Titleholder's Course-Record Win Sets Him Up for Arc Try

Titleholder earned guaranteed entries to the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) and Australia's Cox Plate (G1) with an emphatic victory in the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) June 26 at Hanshin Racecourse, but the colt instead is headed "straight to France," according to his happy trainer.

Should that plan hold, it would make Titleholder the latest in a long line of Japanese stars attempting to win Europe's most prestigious race, the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris. The prize has eluded the nation's horsemen.

Titleholder made a good case as a candidate to end the frustrating run.

After breaking alertly from the No. 6 gate for the 2,200-meter (about 1 3/8 miles) Takarazuka Kinen, jockey Kazuo Yokoyama took back to let Panthalassa  roll along on a very hot pace through the backstretch run. Kicked into gear turning for home, the 4-year-old Duramente  colt was in front with 200 meters to go, was never threatened and finished in course-record time of 2:09.7.

Trainer Toru Kurita said it was a rare example of a race being run according to plan.

"There might be another horse that will want to lead in the race," Kurita said after the barrier draw. "But the jockey, who has ridden him so often, will know what's best to do, and we'll leave it to him." 

The quality of the competition that trailed Titleholder home added significantly to the glitter of the accomplishment. Hishi Iguazu, runner-up by a short head to Loves Only You  in the Longines Hong Kong Cup (G1) last December, was along for second, two lengths back of the winner. Daring Tact, the 2020 Japanese filly Triple Crown winner, recovered from a disappointing 2022 debut to finish third.

Japan's 2021 Horse of the Year, Efforia, was sixth.

The original field also included three horses returning from early-season victories in the Middle East—Stay Foolish , winner of Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap (G3) in Saudi Arabia and the Dubai Gold Cup Sponsored by Al Tayer Motors (G2); Panthalassa, who dead-heated with Lord North  for the win in the Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World (G1); and Authority , winner of the Neom Turf Cup Presented (G3) in Saudi Arabia and third in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1), both of this year.

None figured in the outcome. Panthalassa couldn't maintain the early pace and finished eighth. Stay Foolish, who appears to need more distance, was ninth. Authority was scratched by the stewards with lameness in his right foreleg.

Against that lineup, Titleholder went to the post as favorite—that after finishing first in a fans' poll of which horses they wanted to see in the race. His jockey said he, too, was confident going into the event.

"This was my fourth race with Titleholder and I knew how the colt could run in good rhythm," Yokoyama said. "The pace was fast but I wasn't concerned because he still had enough power left at the straight. He's still in the process of maturing and I think he'll get better going forward."

Trainer Toru Kurita said the colt's owner, Hiroshi Yamada, has indicated that "forward" involves France.

"I've been told by the owner that the colt will go to 'the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe if he wins,' so we're planning to send him straight to France with Kazuo," Kurita said.

Titleholder, out of the Motivator  mare Mowen, showed some promise but was far from living up to his name in his first two seasons. He finished fourth in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) in 2020, second in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas-G1), and sixth in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby-G1), the following year.

He won the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger-G1) and finished a respectable fifth against older runners in the Arima Kinen (G1) to wind up the year. He won both his previous starts in 2022, including the Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1) and the Nikkei Sho (G2).

If Titleholder does shift his focus to the Arc on the first weekend of October, it would argue against participation in the Oct. 23 Cox Plate, given timing and distance. There is, however, precedent—excellent precedent—for an Arc-Breeders' Cup double with a full month separating those races.