Tower of London Swoops Past Rivals in Sprinters Stakes

Tower of London, under a perfectly timed if not confident ride by Christophe Lemaire, swooped by pacesetting Mozu Superflare in the waning strides of the Sprinters Stakes (G1) at Nakayama Racecourse Sept. 29, winning by half a length and earning a "Win and You're In" spot in the Nov. 2 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) at Santa Anita Park.

Mozu Superflare held second—just a neck in front of the favorite, Danon Smash—as Tower of London finished the 1,200 meters (about six furlongs) in 1:07.1.

Tower of London, a Raven's Pass colt bred by Darley Japan and owned by Godolphin, dropped well back in the 16-horse field during the run down the backstretch, to the point Lemaire was concerned.

"I was a bit worried that we were not in a good striking position since the fast track today at Nakayama was definitely an advantage for the frontrunners," he said.

Keeping an eye on Danon Smash, who raced near the rail, Lemaire steered Tower of London outside rivals, quickly made up ground, and caught the tiring leader inside the final 100 meters. Danon Smash might have lost a beat getting clear to make his run.

"Tower of London has great talent and stretched strongly all the way to the wire today," Lemaire said. "I knew he was an exceptional horse, but he's getting stronger with every sprint start."

It was his seventh win from 14 starts and first at the grade 1 level.

Neither trainer Kazuo Fujisawa nor Godolphin emissaries gave immediate indication whether the Breeders' Cup berth is under consideration for Tower of London. Before the race, however, Danon Smash's trainer, Takayuki Yasuda, hinted his colt might have travel plans.

"He's certainly become better as a 4-year-old," Yasuda said at the barrier draw. "He reminds me of his sire now, and it would be good to win a grade 1 in similar fashion and then look to overseas with him."

Danon Smash's sire, Lord Kanaloa, not only dominated Japanese sprinters—winning the Sprinters Stakes twice—but also convincingly won the Longines Hong Kong Sprint (G1) in 2012 and 2013. 

The winner came to Nakayama off a victory in the Sankei Sho Centaur Stakes (G2) at Hanshin in course-record time. Before that, he was second behind Danon Smash in the Keeneland Cup (G3) at Sapporo.