 Expert - Naohiro Goda | |
|---|---|
| Naohiro is a leading journalist and commentator in Japan with regular television shows on networks such as NHK Network and Green Channel. He is a regular contributor for newspapers, magazines and websites including Sports Nippon, Weekly Gallop, and netkeiba.com. He also operates a bloodstock business marketing firm. Naohiro is a frequent international racing traveler and a regular visitor to the Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin. | |
Expert Column for Mile Championship (S1-1) (Naohiro Goda)
S1-1 Mile Championship
According to last year’s G1 Mile Championship at Hanshin, you can find that the first two finishers GRAN ALEGRIA and INDY CHAMP showed good turn of foot in the closing stage. And all of the first five finishers in G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hanshin on 14th November were closers.
As there are some speed horses in the field of Mile Championship, such as SOUND KANALOA and HO O AMAZON, it is expected that the pace will be strong and I understand it benefits closers who has sharp late kick.
My favourite is GRAN ALEGRIA, who tries to achieve back-to-back win of Mile Championship. Her acceleration is always very impressive, for example, she has started fourteen races and her time of final 600m was the quickest of all runners in seven races. Although she was beaten third in the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn at Tokyo on 31st October, the distance 2,000m was a bit too far for her and the cut back to 1,600m should work well, as she started the races over 1,600m for nine times and won six of them. After Tenno Sho Autumn, she had four easy days and resumed training on 5th November at Miho Training Centre. Since then, she has been trained well. I believe she is ready to run her race on Sunday.
Another horse who has sharp acceleration in the field is SALIOS, who has started nine races and his time of final 600m was the quickest of all runners in four races. While he was well beaten in all his two starts this year, there are excuses for the poor performance, for example, the track was too heavy to handle for him in G1 Osaka Hai in April and he met traffic problem at the final 200m pole in the G1 Yasuda Kinen in June. We must not forget the fact that he is the winner of the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes over the same course and distance as this race in 2019. SALIOS is my second choice.
While AKAITORINO MUSUME was beaten seventh, another 3YO STELLARIA finished second in G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. This again proved the tremendous ability of the current 3YOs in Japan. My third pick is SCHNELL MEISTER, the best 3YO miler who won the G1 NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo in May. He won G2 Mainichi Okan at Tokyo on 11th October, running against older colts and horses, and covered the final 600m for 33.0 seconds, which was the quickest of eleven runners.
INDY CHAMP, who was runner-up to GRAN ALEGRIA in Mile Championship last year, is my fourth choice. While he has lost last six starts in a row, he has finished within first four in all those six starts, and I am pretty sure that INDY CHAMP is capable to finish within first four on Sunday.
GRENADIER GUARDS, another 3YO colt in the field, who has won the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes over the same course and distance as this race in 2020, is my fifth choice.
SELECTIONS: 12. GRAN ALEGRIA, 4. SALIOS, 3. SCHNELL MEISTER, 7. INDY CHAMP & 9. GRENADIER GUARDS
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