Serifos Lands First G1 Win in Mile Championship

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Photo: Masakazu Takahashi
Serifos wins the Mile Championship at Hanshin Racecourse

Serifos  blitzed past most of the field in the final 200 meters to win the Mile Championship (G1) at Hanshin Racecourse Nov. 20, scoring his first grade 1 win while defeating an accomplished cast of older rivals.

The 3-year-old Daiwa Major  colt showed promise as a 2-year-old, winning his first three starts before finishing second in the Asahi Hai Futurity (G1). But a pair of fourth-place finishes in top-level races had trainer Mitsumasa Nakauchida wondering.

A slight drop in class to the Fuji Stakes (G2) Oct. 22 produced an encouraging win, and any remaining questions were answered in the Hanshin stretch in the Mile Championship.

After idling near the back of the 17-horse field, Damian Lane steered Serifos out to the center of the course turning into the stretch. As the field bunched up nearing the 100-meters marker, Lane had his colt in full flight, taking the lead with some 50 meters left and kicking clear to win by 1 1/4 lengths, going away.

"I'm very happy," Lane said. "The horse was super today. He's very consistent and I knew he would improve after watching his videos. I wanted to show how really competitive he is. The pace was good and he was a bit keen early, but I was always confident."

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Danon the Kid outran 26-1 odds to finish second, half a length in front of the 4-year-old white filly Sodashi , a three-time grade 1 winner at the 1,600 meters (about a mile). Soul Rush, second in the Fuji Stakes, was fourth and the favorite, Schnell Meister , second in the 2021 Mile Championship, was fifth but beaten just two lengths.

Four-year-olds finished second through sixth. The third-favorite, 5-year-old Salios , reported 14th with Ryan Moore aboard.

Serifos, out of the Le Havre  mare Sea Front , was bred by Oiwake Farm and races for G1 Racing Co., Ltd.

Before the race, assistant trainer Taku Fukunaga acknowledged Serifos faced a significant challenge against both earlier rivals and the older generation.

"He has gotten good results at Hanshin and I don't think he's unsuited to the course," Fukunaga said. "There are a lot of strong horses in the lineup, and those who lost to him last race are going to have improved, so it won't be an easy race."

The Mile Championship, along with the Yasuda Kinen (G1), is a key determinant in awarding year-end honors in Japan. Gran Alegria , won the race in both 2020 and 2021 and was rewarded with champion honors in the sprinter or miler division both years. She also was named top 3-year-old filly in 2019.

Several milers, including 2019 winner Indy Champ , have used a victory in the Mile Championship as a springboard to the Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1) the following month. While that race has been dominated massively by local runners, Maurice  in 2015 and Admire Mars in 2019 did break through for Japan.

Maurice won both the Yasuda Kinen and the Mile Championship before the Hong Kong triumph. Admire Mars won the Hong Kong race without competing in the Mile Championship, but the following year he finished third in both events.

Serifos, Danon the Kid, Soul Rush, and Schell Meister—but not Sodashi—are all nominated to the Dec. 11 Hong Kong Mile, where local superstar Golden Sixty will shoot for his third straight win after a triumphant seasonal debut Nov. 20 at Sha Tin Racecourse.