Bellagio Opera Repeats in Osaka Hai in Record Time

Bellagio Opera  got a smooth passage around the Hanshin course April 6 to win the Osaka Hai (G1) for the second straight year, ending a year-long victory drought with a record-setting performance.

The 5-year-old son of Lord Kanaloa  rated patiently along the rail down the backstretch run in the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) race as long shot Desierto rushed out to a big lead and set a snappy pace.

As Desierto tossed in the towel rounding the second turn, jockey Kazuo Yokoyama pointed Bellagio Opera to a gap between rivals and challenged for the lead. He got the advantage inside the 200-meter mark and held off a late drive by Lord del Rey by 1 length. Yoho Lake was another 1 length back in third while the favorite, Sixpence, lacked the needed late kick and settled for seventh.

Bellagio Opera stopped the timer at 1:56.2, a course record and a full 2 seconds faster than his winning time in 2024.

"As always, he broke remarkably," Yokoyama said. "I expected a fast pace but being able to sit in an ideal position and the horse finding his rhythm were definitely the key factors in today's win."

Bellagio Opera recorded his second grade 1 score, following the 2024 Osaka Hai. Since that win, he had reported third in the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) at Kyoto, sixth in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse, and fourth in the Arima Kinen (G1) at Nakayama.

The Osaka Hai was his first start of 2025.

Yokoyama said he hopes the return to the winner's enclosure can be a turning point for his mount.

"Although the horse hasn't been able to show his true form since last year's victory, I'm hoping that this will mark a new start for him and that he'll be able to demonstrate that he still has a lot of potential," Yokoyama said.

Out of the Harbinger  mare Air Routine , Bellagio Opera was bred by Tsunebumi Yoshihara. Hiroyuki Uemura trains for owner Shorai Hayashida.

Uemura said at the barrier draw the Osaka Hai is well suited for Bellagio Opera, including its placing on the calendar.

"This last week he's looked good and will go to the race in top condition. The summer's not good for him, so this is the best grade 1 race for him at this time of year, as well as the Takarazuka Kinen," the trainer said.