(16th Jun 25)

NATURAL RISE captured double victory for the Dirt Triple Crown

In its second year since inception, the 71st running of the Tokyo Derby (Jpn1), the second leg of the three-year-old Dirt Triple Crown, was held on June 11 at Oi Racecourse. The overwhelming favorite, Natural Rise claimed victory following his win in the Haneda Hai, becoming the first horse to capture the first two legs of the newly established Dirt Triple Crown. He is expected to go directly to the final leg, the Japan Dirt Classic, scheduled for October 8 at Oi.
Natural Rise was switched on right from the start. Despite tossing his head, he surged to the front and began widening the gap. The pair of him and jockey Takeshi Yokoyama managed to conserve enough energy before hitting the final stretch. Then, boring sharply inward and nearly grazing the rail made his momentum loss a lot. But his stride never weakened and finished by 2.1/2L.
Trainer Keizo Ito explained, “The pacifier helped a lot-he was really calm during warm-up canter. But with the long run-up to the first corner in Oi’s 2000 meters, he just wanted to go.” “You can already tell from his walk in the paddock-his range of motion is wide, and his ability is clear. Normally, a horse wouldn’t be able to finish strong from that kind of trip,” the trainer added, praising his colt without hesitation.
Natural Rise was hammered down to Hiroyuki Yoshioka at JRHA Select Sale Foal session in 2022. Won the newcomer race by 6L at Sapporo last July, he then came back from four-month layoff and won the open class race Cattleya Stakes (1600m) at Tokyo in November before placing 4th in the Zennihon Nisai Yushun (JPN1, 1600m) at Kawasaki in December. He started off this term with a victory in the Keihin Hai (JPN2) at Oi in March before the two Dirt Triple Crown wins. He will rest over the summer at Grand Stud in his native Hokkaido, before returning to aim for the third crown in the Japan Dirt Classic (2000m)-at the same venue as this race.

Natural Rise

Sire: Kizuna
Dam: Lady Madonna
Sire of Dam: Distorted Humor
H3
Consigned: Grand Stud

(27th May 25)

JRHA Select Sale saw its fourth G1 winner in the Japanese Oaks this year

The 86th running of the G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) was held at Tokyo on Sunday, where fourth favorite Kamunyak came from behind to claim her first G1 victory.
Breaking sharply in front of the grandstand, Kamunyak allowed her outside rivals to go ahead and settled smoothly into position as they entered the first turn. The race developed at a moderate pace, with the first 1000 meters covered in exactly one minute, and Kamunyak tracked the leaders comfortably from mid-pack down the backstretch. As the field tightened approaching the final bend, she advanced gradually through the turn. Hitting top gear in the homestretch, she unleashed a powerful finishing kick, covering the final 600m in 33.8 seconds and engaged in a fierce duel with Arma Veloce, who had taken the lead earlier. In the final strides, the daughter of Black Tide edged ahead and crossed the wire in triumph. Anticipation is already building to see what kind of performance she will deliver in the G1 Shuka Sho this fall, where she will aim for the second leg of the Japanese Triple Tiara. Kamunyak was sold at 2023 JRHA Select Sale Yearling Session for 70,000,000yen by Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co.,Ltd.
Arma Veloce, a runner-up in this thrilling finish is also a graduate of the same yearling market, making this the one-two finish in a major race involving two sale graduates.

(1st May 25)

NATURAL RISE scores emphatic win in the Haneda Hai

On April 29, the 70th running of the Haneda Hai (Jpn1), the first leg of the three-year-old dirt Triple Crown in its second year of establishment, was held at NAR-Oi Racecourse. Natural Rise, ridden by Takeshi Yokoyama, broke away from a stalking position to win decisively, living up to his status as the overwhelming 1.3 odds-on favorite. With this first title under his belt, he now aims for a second crown in the Tokyo Derby at Oi on June 11.
Breaking sharply, Natural Rise settled in third on the outside, tracking the pacesetter Smile Mambo and the undefeated Jadadriyah. “He’s not the fastest out of the gate, so I just let the quicker horses go ahead and tried to get him to relax behind them,” said Yokoyama. “It wasn’t easy to settle him, but he did well.” Despite a strong eagerness to run, the colt remained manageable. Entering the stretch, Yokoyama sent him to the front with confidence, and he drew away with ease to the wire, 5-length ahead of the runner-up.
Yokoyama also stated, “He’s still rough around the edges, but he’s steadily maturing step by step. I hope he keeps developing in the right direction.”
Hammered down to Hiroyuki Yoshioka for 33,000,000yen in the 2022 JRHA Select Sale Foal session, Natural Rise showed the overwhelming performance, winning by six lengths in the newcomer race (1700m, dirt) at Sapporo in July 2024. He finished fourth in the JPN1 Zennihon Nisai Yushun in December at JRA-Kawasaki racecourse and started off this term with six-length win in the JPNII Keihin Hai (1700m, dirt) at Oi in March last time.

Natural Rise

Sire: Kizuna
Dam: Lady Madonna
Sire of Dam: Distorted Humor
H3
Consigned: Grand Stud

(1st Apr 25)

SATONO REVE notched his first G1 triumph in the Takamatsunoiya Kinen

Satono Reve delivered his impressive performance from the middle position and secured his first G1 victory in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m, turf) at Chukyo on Sunday. Ridden by Joao Moreira who has received the JRA short-term stint, Satono Reve not only avenged his half-brother Hakusan Moon’s defeat in the race ten years ago and but also saw him follow in the footsteps of his sire Lord Kanaloa.
Opting to hold back just behind the leading pack after a good start, he used other horses as windshields to conserve energy until the crucial moment. With 250 meters to go, he swung Satono Reve to the outside and ignited his finishing kick.
Hammered down to Hajime Satomi for 54,000,000yen in the 2019 JRHA Select Sale Foal session, the 6-year-old horse by Lord Kanaloa, Satono Reve took his first graded race success in the G3 Hakodate Sprint Stakes (1200m) in June and won the following G3 Keeneland Cup (1200m) in August. He finished disappointing 7th in the G1 Sprinters Stakes but showed his class when finishing 3rd in the G1 Hong Kong Sprint last time.

Satono Reve

Sire: Lord Kanaloa
Dam: Ciliege
Sire of Dam: Sakura Bakushin O
C6
Consigned: Shirai Farm Co.,LTD