Tenno Sho Goes Back To Black

Sunday's G1 Tenno Sho Spring at Kyoto Racecourse produced a formful result, with the favoured Kitasan Black (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}) defending his title in a track record-setting performance from the dual Group 1-placed Cheval Grand (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and last year's champion 3-year-old colt Satono Diamond (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). Settling in second as Yamakatsu Raiden (Jpn) (Symboli Kris S) opened a 10-length lead the first time past the stands, Kitasan Black continued to lead the strung out main group as the frontrunner widened his advantage to at least 15 lengths down the backstretch. Biding his time as Yamakatsu Raiden began to tire approaching the final bend, Kitasan Black was allowed to stride forward by Yutaka Take and turned into the stretch a length in front. Put to a drive by Take, the dark bay had enough left in the tank to hold off the placegetters, who had both tracked him within range throughout the race. Kitasan Black stopped the clock in a track record-setting 3:12.50 for the 3200 metres, shaving 0.9 seconds off Deep Impact's record set in 2006.

Sunday, Kyoto, Japan
TENNO SHO (SPRING)-G1, ¥291,220,000, Kyoto, 4-30, 4yo/up, 3200mT, 3:12.50 (NTR), fm.
1–KITASAN BLACK (JPN), 128, h, 5, by Black Tide (Jpn)
1st Dam: Sugar Heart (Jpn), by Sakura Bakushin-Oh (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Otome Gokoro (Jpn), by Judge Angelucci
3rd Dam: Tizly, by Lyphard
O-Ono Shoji Inc; B-Yanagawa Farm; T-Hisashi Shimizu; J-Yutaka
Take; ¥153,654,000. Lifetime Record: Horse of the Year & Ch.
Older Horse-Jpn, 16-10-2-3. *1/2 to Shonan Bach (Jpn) (Stay
Gold {Jpn}), GSP-Jpn, $647,068. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click
for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Cheval Grand (Jpn), 128, h, 5, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–Halwa Sweet
(Jpn), by Machiavellian. O-Kazuhiro Sasaki; B-Northern Farm;
¥61,044,000.
3–Satono Diamond (Jpn), 128, c, 4, by Deep Impact (Jpn)–
Malpensa (Arg), by Orpen. (¥230,000,000 wnl '13 JRHAJUL)
O-Hajime Satomi; B-Northern Farm; ¥38,522,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NK, NK. Odds: 1.20, 11.00, 1.50.
Also Ran: Admire Deus (Jpn), Albert (Jpn), Dee Majesty (Jpn), Gold Actor (Jpn), Tosen Basil (Jpn), Sciacchetra (Jpn), Fata Morgana (Jpn), One and Only (Jpn), Rainbow Line (Jpn), Tamamo Best Play (Jpn), Spirits Minoru (Jpn), Yamakatsu Raiden (Jpn), Proletariat (Jpn), Labradorite (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart and video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

In becoming the fourth horse to win consecutive runnings of the Tenno Sho Spring, Kitasan Black was recording his fifth Group 1 victory. The first of those came in the 2015 G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger), and after placings in that December's G1 Arima Kinen and last spring's then Group 2 Osaka Hai, the dark bay took out this prestigious prize with Cheval Grand back in third. Dropping down in trip, he finished third in the G1 Takarazuka Kinen before scooping the G2 Kyoto Daishoten and the G1 Japan Cup, with Cheval Grand again third in the latter, both over 1 1/2 miles. He finished second to Satono Diamond while giving that younger rival weight in the G1 Arima Kinen on Christmas Day, and prepped for this with a win in the upgraded G1 Osaka Hai on Apr. 2.

Take suggested more could be to come from the improving 5-year-old. “It was a really tough race–the pace never slowed down,” he said. “Although the horse had little left, he showed amazing stamina and tenacity up to the end, which only he can do. I never thought Deep Impact's record would ever be broken. This horse is just so much stronger than he was a year ago.”

Pedigree Notes…

A son of Deep Impact's full-brother Black Tide (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), Kitasan Black is the second stakes horse out of the unraced Sugar Heart, who has also produced the G3 American Jockey Club S. third Shonan Bach (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}). Kitasan Black's second dam is a half-sister to GI Super Derby third and sire Cee's Tizzy (Relaunch), and his fourth dam is the three-time Grade I winner Tizna (Trevieres). Rested in 2015, Sugar Heart produced a filly by Victoire Pisa (Jpn) last year.