Breeders' Cup Mile: Japan star Songline being overlooked
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ARCADIA, Calif. – The Japanese horse Ushba Tesoro is getting all kinds of attention this week at Santa Anita as people begin to realize he stands a strong chance of winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Ushba Tesoro is the best dirt horse in Japan, but much less heed is being paid to the mare Songline, the best turf miler in Japan and a serious player Saturday in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Dirt racing takes a distant backseat to grass in Japan, and Songline, overshadowed this year in Japan by Equinox, the best horse in the world, is a star. The Japanese grass program annually offers three Group 1 races for older horses at one mile, and the last two years Songline has won the two richest ones, the Victoria Mile in May and the Yasuda Kinen in June.
Songline’s Yasuda Kinen this season probably marked a career peak. She beat her old rival Schnell Meister, usually head and head with Songline, by 1 1/4 lengths. Her Timeform Rating, 122, was Songline’s highest, and using accepted conversions, Songline’s last three Timeform figures equate to Beyer Speed Figures of 107, 106, and 105. The top one-mile turf Beyer this year among North American-based horses expected to start in the Mile is the 105 Gina Romantica earned in the First Lady at Keeneland. From there, one goes down to Casa Creed’s 102 in the Fourstardave.
Songline and Casa Creed have made each other’s acquaintance, twice squaring off in the 1351 Turf Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia. Songline ran well below form this past February, checking in eighth, while Casa Creed took his second brutal beat in the race, coming up a head short. In the February 2022 renewal, Casa Creed finished second by a neck. At the top of the homestretch, he latched onto the tail of the eventual winner and followed her run to the wire, coming up just short. The winner was Songline, and her performance that night is instructive regarding her chances in the Mile.
Songline finished second by a head in her BC Mile prep, the Mainichi Okan over 1 1/8 miles on Oct. 8 at Tokyo Racecourse. She lost in part because her deep-closing style in Japan can leave Songline dependent on racing luck, finding room to make her run. Watch her four Group 1 mile wins and see Songline come wide and late to get up, and realize she is using nearly every bit of a homestretch of some 580 yards, nearly three furlongs. Now, consider that at Santa Anita, Songline will have a stretch run about 250 yards shorter through which to make her run.
That’s presuming she races at Santa Anita like she has in Japan. But winning the 1351 over a shorter trip, Songline took up a stalking position a few lengths behind the leader.
“This racecourse is tight, but we hope she puts herself in good position not far behind,” said Keita Sekimoto, an assistant to trainer Toru Hayashi. “She has good gate speed as well. She can be ridden closer to the leader. In Japan, her racing style is different, but if we want, she can do that.”
Having twice been to Saudi Arabia, Songline has taken her travel to California in stride.
“She can adapt to a new environment easily,” Sekimoto said.
And if Songline can adapt the way she races to fit Santa Anita, she might win the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
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