Japan: Gold Ship favored to repeat in Takarazuka Kinen
Gold Ship won the biggest race of his 2014 campaign in the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan last June, the highlight of a season that included a 14th place finish in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris last October.
This year, Gold Ship has rebounded from that loss, winning his last two starts, including the Grade 1 spring running of the Tenno Sho at Kyoto Racecourse on May 3. The recent win makes Gold Ship the favorite to win the Takarazuka Kinen for the second consecutive year when the $2,347,348 race is run on Sunday.
The Takarazuka Kinen is part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering a fees-paid berth for the winner to the BC Turf at Keeneland on Oct. 31, provided the winner is nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program.
Gold Ship will be ridden by Norihiro Yokoyama, who was aboard for the win in the Tenno Sho.
Gold Ship, a 6-year-old horse by Stay Gold, is part of a field of 16 in the Takarazuka Kinen, which is run at about 1 3/8 miles on turf.
Gold Ship’s rivals include Nuovo Record, who won the 2014 Japanese Oaks, and One and Only, who won the 2014 Japanese Derby. One and Only has started once this year, finishing third behind Dolniya and Flintshire in the $6 million Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates on March 28.
The Takarazuka Kinen will be the first start of 2015 for Toho Jackal, a 4-year-old colt who won the Japanese St. Leger last October.