Efforia is wasting no time making his name at stud. Just two weeks into his first crop’s racing career, the 2021 Horse of the Year has produced three debut winners from five runners – and the latest, Incarnata, did it in one of Japan’s most storied Newcomer races.
The 1800m Newcomer on Takarazuka Kinen day at Hanshin is known as the “legendary Newcomer,” a proven launchpad that has sent out two-year-old champions Danon Premium and Danon The Kid, as well as Eri King, who later lit up the Classic trail.
The pre-race attention had gone to Dynamic, a ¥240 million Kitasan Black colt sent off the 1.5 favourite. But it was Incarnata, the 12.3 fourth pick for trainer Shota Nishizono, who controlled the eight-runner race from the front. He led by more than four lengths at the home turn and, though his margin steadily narrowed up the Hanshin hill, held on by a length – clocking a smart 33.2 for his final three furlongs despite making all. Dynamic could only manage fourth, beaten more than six lengths.
“He has a very honest temperament and did everything well,” said Ryusei Sakai. “The plan was to build a safety lead early, and his finish was excellent as well.”
It was the manner as much as the result that caught the eye – an unfashionable colt running down a ¥240 million rival is exactly the kind of performance that builds a young sire’s reputation.
Efforia had already made a mark. Jodrell Bank opened the account on Yasuda Kinen day a fortnight ago, a 1.3 favourite who won his 1800m debut by two lengths and is already being talked of as a generational colt; his uncle is dual-Group 1 winner Croix Du Nord. “He travelled well, settled well, and was good in the straight,” said Damian Lane.
A week later, Bell Wood Deep swept clear by two and a half lengths over 1600m at Tokyo under Kosei Miura, posting the fastest closing sectional in the field. He is already aimed at October’s Saudi Arabia Royal Cup.
Efforia himself swept the Satsuki Sho, Tenno Sho Autumn and Arima Kinen at three, and his progeny are showing the same precocity. Jodrell Bank and Incarnata will both be freshened with their next starts undecided, but all three look genuine candidates for December’s two-year-old Group 1s.
The timing could hardly be better. With Japan’s Select Sale opening in July, buyers will be casting an even keener eye over what Efforia’s first crop can do.
Future Outlook: Incarnata is a promising prospect who looks capable of being competitive at stakes level – and the ‘future outlook’ for first-season sire Efforia also appears full of promise. ∎
