Toho Jackal Streaks to Course Record at Kyoto
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Toho Jackal smashed the Kyoto course record by nearly two seconds in winning the 75th Kikuka Sho (Jpn-I, Japanese St. Leger), the final jewel in Japan's Triple Crown Oct. 26.
Riding for trainer Kiyoshi Tani, Manabu Sakai guided the Special Week colt to a half length triumph over Sounds of Earth while covering 3,000 meters (about 1 7/8 miles) in 3:01 flat over firm going, beating the previous record by 1.7 seconds.
Sent off as the third choice in the field of 18 3-year-olds at odds of nearly 7-1, Toho Jackal broke through for his first stakes win. He came into the race off a very close third behind Japanese Derby (Jpn-I) winner One and Only and Sounds of Earth in the Kobe Shimbun Hai (Jpn-II) Sept. 28 at Hanshin.
After breaking from post 2 in the Kikuka Sho, Toho Jackal was positioned in fifth on the rail, stalking the early pace and biding his time into the final turn. Sakai angled him wide into stretch to rally and he dueled with Sounds of Earth until the 200-meter mark, where he found another gear to secure the victory.
"I tried to relax him going into the track but the colt controlled himself well," Sakai said of Toho Jackal. "I wanted to make use of the ideal draw we had. He responded willingly to my urging and was able to exert his late spurt after waiting within the pack until the right moment."
Gold Actor was third, 3 1/2 lengths farther back. Favored One and Only lacked the needed closing kick and finished ninth at odds of 2-1.
Unraced at age 2 for owner-breeder Toho Bussan Co., Toho Jackal has a 3-1-1 career line from eight starts after making his debut May 31 at Kyoto. He was produced by the Unbridled's Song mare Toho Gaia, also the dam of Japanese group III winner Toho Amapola.