Satono Aladdin Denies Logotype in Yasuda Kinen

Satono Aladdin captured the June 4 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse, his first grade 1 victory, over last year's winner Logotype.

Midway down the Tokyo Racecourse stretch in Sunday's Yasuda Kinen (G1), it appeared Satono Aladdin had no chance of catching defending champion Logotype. But when he hit the wire, Satono Aladdin not only had his first-ever group 1 win—by a neck in the final jumps—but also a guaranteed spot in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) this fall at Del Mar.

 

The 6-year-old son of Deep Impact, with Yuga Kawada up, raced well off the pace through most of the turf mile, then swung widest of all into the stretch for a clean run. By then, however, Logotype was out and winging to a big lead and many others in the big field had the same idea as Kawada.

 

With 200 meters to go and the uphill climb behind him, Satono Aladdin found just enough and caught Logotype, winning by a neck. The same narrow margin separated the next three—Red Falx, Greater London, and Air Spinel. The two Hong Kong raiders, Beauty Only and Contentment, finished sixth and 10th.

 

Satono Aladdin was fourth in last year's Yasuda Kinen and seventh in the Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1) last December—a race won by Beauty Only.

 

Bred by Northern Farm and owned by Hajime Satomi, the Yasutoshi Ikee trainee posted his eighth overall win from 25 starts.

 

"He had a good draw today and everything went as planned," Kawada said. "I concentrated on keeping him in a good rhythm and we had a perfect trip and I was able to take him wide for clear sailing. So I had every confidence in pinning the leader although Logotype was quite persistent. I knew that we had a good chance of winning the race."

 

Trainer Tony Cruz said Beauty Only, despite training well in Tokyo, may have been hampered by his first experience running counter-clockwise.

 

The race is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, which offers paid fees and ensures a race spot to the winner. Neither Satomi nor Ikee gave immediate indication whether they will consider a trip to Del Mar.

 

"I see at the straight he didn't change his gear," Cruz said. "He usually changes to his near-fore kick where he's got more power but he didn't change because he was going opposite to what he's used to. So, to me, he didn't kick home strong enough."

The 6-year-old son of Deep Impact notched his first graded-stakes win last year in the Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2). After finishing fourth in the 2016 Yasuda Kinen, he successfully captured the Mainichi Broadcast Swan Stakes (G2) that autumn but was fifth in the Mile Championship (G1). He has been tested overseas twice, turning in an 11th and seventh place finish in the 2015 and 2016 Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1), respectively.

Lightly raced this season, he finished ninth in his only other start, the Keio Hai Spring Cup over a yielding track.

Ikee now has 18 Japan Racing Association grade 1 victories under his belt, while jockey Yuga Kawada claimed his ninth. This is also Kawada's second Yasuda Kinen title following his 2015 victory with Maurice.

"He's had the potential all along but a grade 1 title was needed to justify that and I’m glad he did," Ikee said.

Logotype was deprived of a back-to-back Yasuda Kinen victories although he nearly re-enacted his powerful gate-to-wire run, putting in a good runner-up effort