Race favorite Lovely Day soared to capture his second G1 victory following his Takarazuka Kinen win in June, and extended his grade-race winning streak to four since his Naruo Kinen win. The King Kamehameha horse had come off a convincing Kyoto Daishoten win in his first start of his autumn campaign, and by claiming his sixth graded title of the season, he gives his trainer Yasutoshi Ikee his 14th JRA-G1 victory and seventh to jockey Suguru Hamanaka—sitting in for suspended regular rider Yuga Kawada. Ikee and Hamanaka had just celebrated a G1 Shuka Sho triumph with Mikki Queen two weeks before.

After sitting off the rather slow pace in third to fourth on the rails, Lovely Day gained on the leaders at the top of the lane stealing the lead easily before the furlong pole and pulled away, repelling a strong challenge from Staphanos, for a half-length victory.

“I’m relieved that in spite of the short notice, I was able to do my job well. The break was good and we were able to sit in an upward position. He was a bit keen to go at first but settled down. Since he responded so well at the top of the stretch, I had to wait for the run because I didn’t want him to take the lead too early. He gave a strong charge as soon as I asked him for it,” commented Suguru Hamanaka.

“We still have future races to think about so he wasn’t completely tuned up, but for a second autumn start, he was in good form. The horse has developed beautifully and has entered his prime. We have the Japan Cup in mind as his next start. We’ll carefully prepare him race by race,” said Yasutoshi Ikee.

Staphanos, who was lightly regarded as tenth pick, traveled wide in mid-pack while sixth favorite Isla Bonita sat a few lengths behind. As the field turned for home, Isla Bonita gained ground half-a-length in front of Staphanos and, while the two fiercely charged down the stretch picking off the tiring leaders, Staphanos found another gear 50 meters out and galloped strongly to excel, grasping the runner-up seat by a 3/4-length margin.

Other Horses:
4th: (15) Shonan Pandora—raced 4th from last, switched to outside for clear path at early stretch, quickened
5th: (2) Ambitious—traveled in mid-division, showed good effort after turning wide
6th: (5) Clarente—set pace, held on well until 100m out, outrun thereafter
7th: (10) Pelusa—sat toward rear, accelerated after 200m marker, was too late
8th: (1) Decipher—saved ground in mid-division, stayed on same pace at stretch
9th: (9) A Shin Hikari—chased leader in 2nd, ran gamely until furlong pole, weakened
10th: (17) Spielberg—sat 3rd from last, showed effort along rail until 200m out, unable to sustain bid
11th: (18) Admire Deus—trailed in rear, circled wide, showed belated charge
12th: (7) Last Impact—raced in mid-pack, found little room at early stretch, even paced thereafter
13th: (6) Curren Mirotic—stalked leaders in 3rd, weakened after 400m-marker
14th: (4) D’accord—hugged rail in mid-group, unable to reach contention
15th: (12) Derby Fizz—ran 2nd from rear, angled wide, lacked needed kick
16th: (11) One and Only—positioned wide around 6th, failed to respond at stretch
17th: (3) Satono Crown—raced near winner in 5th, dropped back and faded at straight
18th: (13) Vincennes—traveled wide in mid-division, no factor at stretch