Contrail Becomes the Third Undefeated Winner of the Japanese Triple Crown

Mark Smith - Sunday October 25

He needed to dig deep in Sunday’s Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) at Kyoto, but it was mission accomplished for the superstar Contrail who became the third undefeated Triple Crown winner in JRA history.

Ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga for trainer Yoshito Yahagi, Contrail hooked with Christophe Lemaire on Aristoteles (Epiphaneia) and the pair set down for a thrilling length of the straight battle.

Every time it looked that Aristoteles had his measure, Contrail found a little more.

Advertisement

The champion son of Deep Impact won by a neck from Aristoteles with another on of Deep Impact,      Satono Flag a further three and a half lengths back in third.

Now undefeated in six career starts, Contrail joins Symboli Rudolf (1984) and his sire Deep Impact (2005) to win the Triple Crown undefeated and the eighth colt to win all three titles, which begins with Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby).

Yuichi Fukunaga said the menacing presence of Aristoteles gave his mount little time to relax.

“I can’t say that I was successful in keeping him relaxed during the race with so much pressure from Aristoteles,” he said.

“It turned out to be a tough race for us with Aristoteles looking quite strong and persistent. This race may not have been his best performance, but I kept my faith in Contrail and he certainly showed how strong he is to have maintained his position up to the end of the 3,000-metre trip.”

A homebred for North Hill Farm’s Shinji Maeda, Contrail is a son of the perennial champion sire Deep Impact out of the Unbridled's Song mare Rhodochrosite, who was a $385,000 Keeneland September Sale yearling purchase by Koji Maeda, who was placed in four of her seven starts in Japan.

Rhodochrosite is a daughter of the Tiznow mare Folklore who was honoured as the champion American two-year-old filly of 2005 following her victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies.

Rhodochrosite has a yearling colt from the final full crop of Deep Impact and a colt foal by Heart’s Cry.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Sejardan Fits 2YO Speed Profile
There were three feature juvenile contests held at Flemington and Randwick last weekend and as usually is the case with such races, they were won by horses whose pedigrees suggested that good early form was on the cards.
Contrail Prevails in the Battle of the Titans
The highly anticipated clash between two star three year old colts yet to taste defeat, the Deep Impact colt Contrail and the Heart’s Cry colt Salios, lived up to all expectations in an epic renewal of the Group 1 The Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) (2000m) at Nakayama on Sunday.
Sires With Winners - Wednesday October 8
Here is the full list of 48 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Written Tycoon’s Pictor Leads Home Waller Trifecta
Having made his debut back in June with a narrow second behind fellow Yulong owned Written Tycoon colt Grand Prairie, who three starts later won the Group 3 ATC Up And Coming Stakes, Chris Waller’s progressive Pictor appreciated the step to 1400m to score at just his third career start.
Wootton Bassett 3YO Impresses at Avondale
Promising three-year-old Kygo Star overcame a wide journey to come out on top in a tight finish in the Allspark Electrical Maiden 3YO (1400m) at Avondale on Wednesday.
Les Young Scholarship sets Miriam on track for industry leadership
Miriam Drinnan’s vision for a big, bold career in the Thoroughbred industry has just been turbo-charged thanks to the Les Young Scholarship, an award supported by the AgriFutures Thoroughbred Horses Program.
G1 King Charles Next for Pier
Kiwi Group One winner Pier will not feature in this year’s Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m), but he will still have the opportunity to run for a A$5 million stake back in Sydney.
All the Way Anders Winner for Myracehorse
The Myracehorse colours struck again at Doomben on Wednesday carried by progressive Anders filly Diversity, who broke her maiden in good style.
Yulong Purchase into Enriched - Inglis October (Early) Sale
Three individual shares in the G2-winning entire Enriched sold for a combined $440,000 in a highly successful Inglis Digital October (Early) Online Sale today.
First Magic 2YO Winner for Te Akau
David Ellis and Te Akau Racing spent over $5million on 17 yearlings at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale earlier this year and they unleashed their first winner from the group at Avondale on Wednesday.