Japan: Dura Erede posts major upset in Hopeful Stakes
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Dismissed at 47-1, Dura Erede edged 25-1 Top Knife by a nose to post a stunning upset in Wednesday’s Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes for 2-year-olds at 1 1/4 miles at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan.
Top Knife set the pace, closely followed by Dura Erede. Top Knife led by a length in the stretch until Dura Erede closed to win by the narrowest of margins.
“I couldn’t tell if we won,” jockey Bauyrzhan Murzabayev told Japan Racing Association publicists. “It was so close. My colt broke well and it was the plan to chase the pace in second, so everything went well.”
Dura Erede paid $96.30 in American pools. King Reign (14-1) finished third, beaten 1 1/4 lengths. Mikki Cappuccino, the 2-1 favorite, finished fifth by two lengths. The $1 trifecta paid $1,859.25 on the combination of 11-8-ALL.
Murzabayev, a 29-year-old native of Kazakhstan, is riding in Japan on a short-term basis. The $1.018 million Hopeful Stakes was his first Grade 1 win in Japan and first win in a race at the highest level since the German Derby at Hamburg in July.
Murzabayev has been the leading rider in Germany the last four years and was the leading rider in the Czech Republic from 2013-2015.
Dura Erede, by Duramente, gave trainer Manabu Ikezoe his first Grade 1 win in a Japan Racing Association race.
Owned by Three H Racing Co. Ltd, Dura Erede has won 2 of 5 starts. The Hopeful Stakes was the colt’s second appearance in a stakes, preceded by a fourth in the Grade 2 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse on Nov. 19.
Dura Erede won a maiden race at 1 1/16 miles at Sapporo Racecourse in his third career start in August.
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