Spielberg Comes Running Late in Tenno Sho

Spielberg, a half brother to U.S. grade I winner and Central Kentucky sire Flower Alley  , flew by dueling front-runners Isla Bonita and Gentildonna late and narrowly won the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (Jpn-I) Nov. 2 at Tokyo.

 

The 11-1 fifth choice in the 18-horse field, Hidetoshi Yamamoto's Spielberg unleashed a torrid rally in the final 100 meters and edged past former Japanese Horse of the Year runner-up Gentildonna, the 9-2 second favorite, nearing the finish line for a three-quarter-length triumph. The 5-2 favorite Isla Bonita was a head back in third.

 

Spielberg covered 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) with Hiroshi Kitamura aboard in 1:59.07 on firm turf. He has won six of his 13 career starts for trainer Kazuo Fujisawa.

 

Kitamura settled Spielberg toward the back the field as Curren Black Hill dictated the pace while pursued by Meiner Lacrima in a strung-out field down the backstretch. 

 

Looming up from the outside to make his bid for the final assault, Spielberg unleashed an eye-catching drive, swooping past third favorite Fenomeno at the furlong pole and picking off the favorites approaching the finish.

 

A son of Deep Impact, Spielberg was given a long break of more than 14 months after finishing 14th in the 2012 Tokyo Yushun (Jpn-I, Japanese Derby) due to some uncertainty in his legs. But after a sixth-place finish in his comeback in August 2013, he reeled off three consecutive wins at Tokyo. He was  most recently a promising third in the Oct. 12 Mainichi Okan (Jpn-II), in which he showed a good acceleration after finding clear running room in the stretch.

 

"He's never a sharp starter, but we were able to travel smoothly down the backstretch," Kitamura said. "I guided him out to avoid the leaders that were bunched up at the top of the stretch, and he responded beautifully. He's been lightly raced with long intervals, but he's gaining strength and is developing well."

 

Fujisawa said Spielberg is likely to start next in the Japan Cup (Jpn-I), run at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) Nov. 30.

 

"He is in hand and has a liking for the Tokyo course," the trainer said. 

 

Spielberg, also a half brother to Japanese group I winner Tosen Ra, was bred in Japan by Shadai Farm. His dam is the wining Lycius mare Princess Olivia.