Efforia gets third G1 with Arima Kinen win in Japan

Race favorite Efforia prevailed in this year’s Arima Kinen at Nakayama, registering his third Grade 1 victory following his Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and Tenno Sho (Autumn) triumphs.

Defeated only once in his seven career starts, the Epiphaneia colt now reigns at the pinnacle of his foes as he tops the list of the most money earned in the 2021 season. As a 3-year-old, his earnings of $6,286,624 stands in second behind Orfevre’s record $7,039,755 in 2011.

Both trainer Yuichi Shikato and jockey Takeshi Yokoyama claimed their fourth Japan Grade 1 wins following their autumn Tenno Sho victory with the colt in October. Takeshi’s father is active jockey Norihiro Yokoyama, who also won the Arima Kinen in 1996, making them the second father and son to win the title following Kunihiko and Yutaka Take.

The field broke evenly with Panthalassa gunning for the lead followed by Win Kiitos and Titleholder while Efforia was relaxed on the heels of biggest rival Chrono Genesis in mid-pack. As the pacesetter’s five-length lead began to fizzle rounding the final turns, Efforia slowly made headway from the outside, hit the top of the lane in front of Chrono Genesis fourth from the frontrunner, took over the lead after the furlong marker and shook off Deep Bond, who showed a stubborn challenge beside him, in the final strides for a three-quarter-length victory.

“He wasn’t in the same perfect condition today as in the Tenno Sho in which he was 120 percent, but his potential proved he still could give a remarkable performance even with the added distance, (1 9/16 miles) was the longest he’s ever run. Unlike in the Derby, he was relaxed and positioned well and was able to show his true strength,” Yokoyama said after the race, before bowing deeply in front of the fans.

Fifth pick Deep Bond, after sitting in sixth and three lengths ahead of Efforia, moved up with the field after the third corner and was driven to enter the lane in third. Skillfully guided by jockey Ryuji Wada to the outside, the Kizuna colt ran strongly dueling with the eventual winner in the last furlong but failed to keep up while holding off the rest of the field by half-length for second.

Defending champion and second choice Chrono Genesis was settled in around seventh behind Deep Bond and right in front of Efforia, chased the winner into the straight and showed effort battling Stella Veloce on her outside, but was unable to threaten the top two finishers and capped off an extraordinary racing career in third.