Yutaka Take broke his own Kikuka Sho record at Kyoto on Sunday, driving Going to Sky to a nose win in the Japanese St Leger and denying Lovcen the Triple Crown.
Lovcen, winner of the Satsuki Sho and Tokyo Yushun, started an odds-on favourite to become Japan’s ninth Triple Crown winner. He was slow away and finished 14th, while Take produced the third favourite to beat Basse Terre in a three-way fight over the final 200 metres.
“I knew there were some strong horses in the field, but I wanted to focus on riding my own race,” Take said. “I’ve ridden this colt several times now, and I’d given a lot of thought to how best to ride him.”
The win was Take’s sixth Kikuka Sho, following Super Creek (1988), Dance in the Dark (1996), Air Shakur (2000), Deep Impact (2005) and World Premiere (2019). That last name added a twist to Sunday’s result, as World Premiere is Lovcen’s sire.
Take was 57 years, seven months and 11 days old on Sunday, pushing his own record as the oldest jockey to win a JRA Group 1 a little further out. The race also holds the other end of his career, because Super Creek made him its youngest winning rider at 19 years, seven months and 23 days.
The 87th JRA Group 1 of his career was his first since the Takarazuka Kinen on Meisho Tabaru in June. It caps a big year for the veteran, who also landed the Yasuda Kinen on Sixpence.
Going to Sky arrived off a sixth in the St Lite Kinen and sat on the rail in midfield while King Glory opened up a lead of about 20 lengths down the back. Take angled him off the fence on the turn, found a gap and hit the front 100 metres out.
“He settled nicely in a good spot along the rail, and I felt we were in a very good rhythm,” Take said. “I decided to wait and make our move in the stretch. He responded well once given a green light, and with about 200 metres to go, I thought we might win.
“He ran a good race in the Derby, and I felt we had a good chance in the last leg of the Triple Crown.”
Contrail swept the Triple Crown unbeaten in 2020, and Going to Sky gave the stallion his first Group 1 from his first crop. Uehara, who opened his stable in 2023, had won four graded races before Sunday.
Yuga Kawada brought Basse Terre from near the rear with the fastest closing 600 metres of the race and missed by a nose. Christophe Lemaire’s Danon History, the second favourite, finished a length away in third, holding off the 128-1 shot Sanono Greater.
Kohei Matsuyama had Lovcen fourth or fifth from the back early and made a sweeping move around the field before the third corner. The colt reached the straight in a striking position but had nothing left.
Going to Sky ran 3:04.5 on good-to-firm ground in front of a crowd of 52,126. ∎
