Japan: Ask Victor More sets course record in Japanese St. Leger

Ask Victor More struggled in the first two races of the Japanese Triple Crown in the spring, but gave a record-breaking performance in Sunday’s Grade 1 Japanese St. Leger at Hanshin Racecourse.

Ask Victor More ($9.90) ran 1 7/8 miles in course-record time of 3:02.40, finishing a nose in front of 12-1 Boldog Hos. Justin Palace (10-1) finished third, while 6-5 favorite Gaia Force could finish only eighth in a field of 18.

The previous course record was 3:02.50. The stakes record for the Japanese St. Leger is 3:01 from when the race was held at Kyoto Racecourse in 2014.

Sunday’s race had a purse of $2.2 million.

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Ask Victor More was never far from the front. Ridden by Hironubu Tanabe for trainer Yasuhito Tamura, Ask Victor More stalked runaway pacesetter Seiun Hades, who led by as many as five lengths in the first five furlongs. Ask Victor More took the lead with a half-mile remaining and was tested near the finish by Boldog Hos.

Gaia Force raced in traffic at times for the first 1 1/2 miles, and failed to contend when clear in the stretch.

Ask Victor More was fifth in the Japanese 2000 Guineas at 1 1/4 miles in April, and third in the Japanese Derby at 1 1/2 miles in May, the first two legs of the country’s Triple Crown.

On Sept. 19, Ask Victor More finished second to Gaia Force in the Grade 2 St. Lite Kinen at 1 3/8 miles at Nakayama Racecourse in a prep for the Japanese St. Leger.

Ask Victor More, by Deep Impact, has won 3 of 9 starts. Prior to Sunday, his only stakes win was a Grade 3 race at 1 1/4 miles at Nakayama Racecourse in March.

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