Gran Alegria Seeks Repeat Mile Championship Win

It's a battle of ages and genders in the Mile Championship (G1) at Hanshin Racecourse Nov. 21, with 5-year-old mare Gran Alegria  looking for a repeat win before heading to retirement, and some promising 3-year-old colts standing in the way.

Gran Alegria, a daughter of Deep Impact , also seeks her sixth win at the top level. Four of her previous grade 1 wins have come at the mile distance and her victories in the Yasuda Kinen (G1), Sprinters Stakes (G1), and Mile Championship earned her champion sprinter/miler honors for 2020.

So far in 2021, Gran Alegria has but one win from four starts and reported third in the Tenno Sho (Autumn, G1) at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) in her last start Oct. 31.

"There isn't much time between the Tenno Sho and this race," said Gran Alegria's trainer, Kazuo Fujisawa, noting that race "was a bit too long. This time it's a race she won last year and she's good over the Hanshin 1,600 meters.

"Last year, things didn't unfold that much in her favor but she raced well to the end," Fujisawa added. "This year, there's a fantastic young horse in the mix and this one is retiring. She's a horse who has given it her all from the time she was 2 years old but I'm asking her this, to please give it your all just one more time."

Actually, there are several promising 3-year-olds in the 16-horse field.

Danon the Kid won the Hopeful Stakes (G1) in 2020 and was named the country's top 2-year-old. Schnell Meister  won the NHK Mile Cup (G1) for 3-year-olds in the spring. And Grenadier Guards was victorious in last year's Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1).

Danon the Kid, a Just a Way  colt, finished fourth in the Fuji Stakes (G3) while returning from a summer layoff and trainer Takayuki Yasuda expects better.

"The layoff had something to do with it," Yasuda said of the Fuji Stakes defeat. "But I hadn't expected him to be overtaken the way he was. I think on Sunday he'll be able to measure up."

Schnell Meister, a son of Kingman , won his fall debut in the Oct. 10 Mainichi Okan (G2) at Tokyo Racecourse. That victory, said trainer Takahisa Tezuka, "means he's capable of winning the grade 1. But Gran Alegria is strong and with jockey Christophe Lemaire up, it's quite an opponent."

Grenadier Guards, by Frankel , out of the Harlington  mare Wavell Avenue , is winless in three 2021 starts but was third in the NHK Mile Cup in May and, after a four-month vacation, third again in the Keisei Hai Autumn Handicap (G3) at Nakayama Racecourse.

Assistant trainer Taku Fukunaga said Grenadier Guards' preparations "are going exceedingly well. I think, as a 3-year-old, he still has a lot more ahead of him."

The 3-year-old contingent also includes Ho O Amazon and Ripresa.

Some of the older runners also have upset potential.

Indy Champ , a 6-year-old son of Stay Gold , won the 2019 Mile Championship and returns after finishing second last year. A consistent place-getter, Indy Champ has only one win from nine starts since the victory in this race two years ago.

Salios, a 4-year-old son of Heart's Cry , was fifth in the 2020 Mile Championship after a tardy start and was unplaced in two previous starts this year. He won the Asahi Hai Futurity in 2019 and finished second behind only Contrail last year in both the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas, G1) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1).

Trainer Noriyuki Hori said Salios has overcome a litany of minor problems but now is in good shape, adding, "I'm sending him to the gate with confidence."

The race is run around one sweeping turn on the outer turf course. The long stretch run features a sharp uphill climb near the finish.