Multi-award winning Sovereign Kazushi Kimura has left his summer base in Honeysuckle to pursue opportunities and showcase his equestrian skills in California.
Those skills were on full display on September 7 at Del Mar as the 25-year-old won three races, including the day’s two graded races: the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1) on the Bob Baffert-trained horse Tenma and John C. Mabee Stakes (G2T) on the Phil D’Amato-trained Hanging the Moon This was his first win at the coastal oval.
Tenma won as the second favourite, but Hang the Moon’s win was a surprise. He was sent off at odds of more than 20-1 in the $251,000 race that included Grade 1 winners repatriation And Didia She surpassed expectations in a ground-saving ride from Kimura. Recovering from last place and following Anisette’s inside effort, she found a split between the horses in the middle of the track, catching that rival and passing her stablemate wide. Lucky girl by half a length. She was timed at 1:48.50 on a hard grass track after fractions of :24.65, :48.39 and 1:12.85 were set by Royal Charter who will drop to fifth place.
Hang the Moon paid $43 to win.
“It was my first time riding her,” Kimura said. “But in this race, I know which horse is the best, and I tried to finish strong. Today, it seemed best to just follow Anisette and my mare seemed quite comfortable throughout the race.”
Favored Didia finished fourth, 1 1/2 lengths behind Anisette. The former lacked the acceleration he usually showed when he was on the outside in a stalking position, and the latter’s efforts seemed to falter after he rallied to take the lead with a trip to the fence. He finished a head behind the second-place finisher.
Lucky Girl’s runner-up finish gave trainer D’Amato, Southern California’s most successful horse trainer, a 1-2 finish in Mabee. D’Amato won at Mabee for the second time after initial success with Raymundos’ Secret in 2020.
CJ Thoroughbreds owns Hang the Moon, a 4-year-old gelding. Uncle Mo foal of the mare Malibu Moon Moon Dance . Repole Stable bred her in Kentucky, and CJ Thoroughbreds purchased her for $200,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Mabee’s win provides a major update to Hang the Moon’s catalog page. City of Light half-brother. This yearling colt is catalogued as Hip 1701, consigned by Brookdale as agent, at the upcoming Keeneland Yearling Foal Auction in September.
Mabee is Hang the Moon’s first win after two previous wins. Last year, at age 3, she finished third in the Hilltop Stakes for trainer Michael Stidham and this summer she finished second for D’Amato in the Osunitas Stakes behind the pace Agricultural Ammunition The next winner of the Ladies Turf Sprint Stakes (G2T) at Kentucky DownsHang the Moon also won the right to claim the option grant in another D’Amato start.
“She comes to me to run races like this, and I think she’s improved every race,” D’Amato said. “She finished a good second to Ag Bullet last time, and Ag Bullet came back and won the million-dollar race at Kentucky Downs, so I think she got overlooked a little bit here.
“A big shout out to KK (rider Kazushi Kimura). He gave her a big run there, holding the whole distance for the last quarter mile. She showed a really nice run to beat a couple of grade 1 winners today.”
Mo, a stallion sold last breeding season at Ashford Stud in Kentucky for $150,000, is one of the top 10 stallions in terms of earnings from offspring. Adare Villa And King are two of his descendants who won first place in level 1 in 2024.
Video: John C. Mabee S. (G2T)
