Indy Champ wins Yasuda Kinen, earns spot in Breeders' Cup Mile

Indy Champ zoomed to an upset win in his Grade 1 debut in Sunday’s $1.96 million Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan, beating the accomplished females Aerolithe and Almond Eye, who were second and third.

Almond Eye, Japan’s Horse of the Year in 2018, had her first start of the year in Japan in the Yasuda Kinen. She won the $6 million Dubai Turf at Meydan in the United Arab Emirates in her 2019 debut on March 30.

Indy Champ, a Grade 3 winner at a mile on turf in Tokyo in February, earned a fees-paid berth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita with the win.

Sent off at 18-1, Indy Champ was fifth in a field of 16 for the first half-mile before jockey Yuichi Fukunaga moved the 4-year-old colt between horses with a quarter-mile remaining. Indy Champ caught pacesetter Aerolithe to win by a neck. Almond Eye raced in traffic until early stretch and showed a remarkable rally to finish a nose behind Aerolithe as the 7-10 favorite.

Indy Champ finished a mile in a stakes-record time of 1:30.90 on a turf course that has played fast this spring. Fukunaga said a stalking trip was ideal for Indy Champ.

“He tends to get distracted when he’s up front, so I kept him off the pace,” Fukunaga told Japan Racing Association publicity. “We were up against fierce competition, but I believed that he had a good chance as long as I didn’t make any mistakes.”

Aerolithe was ninth in the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January and fifth in the Grade 1 Victoria Mile for fillies and mares at Tokyo Racecourse on May 12.

The distance was arguably shorter than Almond Eye’s best trip. She won the Japan Cup at 1 1/2 miles against males last November. The Dubai Turf was run at 1 1/8 miles. The loss ended a streak of five consecutive wins in Grade 1 or Group 1 races.

Indy Champ, by Stay Gold, has won 6 of 10 starts for Silk Racing Co. Ltd. and trainer Hidetaka Otonashi.