Japan: Mad Cool wins by head in wet running of Grade 1 sprint

Just missing by a nose in the Sprinters Stakes last fall, Mad Cool landed his first Grade 1 victory Sunday, winning a testing renewal of the six-furlong, US$2,431,711 Takamatsunomiya Kinen for older horses racing through a steady drizzle on a yielding turf course at Chukyo, Japan.

Trainer Manabu Ikezoe collected his second Japan Racing Association Grade 1 win after the 2022 Hopeful Stakes with Dura Erede. Jockey Ryusei Sakai, whose last Grade 1 victory was with Lemon Pop in the 2023 Champions Cup, registered the fifth of his career.

Bred in Ireland and owned by Sunday Racing, Mad Cool (8-1) broke sharply to come out to the front and was joined soon by Victor The Winner (8-1) and Win Carnelian (31-1) from the outside. The 5-year-old horse raced close to the pace while hugging the rails in second or third.

Still keeping the inside route turning for home, the powerful gray inherited the lead as the pacesetter weakened at the uphill stretch. Mad Cool continued to pull away while chased by fast-closing second choice Namura Clair (4-1) from behind to hold off that 5-year-old mare by a head.

“I am so glad to have won this race after our narrow defeat last fall (in the Sprinters Stakes),” Sakai said. “He broke well, and we were in an ideal position right behind the pace throughout the trip. The plan to stay in the inside for our attack at the stretch also worked to our advantage, and he held on well to deter the chase from behind at the end.”

With no run-up, the winning time was 1:08.9 covering the 1,200 wet meters, eight yards shy of six furlongs. Early fractions were 23.3, 46.3 and 57.3 seconds for the first 400, 800 and 1,000 meters, about a quarter-, half- and five-eighths of a mile.

In January 2022, Mad Cool broke his maiden in his third career start and concluded the season with four consecutive wins. Registering his fifth victory in the listed 2023 Shunrai Stakes on yielding going, the son of Dark Angel finished second by a nose to Mama Cocha in his first Grade 1 challenge, the six-furlong Sprinter Stakes, and capped his 4-year-old campaign finishing eighth in the six-furlong Hong Kong Sprint (G1).

“I’ve been riding this horse from early in his career, and the connections had been eyeing this race from the beginning,” Sakai said. “But he still has room for improvement so I look forward to his future as well.”

Now 12: 6-1-3, Mad Cool added US$1,147,699 for Sunday’s win to bring his career earnings to US$2,202,316.

Namura Clair was rated in mid-pack while saving ground along the rails early. The Mikki Isle mare steadily advanced approaching the final turn, stayed along the rails as the field shifted out for better footing on the outside, crept closer to the eventual winner racing in front approaching the uphill stretch and closed in on that foe with the fastest finishing speed up to the wire, just missing by a head in second.

Victor The Winner was quick out of the gate, disputed the lead with Win Carnelian close behind on his outside, dictated the pace into the stretch, struggled to find another gear going the uphill and outrun by the Mad Cool and Namura Clair in the last furlong but held on well to finish a good length in front of the rest of the field in third.

Win Carnelian stalked the pace in second, rallied for the lead and showed tenacity finishing fourth. Lotus Land hugged the rails near the rear of the pack and had the second-fastest finishing kick to come in fifth in the field of 18.

Post-time favorite Lugal (5-2) broke sharply and stayed close to the pace between rivals in fourth or fifth but failed to show much after shifting out turning for home and faded to 10th.

In spite of the bad weather, 28,381 fans turned out for the race card that brought in US$159,734,088, including US$105,078,830 for the feature.

The Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the Sprinters Stakes are the two Grade 1 events for sprinters held by the JRA. This race was named Takamatsunomiya Cup in honor of the late prince Takamatsunomiya Nobuhito Shinno, who presented the trophy to the winner in 1971. The race was shortened from 1 1/4 miles to six furlongs and granted Grade 1 status in 1996, then it was renamed the Takamatsunomiya Kinen in 1998.