Killer Ability Romps in Hopeful Stakes in Japan

Maybe it's his pedigree, from the second-last crop of Deep Impact . Maybe it's his connections or his careful handling through his 2-year-old season. Or maybe it's just living up to his name.

At any rate, everything came together as Killer Ability romped home first in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) Dec. 28 at Nakayama Racecourse. And he did it in race-record time of 2:00.6 for 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) on the turf.

The colt is out of the Congaree  mare Killer Graces . He was bred by Northern Farm and races for U Carrot Farm. He won on his second appearance going 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) at Kokura Racecourse, then finished second behind Danon Scorpion (JPN) in a key race, the Hagi Stakes at Hanshin Oct. 30. Danon Scorpion went on to finish third in the Asahi Hai Futurity (G1) Dec. 19.

In the Hopeful, jockey Takeshi Yokoyama was riding with confidence after winning the Arima Kinen (G1) just two days earlier on Efforia. He spotted Killer Ability just behind the leaders and bided his time until the field rounded the bend into the second trip down the stretch.

Asked to run, Killer Ability quickly ranged up three-wide to challenge and, shrugging off a sharp climb near the finish, spurted out to a 1 1/2-length victory. Justin Palace, another by Deep Impact, was second, 1 1/4 lengths better than Lagulf.

The favorite, Command Line, yet another Deep Impact colt, was unable to replicate the effort that saw him victorious in the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup (G3) Oct. 9. He was never involved and finished 12th under Christophe Lemaire.

Yokoyama, 22, the son and grandson of star jockeys, said his confidence stemmed both from his own recent success and his sense of what Killer Ability had in store in his 2021 finale.

"Sitting in the saddle in his workouts two weeks in a row convinced me that he was going to run and run fast," Yokoyama said. "We sat in a good position and when the colt was able to relax in the backstretch, I had all the confidence I needed that he was going to win.

"I'm sure he will go on to improve further and become stronger."

He credited his supporters in the industry for a 2021 campaign that exceeded his hopes.

"Personally, my goal for this season was to capture a grade 1 title and land 100 seasonal wins. Winning five grade 1 titles is just unbelievable and I cannot thank all the connections and the horses enough for such a wonderful season," Yokoyama said.

Yokoyama stands in fifth place in Japan's jockey rankings with 104 wins.

The Hopeful Stakes was granted grade 1 status only in 2017 but well before that had been recognized as a springboard to the following year's Classics. The roster of future stars who competed in the Hopeful includes Victoire Pisa , winner of the 2011 Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1); Epiphaneia, winner of the 2014 Japan Cup (G1); and Contrail, who swept the 2020 Japanese Triple Crown and retired after winning the 2021 Japan Cup (G1).

Whether Killer Ability has that kind of ability remains to be seen—perhaps in the first leg of the 2022 Triple Crown, the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas, G1), run over the same course and conditions as the Hopeful on April 18.