Jockey Keita Tosaki, second from right, celebrates after guiding Gentildonna to victory at the Arima Kinen on Sunday at Nakayama Racecourse.
The Japan NewsGentildonna raced off into the sunset at the Nakayama Racecourse on Sunday, winning the 59th Arima Kinen and bagging her seventh Grade-1 title in her final race.
The 5-year-old filly, who will become a broodmare from spring, ran the 2,500-meter course in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in 2 minutes 35.3 seconds. Ninth favorite To the World finished second, three-quarters of a length behind Gentildonna. Top favorite Gold Ship was third, just a nose behind To the World.
Jockey Keita Tosaki placed Gentildonna, the fourth-favorite, near the front of the pack at the start. The filly made a spurt in the homestretch to grab the lead, containing the charge of a pack led by To the World.
“I was determined to help Gentildonna deliver her best performance in her last race,” Tosaki said in a postrace TV interview. “My strategy was to put her in the lead group so she could show her tenacity.
“I was concentrating so hard in the homestretch, I couldn’t hear the hoofbeats of the other horses. Gentildonna made a big push at the very end, too.”
Gentildonna swept all three major races for 3-year-old fillies in 2012, including the Japanese Oaks. She won her second consecutive Japan Cup title in 2013, and the Dubai Sheema Classic in April this year.
“She’s the best filly in history,” Tosaki said.Speech
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