Arima Kinen (Group 1)

FAVOURITE Efforia ended the year in a blaze of glory when he won this year’s Group 1 Arima Kinen, his third Group 1 victory of the year following his Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and Tenno Sho (Autumn) triumphs. The win may well give him the Horse of the Year title.

Beaten only once in his seven career starts, and by just a nose by Shahryar in the Japanese Derby, the three-year-old Epiphaneia colt now tops the list of the most money earned in what has been a great season for Japanese-bred horses.

As a three-year-old, his earnings of 719,347,000 yen stands in second behind Orfevre’s record (805,524,000 yen) in 2011.

Both trainer Yuichi Shikato and jockey Takeshi Yokoyama claimed their fourth JRA-Group 1 win following their Tenno Sho (Autumn) victory with the colt in October.

From an even break, Efforia settled on the heels of main rival, the mare Chrono Genesis, in mid-pack.

As the leader Panthalassa’s five-length lead began to shrink rounding the final turns, Efforia slowly made headway from the outside, took the lead after the furlong marker and shook off Deep Bond’s persistent challenge in the final strides for a three-quarter-length-length victory.

Remarkable

“He wasn’t in the same perfect condition today as in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) in which he was 120%, but his potential proved he still could give a remarkable performance even with the added distance - 2,500 metres was the longest he’s ever run,” said jockey Takeshi Yokoyama.

“Unlike in the Derby, he was relaxed and positioned well and was able to show his true strength,” he added.

Connections later said he will begin his four-year-old career in the Group 1 Osaka Hai in April but will not run outside Japan for the early season.

Deep Bond, after racing in sixth ahead of Efforia, was driven to enter the straight in third place. The Kizuna colt ran on strongly, duelling with the eventual winner in the last furlong but failed to keep up while holding off the rest of the field by half a length for second.

Defending champion and second favourite Chrono Genesis was settled in around seventh place behind Deep Bond and right in front of Efforia.

She chased the winner into the straight and held off Stella Veloce on her outside, but was unable to threaten the top two finishers, ending her extraordinary racing career by taking third.

Killer captures the Hopeful Stakes

Hopeful Stakes (Group 1)

THE second favourite Killer Ability romped to a convincing victory in record-breaking time to capture his second career win in this year’s Group 1 Hopeful Stakes, stamping his name on the list of leading candidates for next season’s classics.

Fifth on his debut start in June, the Deep Impact colt recorded an impressive seven-length win on his following start in August.

He was a beaten by a neck when second to subsequent Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes third-place finisher Danon Scorpion on his previous start in the Listed Hagi Stakes.

His jockey Takeshi Yokoyama had collected his fifth JRA-Group 1 title, following the Arima Kinen with Efforia just two days before.

As the field made their bids entering the straight, Killer Ability switched to the outside.

As the pacesetter weakened near the rails, the colt took the lead from Born This Way after the furlong marker and crossed the line a length-and-a-half winner.

“We sat in a good position and, when the colt was able to relax in the backstretch, I had all the confidence I needed that he was going to win. I’m sure he will go on to improve further and become stronger.

“Personally, my goal for this season was to capture a Group 1 title and land 100 seasonal wins - winning five Group 1 titles is just unbelievable and I cannot thank all the connections and the horses enough for such a wonderful season,” commented the winning jockey after the race.

Justin Palace made steady headway after the third corner. The colt picked off the runners in front but proved no match to the winner while holding off the rest of the field.

Race favourite Command Line failed to fire, never reaching contention to finish 12th.