Hokko Tarumae was denied a third successive win of the Tokyo Daishoten when third choice Sound True caught and passed him in the final strides at Ohi Racecourse on Dec. 29. The French Deputy-sired Sound True landed his first Grade I race by a 1 3/4-length margin over favorite Hokko Tarumae in the 61st running of the 2,000-meter Daishoten.

Sixth pick Wonder Acute, a 9-year-old son of Charismatic from the Ritto stable of Masao Sato, followed the Ritto-based Hokko Tarumae over the line by 6 lengths for a career-capping third-place finish. Frontrunner Copano Rickey, the second pick of the 14-strong field, faded to finish fourth, followed by fifth choice Namura Victor.

The top five spots of the Tokyo Daishoten were claimed by JRA-registered runners. Topping the NAR’s eight runners was fourth pick Happy Sprint of Ohi in sixth place.

Sound True, a 5-year-old gelding from the Miho stable of Noboru Takagi, raced midfield until the stretch as Copano Rickey took the lead, followed closely by Hokko Tarumae, Wonder Acute and Happy Sprint. Rounding into the stretch, Hokko Tarumae stepped into the lead as Copano Rickey faded. From 200 meters out, Hokko Tarumae continued to put distance between him and the others, but Sound True gained steadily, catching and passing Hokko Tarumae with seven strides left in the race.

Winning jockey Takuya Ono said, “It’s like a dream to win the Tokyo Daishoten. He hadn’t won his last two starts and it was irritating, but today he won it nicely and I was very happy.”

The Saitama native said, “In the summer, I wouldn’t have imagined he could win a Grade I, but he was up against tough competition in each race and he got a lot stronger than I thought he would. It’s great that he has wrapped up the year with a win of the Tokyo Daishoten.

Looking back on his trip, Ono said, “I thought, looking at the competition, that I could get a good position and I was able to ride mostly as planned. The race was unfolding quite favorably, and I thought I’d have an easy time gaining the front in the stretch.

“But, the pace was faster than expected and it wasn’t easy making his final drive. Hokko Tarumae really held his ground well. It didn’t feel like I had enough horse left in the final stages but when I asked for more he hunkered down and I thought we might just make it.

“It was close and in the end really came down to Hokko Tarumae, a horse that won a number of Grade I races. I’m glad we could win it. My horse gave it all he had.”

Trainer Takagi said he had been confident his horse had what it took to reel in a big win. “He has maintained good condition all along and I didn’t think he’d have any problems. His last two starts were frustrating but I believed he had the ability to beat the competition.

“It was a tough final drive for him and, watching it, I wondered if he’d be able to make it. But, he really reached down and gave it everything he had in the stretch. It was close, but he made it.”

Owned by Hiroshi Yamada, Sound True was bred at Okada Stud in Hokkaido. He is out of the Fuji Kiseki mare Kyoei Truth. With his first in the Tokyo Daishoten, Sound True improved his record to eight wins, seven seconds and nine thirds in 32 outings. His time over the 2,000 meters of fast turf was 2 minutes 3 seconds flat. The win was worth 80 million yen.

Source (comments): Tokyo City Keiba and Net Keiba