Japan: Deep Bond in sharp form for Tenno Sho but must overcome difficult post
Winning Group 2 or Grade 2 races has not been an issue for the Japanese 5-year-old Deep Bond in the last two years, with victories in four such races.
The Group 1 or Grade 1 races have been more elusive, with two second-place finishes in six attempts.
Last May, Deep Bond was second in the Grade 1 spring running of the Tenno Sho at two miles at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan, finishing three-quarters of a length behind World Premiere, who set a track record of 3:14.70.
Deep Bond is part of a field of 18 in Sunday’s $2.974 million Tenno Sho with a reputation enhanced by two stakes wins in the last year. Last September, Deep Bond won the Group 2 Prix Foy at Longchamp in Paris prior to a 14th-place finish there in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last October.
Get PPs for racing at Hanshin Racecourse
Since returning to Japan, Deep Bond has been second in the Grade 1 Arima Kinen in December and won the Grade 2 Hanshin Daishoten at 1 7/8 miles on March 20 for the second consecutive year.
Deep Bond, trained by Ryuji Obuko, drew the outside post in the Tenno Sho, which is far from ideal. Jockey Ruiji Wada has the task of saving some ground through the lengthy race with a 5-year-old horse who tends to run in the middle of the pack.
In the equally testing Hanshin Daishoten, Deep Bond closed from seventh in a field of 13 to win by three-quarters of a length as the 1-5 favorite. He figures to be well-supported in the Tenno Sho though not to that extent.
The competition includes Titleholder, the winner of the Grade 2 Nikkei Sho at 1 9/16 miles at Nakayama on March 26 and the Grade 1 Japanese St. Leger at 1 7/8 miles at Hanshin last October; T O Royal, who won his fourth consecutive start in the Grade 3 Diamond Stakes at 2 1/8 miles at Tokyo Racecourse on Feb. 19; and Iron Barows, the runner-up in the Hanshin Daishoten.
The spring running of the Tenno Sho is typically run at Kyoto, but that track is currently undergoing renovation.
Post time for the Tenno Sho is 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.