Jun Light Bolt gets first Grade 1 win in Japan's Champion's Cup
Third pick Jun Light Bolt demonstrated an impressive late charge to win this year’s Champions Cup at Japan's Chukyo Racecourse, registering his first Grade 1 win in his only fourth dirt start.
The 5-year-old King Kamehameha bay was raced over turf from his debut in July of his 2-year-old season until his 4-year-old season last year, during which he won four of 21 starts.
Switching to dirt from this year, he won his second start, the BSN Sho (listed, 1,800 meters) in August, and marked his first graded win in the Sirius Stakes (G3, dirt, 1,900 meters) on Oct. 1.
This win brought Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi his 17th Japan Racing Association-Grade 1 win after his Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) victory with Do Deuce and his first JRA G1 win over dirt. This also marked jockey Yukito Ishikawa’s first G1 and seventh graded title since his debut in 2014.
Quick out of the gate, 5-year-old Jun Light Bolt eased back to settle around ninth from the frontrunner. Though meeting traffic entering the lane, the son of King Kamehameha waited until finding an open space outside T O Keynes 200 meters out then unleashed a powerful burst of speed with the fastest closing drive to overtake the frontrunners one by one, including Crown Pride right before the wire for a neck victory.
“I can’t find any other word to describe this other than “happy.” I tried to feel the horse’s rhythm and was confident that if we can find an open space after entering the lane, he would burst out. The colt responded so well that I knew we could win. Though I have yet to feel my first G1 win, I would like to savor this joy from now on,” said jockey Yukito Ishikawa.
Fourth pick and UAE Derby (G2) victor Crown Pride, while keen to go early, tracked the leader in second, inherited the lead at the top of the stretch and, though nosed out by the fast-closing winner just before the wire, held the rest of the field by 1 1/4 lengths for a runner-up seat.
Sixth choice Hapi broke sharply and eased back to settle behind Crown Pride in third of fourth position. The Kizuna colt overtook the tiring pacesetter 300 meters out but failed to close the gap between the runner-up and was passed by the winner in the last 100 meters while securing third place from T O Keynes by a neck.
Odds-on-favorite T O Keynes missed his break and traveled four wide around sixth from the front. The defending champion made headway entering the lane and advanced to third at the 200-meter pole but was unable to make ground and was overtaken by the winner in the last 100 meters to finish fourth.