Danon Shark recorded his first G1 victory in his third grade-race win in the second event of the Japan Autumn International series, the Mile Championship. Always recognized as a competitive runner at this level with third-place finish in the same race last year and also third and fourth in the spring mile G1 event, the Yasuda Kinen, in 2013 and 2014, respectively, the Deep Impact entire had come off a seventh in the Fuji Stakes and sent to post eighth choice in this race. The six-year-old provided trainer Ryuji Okubo with his second G1 title and first since the 2007 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) with Asakusa Kings. Jockey Yasunari Iwata claimed his 23rd JRA-G1 title—his latest being in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) with Nuovo Record.
Danon Shark bided his time just off the rails and inside a rival well off the pace in the latter end of mid-field and edged forward as the field closed in on the leader approaching the final turn. As most of the frontrunners began to fade from the fast early speed, Danon Shark wasted no time as a narrow path opened in the inside when Fiero split horses and began to pull away from the field. Danon Shark drew even with Fiero for a heated duel and won out a photo finish for his first G1 victory while registering a race record of 1:31.5 over the 1,600-meter distance. “I was instructed (by the trainer) to keep him covered in mid-field early, and he settled nicely. There was just room enough for us to squeeze through in the inside at mid-stretch and he responded with a really good turn of speed. I am glad that I was able to contribute to his long-waited and well-deserved G1 win”, commented Yasunari Iwata.
Fiero traveled between rivals a length in front of the eventual winner in mid-pack under Yuichi Fukunaga and came through between horses with impressive turn of speed to assume command as Mikki Isle dropped back and relinquished a brief lead just before the furlong pole. While trying to brush off Grandezza who was at his heels on the outside, Fiero was soon joined by Danon Shark in the inside and that two dueled furiously to the wire with equal force though missing by a nose.
Grandezza was the only frontrunner surviving the record-breaking trip, kept with a fast pace in third position and forced wide in the final turn as Fiero surged through for the stretch run. The son of Agnes Tachyon immediately responded and doggedly chased Fiero but eventually was unable to keep up with the top two while besting the rest of the field by 3/4 length.
Race favorite Mikki Isle disputed for the lead early but soon found himself stalking a solid pace headed by Horai Akiko. The Deep Impact colt assumed command with 600 meters to go and was asked to fly home entering the stretch but came up empty and soon faded before the furlong pole.
Other Horses:
4th: (13) Tosen Ra—positioned back in mid-pack, timed fastest (tie) over last 3 furlongs
5th: (7) Extra End—saved ground toward rear, switched to left for clear path then quickened
6th: (14) Grand Prix Boss—settled toward rear, circled wide, showed good effort
7th: (10) Logotype—sat around 8th, ran gamely until 100m out but weakened thereafter
8th: (9) World Ace—was off slow, advanced to mid-group, met traffic at top of the stretch
9th: (6) Daiwa Maggiore—traveled in 5th, lacked needed kick at stretch
10th: (16) Tagano Grandpa—raced near rear, angled out and responded well over wide stretch
11th: (4) Sadamu Patek—ran 3rd from last, improved position at stretch
12th: (2) Excellente Cave—broke poorly, traveled in rear, showed belated charge
14th: (5) Red Arion—hugged rail in mid-pack, checked by rival at early stretch
15th: (11) Clarente—traveled 4-wide in mid-division, no factor at stretch
16th: (17) Sanrei Laser—prominent early in 3rd or 4th, faded after turning home
17th: (1) Horai Akiko—set pace, ran out of steam before final turn