Japan: Gate schooling pays off for T O Keynes in Champions Cup

A well-mannered T O Keynes benefited from recent gate schooling to take Sunday’s Grade 1 Champions Cup on dirt at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan for his second graded stakes win of the year.

T O Keynes pulled clear from 15 rivals to win the $1.7 million Champion Cup at 1 1/8 miles by six lengths.

Sent off as the favorite, T O Keynes ($7.40) had a clean start under jockey Kohei Matsuyama and stalked pacesetter Sodashi to the top of the stretch. Matsuyama had to wait for racing room with T O Keynes, but found space with more than a furlong remaining. T O Keynes quickened to take a commanding lead through the final sixteenth.

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Chuwa Wizard (7-2) finish second, three-quarters of a length in front of the longshot Another Truth, who was more than 100-1 in American pools. Chuwa Wizard won the 2020 Champions Cup and was second in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates in March behind the American-trained Mystic Guide.

Sodashi, the champion 2-year-old filly of 2020 in Japan, and a rare white Thoroughbred, faded to finish 12th in the Champions Cup.

T O Keynes, a 4-year-old Japanese-bred colt by Sinister Minister, has won 8 of 15 starts. Earlier this year, T O Keynes won three consecutive starts, including the Grade 3 Antares Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Hanshin Racecourse on a sloppy dirt track in April.

T O Keynes was fourth after a slow start in the JBC Classic at Kanazawa Racecourse on Nov. 3, a key prep race for the Champions Cup. Matsuyama told Japan Racing Association publicists on Sunday that recent gate schooling was a significant benefit for T O Keynes.

“He broke smoothly, thanks to the gate practice he went through at the stable,” Matsuyama said. “I was able to ride him in good rhythm and he responded remarkably well (on the turn).”

T O Keynes races for owner Tomoya Ozasa and trainer Daisuke Takayanagi.