http://japanracing.jp/_news2013/131124-02.html
2013 News
November 24, 2013
Gentildonna makes it two in a row as fillies notch Japan Cup 1-2   The 4-year-old Gentildonna nosed out the 3-year-old Denim and Ruby, coming off a failed G1 bid only two weeks ago. This time out, the seventh pick Denim and Ruby got the fast track she'd been missing to nearly turn the tables on the favorite. The JC top-rated and highly touted Gold Ship was no where to be seen at race end. Race second pick, he failed to make not only the money, he finished only two off the rear in 15th place. On the opposite end of the surprise spectrum was the 7-year-old Tosen Jordan, who went to the gate the 11th choice and surprised in third place a neck behind Denim and Ruby. The two boosted the return on the 7-9-5 trifecta to 224,580 yen on 100-yen wager. Of the trio of visitors from abroad, it was Dunaden on top with a fifth-place finish under James Spencer.Simenon finished in 13th place, with Joshua Tree in last. The race early stages went at a crawl with Eishin Flash reluctantly taking the lead as the field turned into the first bend. In a move that was crucial to the win, Ryan Moore skillfully put the brakes onGentildonna, moving her to three off the rail under cover just behind the front-running Eishin Flash,Tosen Jordan and Verxina, and there he stayed until the final turn. Hiroyuki Uchida, after his pushing Gold Ship worked against him in their last outing, decided to hold back after leaving the No. 13 slot. With the first kilometer run at a snail's pace of 62.4 seconds, however, when he finally decided to move forward rounding into the final bend, it was too late. While Gold Ship was floundership on the far outside, Gentildonna rounded neatly into the stretch three off the rail then moved smartly in to leave only one horse on her inside. Four hundred meters out, she stepped into the lead and, displaying her characteristic stubbornness, refused to give it up. She clocked 2 minutes 26.1 seconds over the 2,400 meters of fast turf. Tosen Jordan, under William Buick, was overtaken on his outside in the final strides by the Katsuhiko Sumii-trained Denim and Ruby, who scooted from the rear of the field in a fleet-footed stretch drive under Suguru Hamanaka and the field's lightest weight of 53 kg as she claimed her best finish in her four G1 bids thus far. Admire Rakti, with Craig Williams in the irons, crossed the line in fourth place. Great Britain's Moore, who was riding Gentildonna for the first time, said, "I feel very fortunate to be able to ride her today. She's obviously a very special filly... She did it the hard way because I was in front a little bit earlier than what I'd wanted it to be but she's very tough and fought very well at the end." Gentildonna has only once, in her 13-race career, finished out of the money, a fourth in the Tulip Sho in March 2012. The Japan Cup win Sunday was her eighth win, her fifth victory in a Grade 1 race. This year, she had failed to find the winner's circle, finishing second twice and third once in her three previous starts – the Dubai Sheema Classic, the Takarazuka Kinen and the Tenno Sho (Autumn), all G1 events. Moore said he'd seen nothing too amiss. "She had very stiff competition. She started the year in Dubai and she got beat by a very good horse, St Nicholas Abbey. Maybe in her run in Kyoto the ground was a bit too soft. Last out wasn't a bad run. She got beat by a very good horse. Her form was there." Going into the Japan Cup, Moore said his main concern had been the highly touted Gold Ship. "I was a bit worried about Gold Ship. I think he is a special horse but apart from him on paper, we looked to be the best horse going in to the race." The 30-year-old Brighton-born Moore had nothing but praise for Gentildonna and understanding for those fans who had continued to support her through a winless year. "I was very lucky to be asked to ride her and very fortunate indeed but I've seen plenty of her races and she's never done much wrong in her career. She's always in the first two or three. She's obviously a very straightforward filly." The credit, he said, was all hers. "I don't think the jockey matters much to her. She's a very good filly and she does it on her own. It's about her today, really. She was a deserving favorite." Gentildonna is trained by the Ritto-based Sei Ishizaka and owned by Sunday Racing Co. Ltd. Out of the Bertolini mare Donna Blini, Gentildonna was bred by Northern Racing. The win of the Japan Cup was worth 250 million yen. |
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