Massive Upset in Tight Finish of Takamatsunomiya Kinen

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 03/27/2022 - 08:42
Link: 
Massive Upset in Tight Finish of Takamatsunomiya Kinen
Image: 
Description: 

Photo: Courtesy Japan Racing Association
Naran Huleg wins the Takamatsunomiya Kinen at Chukyo Racecourse

With many of Japan's top horses half a world away in Dubai and the Chukyo Racecourse turf rated as yielding, the March 27 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1) looked ripe for an unexpected outcome.

Few would have predicted what actually happened, though, as unheralded Naran Huleg rallied from far back, squeezed through a miniscule opening along the inside in deep stretch and got up to win by a neck. Lotus Land was second, just a nose in front of 226-1 chance Kir Lord.

The first 10 finishers were separated by no more than two lengths with the ninth and 10th places judged a dead heat. The odds-on favorite, Resistencia, set a brisk pace in the 1,200-meter (about 6 furlongs) sprint but the sodden turf took its toll and she reported a fading sixth.

Naran Huleg, a 6-year-old son of Gold Allure  out of the Brian's Time mare Kelley's Beauty, won his first stakes of any kind while making his first group 1 start. Trainer Yoshitada Munakata, who opened his stable in 1993, and jockey Kyosuke Maruta, in his 16th season, both claimed their first group 1 score.

Sign up for

"I'm very happy and a bit relieved to have been able to win a group 1 race, thanks to Naran Huleg," Munakata said. "Though we would have preferred a better ground, he showed his usual strong charge in the stretch against a strong field."

Before the race the trainer said the left-handed, 1,200-meter conditions at Chukyo would be "his best trip. We will just have to see how well he can do up against a group 1 competition. We are finally able to race him in a group 1 and I'm hoping he'll do his best."

Maruta said there was nothing surprising about his tactics, though their effectiveness was novel.

"Racing from the rear is his usual style so I just concentrated on keeping the horse's rhythm," the jockey said. "He has never experienced heavy ground before but handled it well. I took him through the inner course with confidence as I did in the Tanzanite Stakes.

"I was really happy when we were able to break free before the wire."

Raced originally on dirt, Naran Huleg had four previous wins on turf, the most recent being the 1,200-meter Tanzanite Stakes in December. His best performance at the group level was a second in the March 5 Ocean Stakes (G3), also at 1,200 meters.

Bred by Mrs. Setsuko Sakato and owned by Katsushige Muraki, the chestnut now has six wins from 29 starts. His sire, by Sunday Silence, was a dirt specialist, winning four group 1 races on that surface in 2002 and 2003 in Japan. His dam raced exclusively on dirt with 11 top-three finishes from 17 starts on the National Association of Racing circuit.

The Takamatsunomiya Kinen started a springtime parade of Japanese group 1 events that continues April 3 with the Osaka Hai (G1), run at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) at Hanshin Racecourse. April's schedule also includes both the April 10 Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas, G1) at Hanshin and the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas, G1) the following Sunday at Nakayama.