Gran Alegria Blitzes to Victory in Sprinters Stakes

Gran Alegria, second-last and apparently without hope 200 meters from the finish, unleashed a blazing finishing kick to win the Sprinters Stakes (G1) by two lengths Oct. 4 at Nakayama Racecourse.

The Deep Impact filly, with Christophe Lemaire in the irons, was slow from the gate in the 1,200-meter (about six-furlong) feature and raced at the tail of the field while chasing a fast pace down the backstretch and around the sweeping turn.

Swinging out to the center of the course, she quickly started to gain ground but even the English-language announcer had abandoned hope for the race favorite, calling, "Gran Alegria starts to lengthen but it is too far to catch up."

In the next second: "Here's Gran Alegria!"

Danon Smash put in a late bid to finish second with A Will A Way third.

Gran Alegria finished in 1:08.3 on firm going.

"I can't believe how strong she is," Lemaire said of Gran Alegria. "She was a little slow to get into the rhythm and we were much further back than expected. But we did not panic if not a little worried that we may not be in time as the pace was fast.

"In a normal situation we may not have made it," Lemaire said. "But she certainly showed what she is made of and she just carried on while some of the frontrunners started to weaken."

The race is one of two grade 1 sprints on the Japanese calendar. Gran Alegria was second in the other, the March 29 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1) at Chukyo. In that race she trailed only Mozu Superflare, a Kentucky-bred daughter of Speightstown  who reported 10th in the Sprinters Stakes after making the rapid lead.

Gran Alegria was produced by Tapitsfly, the winner of the 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and three other graded stakes in the United States. She was bred by Northern Farm and races in the Sunday Racing colors for trainer Kazuo Fujisawa.

The Sprinters Stakes was only her second try at a distance as short as the six furlongs, but, coming in, Fujisawa said he was confident in the still-developing 4-year-old filly.

"I'm pleased with the way she's been moving, and she's showing what speed she has," Fujisawa said after the barrier draw. "She had experience over the trip at Chukyo, where she finished strongly on the outside and could take on the quick horses in that race."

As a 2-year-old, Gran Alegria won her first two starts, then finished third in the Asahi Hai Futurity (G1) at Hanshin. She made only three starts in 2019, winning the Oka Sho Japanese One Thousand Guineas (G1) and the Hanshin Cup (G2) and finishing fifth in the NHK Mile Cup (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse.

After her runner-up showing in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, she won the Yasuda Kinen (G1) at one mile back at Tokyo in June, her most recent start.

Plans for her immediate future might be compromised by travel restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a normal year, the Dec. 13 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (G1) at Sha Tin Racecourse might be an inviting target.