lord Kanaloa, and her switch to shorter distances after a couple of poor results in her three-year-old classic challenges earlier in this season proved a great success. Aston Machan (JPN, by Admire Cozzene) is the only three-year-old that has claimed the title since the race established itself as the sprint G1 event of the early fall season in 2000, but Sei Ishizaka, who saddled Aston Machan to victory in 2007, may beat the odds again this year with Epice Arome. She was rated 109S upon her victory in the Centaur Stakes.
Pas de Trois (JPN, H5, by Swept Overboard), after his runner-up effort in the Sprinters Stakes last year, took time to recover from his overseas challenge in Hong Kong and was below par during the spring this season. However, he has regained form in his recent two starts, registering back-to-back grade-race victories in the Ibis Summer Dash (G3, 1,000m) and the Keeneland Cup (G3, 1,200m). His tenacity, which he demonstrated when holding off a forceful chase by Dasher Go Go to prevail by a nose margin in his last start, indicates his steady progress in restoring power. He is predicted to dictate the pace in front and will hold the key to how the race develops. He was rated 111S after his victory in the Keeneland Cup (his rating after his runner-up effort in the 2011 Sprinters Stakes was 112S).
Fifth Petal (JPN, H6, by King Kamehameha) gained high ratings (117M) after his runner-up effort in the 2011 Mile Championship (G1, 1,600m). Although defeated to 6th in the Sprinters Stakes last year, his speed was well up to limiting the margin to 0.5 seconds from the winner in his first 1,200-meter challenge since his two starts as a two-year-old. He is winless in three starts this season and has not raced since the Yasuda Kinen (G1, 1,600m) in June, which could serve as negative aspects. However, he may have a chance if a high pace is to put the brakes on the front runners in the closing stages.
Spring Thunder (JPN, M5, by Kurofune) has a less attractive resume compared to the above with no grade-race titles to her name, but she has exhibited a couple of extremely impressive late charge, marking the fastest time over the last three furlongs in her last two starts. Although the race favorites will not slow down easily over the fast surface at Nakayama, she could emerge if the race development turns her way. She was rated 102M after her runner-up effort in the Hankyu Hai (G3, 1,400m).
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