Royal renews her hitherto successful campaign against the boys in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas, G1) at Nakayama Racecourse on April 14, facing the champion Japanese colt Last year’s 2-year-old and full brother to 2020 Prix de l’Arc winner de Triomphe (G1) sottsass .
First, Regaleira.
Daughter of Sweet Richard making her debut at the age of 3 with many expectations. In just his third start of 2023, Regaleira overcame an outside draw for the Hopeful Stakes (G1), raced well back into the field and appeared to have spotted the leaders holding an insurmountable lead pass to go straight home.
Then she suddenly closed that gap with a fiery turn of foot and won by three-quarters of a length, pulling away. Now, after the break, assistant coach Tomohiro Kusunoki reports Regaleira is checking all the boxes. And jockey Christophe Lemaire is eager to climb aboard.
“She is growing well and in good condition,” Kusunoki said. Her recent work on the six jackets has been very good, with the right timing and movement.” “She’s turned on but easy to control.
“With her three races so far, her mental state has been different each time, so we make sure to check everything with her after each session and make sure she is fit for your races.”
“I’m looking forward to next year,” Lemaire said after Hopeful.
The opponent returns
Next year will begin with Regaleira in Satsuki Sho but although the calendar has changed, the great enemy has not changed. Emperor Shin back to see if he can improve on second place in Hopeful. The Siyouni colt, a full brother to Sottsass, appeared to have the race in the bag with 200 meters remaining but had no answer to Regaleira’s late attack and suffered his first loss after two wins to open the competition. Karma.
Shin Emperor failed in his 3-year-old debut on March 3 but assistant trainer Yusaku Oka said he had an excuse for that.
“Last time he crashed in the first corner and then had to race to the inside, where the ground wasn’t very good,” Oka said. “Therefore, he did not run well from the fourth corner.”
Last year’s champion 2-year-old colt in Japan, Jantar Mantar, did not compete in the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4 miles) Hopeful, instead finishing the season 3-for-3 with a win in the 1,600-meter (about one mile) Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1) . He won the 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) in his career debut and tried that distance again in his first race as a 3-year-old, finishing second and remaining a question mark at Satsuki Sho’s 2,000 meters.
“He has more ability now than before,” jockey Yuga Kawada said of Jantar Mantar. “He’s more comfortable running and easier to control, so these points will help him get over 2,000 meters at Nakayama.”
Kuranda Universe And Justin Milanothe conquerors Shin Emperor and Jantar Mantar, respectively in their final race, both reappear in Satsuki Sho.
Satsuki Sho is the first leg of the Japanese Triple Crown. Next up are the Tokyo Yushun (Japan Derby, G1) at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) May 26 and the Kikuka Sho (Japan St. Leger, G1) October 20 at 3,000 meters (about 1 7/8 miles) on the lawn of Kyoto Racecourse.
In 2023, three different 3-year-olds won races: Sol Oriens, TastieraAnd Durezza.
