Titleholder Romps by Five Lengths in Kikuka Sho

The nearly two-mile challenge of the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1) is designed to test both the speed and stamina of Japan's top 3-year-olds after a summertime of physical maturation and Titleholder passed that test with flying colors Oct. 24 at Hanshin Racecourse.

The Duramente  colt was so dominant, winning by five lengths after leading all the way, that his jockey, Takeshi Yokoyama, admitted afterward he was embarrassed for ever having doubted him.

Speed?

Titleholder blasted out of gate 3 like a rocket and set such a blistering early pace that the English-language race caller remarked he was "almost running like it's a 1,200-meter (about six-furlong) event … They're going helter-skelter up front."

Stamina?

After establishing his mount's role, Yokoyama slowed things down the first time through the stretch while maintaining a substantial lead. He was challenged briefly midway through the second tour of the backstretch but, by the time the field hit the stretch again, the lead was yawning open again and the uphill climb to the stretch was no problem.

【Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) (G1), 3000m, Hanshin, JRA】

Titleholder won the Kikuka Sho !#JRA #horseracing #KikukaSho #Titleholder pic.twitter.com/GOmbcduJBG

— HorseRacingInJapan (@HorseRacing_JPN) October 24, 2021

After the initial burst of speed, Titleholder dictated terms so completely that his final time for the 3,000 meters (about 1 7/8 miles) was 3:04.6, 2.1 seconds off the course record.

Orthoclase, Divine Love—the only filly in the 18-horse field—and Stella Veloce, were closely bunched while finishing second through fourth. The favorite, Red Genesis, dawdled at the back of the field through much of the race and finished 13th.

Titleholder entered the Kikuka Sho off a dismal, traffic-plagued effort in a grade 2 event at Nakayama Racecourse, finishing 13th in his first start in nearly four months.

"We had a terrible race last time out so I was determined to win it this time and I'm glad it panned out," Yokoyama said. "I personally thought that the distance was maybe too much to ask from this colt but he showed otherwise and performed well above my expectations so I'm ashamed for doubting in him anyway."

Despite the doubt, Yokoyama showed supreme confidence in Titleholder's ability to hold the lead once he asserted himself.

"I concentrated in keeping him comfortable in a long race like this," Yokoyama said. "He's an honest horse—in a way, too honest—and always gives his full effort. So knowing that once in front he would settle, I let him go as he liked and didn't try to hold him back too much."

Out of Mowen, a Motivator  mare, Titleholder was bred by Okada Stud and races for Hiroshi Yamada. Toru Kurita trains the colt.

Titleholder gave his sire his first grade 1 victory while winning the one leg of the Japanese Triple Crown that was missing from Duramente's record. In 2015, Duramente won the first two legs, the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas, G1) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1) but did not go on to the Kikuka Sho, which completes the series.

The Triple Crown title was not available to Titleholder, or anyone else, this year as Efforia and Shahryar split the first two legs of the series. Neither was involved in the Kikuka Sho, opting instead to face older horses in the Tenno Sho (Autumn, G1) Oct. 31 and the Japan Cup (G1) Nov. 28.

Yokoyama indicated Titleholder also might have a say in those races, contested at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) and 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles), respectively.

"He has a lot to look forward to in the future but it would require a little skill as a rider to conserve his energy depending on the situations," the rider said.