2013

LORD Kanaloa underlined his credentials as reigning champion sprinter by winning the Group 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at Chukyo last weekend.

The six-furlong sprint is one of only two top-tier races at a distance under a mile in the entire JRA calendar, and as such it attracted all Japan’s elite speed horses. Nevertheless, Lord Kanaloa was the only class runner in the line-up, having won the Group 1 Sprinter Stakes at home last autumn before successfully flying the flag for Japan in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint.

Furthermore, he had tuned up for the big race four weeks ago in the Group 3 Hankyu Hai where he easily accounted for 15 other runners. Though drawn in stall 11 among the 17-runner field, betting fans had no concerns about the champion having to come wide around the bend, and made him the odds-on 3/10 favourite to make it three straight Group 1 successes for the Lord Racing Club-owned five-year-old.

Comfortable

The bay raced in mid-division early on, and after turning for home still needed to be patient until a clear path materialised. Brought wide, his acceleration wasn’t instant, but when his partner, Yasunari Iwata, got to work in his inimitable style, Lord Kanaloa stretched out and had a comfortable one and quarter lengths to spare at the line.

Dream Valentino finished really fast to take second and Hakusan Moon, who had done all the early work, held on to be third. The result confirmed emphatically that a wide draw was not necessarily a disadvantage in Chukyo sprints, as the first five finishers were all drawn 11 or wider.

Lord Kanaloa has been a very consistent performer, and has contested 15 races, winning nine and finishing second four times. His worst-ever finish was third in this race last year, which was won by his stable companion Curren Chan. However, he successfully turned the tables on Curren Chan in the Sprinter Stakes last time they met. Lord Kanaloa’s earnings currently exceed €4,400,000.

Ace sprinters

As there are limited opportunities for ace sprinters in Japan, the champion will most likely again travel abroad to contest major sprint races. He is trained in Ritto by Takayuki Yasuda, who in addition to tasting Group 1 sprint success with Lord Kanaloa and Curren Chan, has also excelled on the dirt with Transcend winning four top tier races for him, and Grape Brandy winning the Group 1 February Stakes on dirt last month.

The winning jockey, Yasunori Iwata, had a fantastic year in 2012, recording seven Group 1 victories, including the Derby on board Deep Brillante and partnering Gentildonna, last year’s champion three-year-old filly and Horse of the Year, to three of her four Group 1 wins. He will again be on board the daughter of Deep Impact in Dubai this weekend, where she will start as one of the favourites in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic.

History records

Lord Kanaloa, a son of King Kamehameha out of a Strom Cat mare, enters the history records as the first Japanese horse ever to win three Group 1 sprints. The Takamatsunomiya Kinen is the second leg of the Global Sprint Challenge, the international championship series for sprinters which, since the addition of the Dubai Golden Shaheen, has become a 10-race series. However, no foreign runners made the trip to Japan this year.

[Lord Kanaloa ended 2013 as both the champion older sprinter and miler in Japan. He won a second Group 1 Sprinters Stakes, the Group 1 Yasuda Kinen over a mile, and ended his career with victory over Sole Power in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint, his second success in the race. He had earnings of €7.45 million.

This year his sons Panthalassa (Saudi Cup) and First Force (Takamatsunomiya Kinen) are Group 1 winners, and are among eight such winners for Lord Kanaloa, who stands at Shadai Stallion Station for €85,000. Panthalassa has amassed winnings of €13.5 million, still short of the €15.3 won by Lord Kanaloa’s best runner, the outstanding mare Almond Eye. Nine of her 11 wins were in Group 1 races]

O’Dwyer bows out on a high

2008

CONOR O’Dwyer’s 26-year riding career came to an end at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday, and the hugely popular jockey went out on a winning note with victory on Mister Top Notch.

His weighroom colleagues formed a guard of honour as the 41-year-old made his way to the parade ring for his last ride. Conor will now devote all his energies to his new training career, having saddled his first winner at Punchestown in January when Hangover landed a bumper.

‘‘Training demands a lot of time, as everybody knows, and mixing the two is not ideal, so something had to give,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve felt it’s time to go for a while now, and I’m delighted to bow out on a good note. I said to my wife Audrey that I thought this horse had a chance of winning, but win or lose this was going to be my last ride. It couldn’t have worked out any better.

‘‘I was very lucky over the years and, besides a few broken ribs and collarbones, was never out of action for more than three weeks. I started at the bottom of the ladder as a rider, and it’s a similar story now as a trainer. Mouse Morris always said he only started working when he gave up riding, and he’s right.

“It’s hard work and demands a lot of time. It’s not going to happen overnight, and I still have plenty of empty boxes at Rossmore where Kevin Prendergast used to train, but a nice bunch of young horses.’’

Conor was successfully associated with Arthur Moore for the better part of a decade, while in more recent times he formed a noteworthy partnership with Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud. He deservedly earned a reputation as a rider for the big occasion, always cool under pressure.

Gayfield was Conor’s first winner, in a Limerick bumper at Christmas 1982. He became champion conditional in 1985 with 15 winners, while attached to the Francis Flood stable, and enjoyed big-race success for Paddy Mullins on Doubtful Venture in the 1988 Guinness Handicap Chase at Punchestown, and Redundant Pal in the 1990 Ladbroke Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown.

Special place

The Wexford-born jockey won a special place in the hearts of the Irish racing public when he rode the Fergie Sutherland-trained Imperial Call to Cheltenham Gold Cup glory in 1996, a feat he repeated in 2006 when giving War Of Attrition what was generally acknowledged as an excellent ride to win. Hardy Eustace, meanwhile, kept Conor in the saddle for the last couple of years.

The partnership landed the 2004 Champion Hurdle when Conor rode an excellent, well-judged race from the front, and they went on to follow up at the Punchestown Festival. The 2005 renewal of the Champion Hurdle looked to be exceptionally strong, and the race lived up to its billing, with the front-running Hardy Eustace holding on for victory in a thrilling finish, a neck ahead of Harchibald, with the same distance back to Brave Inca.

Conor teamed up with Hardy Eustace in the World Hurdle at Cheltenham earlier this month for the gelding’s sixth consecutive appearance at the meeting, but sadly there was no fairytale ending. Whatuthink in the Ballymore Properties Novices’ Hurdle was Conor’s last ride at Prestbury Park, and he received a presentation from the racecourse in the winner’s enclosure afterwards.

Greatest

Michael O’Leary, owner of War Of Attrition and Hangover, said: ‘‘Conor is one of the greatest jockeys to come out of Ireland, and his record at Cheltenham is a testament to that, with two Gold Cups and two Champion Hurdles to his credit. He was without doubt one of the most popular men in the weighroom, and I think he’ll make an even better trainer. He has a very nice bunch of young horses and has a great future in his new career and I wish him all the best.’’

Mouse Morris, who trains War Of Attrition, was also generous with his praise. ‘‘Most importantly he was an absolute gent and a very nice guy, and is the best horseman I’ve seen, although he’s still a bit of a bandit on the golf course!’