Japan: Schnell Meister has first Grade 1 win in NHK Mile
Schnell Meister won his Grade 1 debut with a nose victory over stablemate Songline in Sunday’s $1.88 million NHK Mile on turf for 3-year-old colts and fillies at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan.
Ridden by leading Japan Racing Association rider Christophe Lemaire, Schnell Meister ($6.90 in American pools) needed the entire stretch to catch 25-1 Songline, who led for much of the final furlong. Grenadier Guards, the 5-2 second choice, led in early stretch, but could not sustain the advantage and faded to finish third, beaten 2 1/2 lengths by favored Schnell Meister.
The first three finishers are owned by Sunday Racing Co., Ltd, but have different trainers. Schnell Meister, a German-bred colt by Kingman, is trained by Takahisa Tezuka.
There were 18 starters in the NHK Mile, but Bathrat Leon, the 4-1 third choice, unseated jockey Yusuke Fujioka a few strides after the start. Bathrat Leon won the Grade 2 New Zealand Trophy at a mile at Nakayama Racecourse on April 10, and was expected to be part of the pace in the NHK Mile.
Schnell Meister raced in midpack to early stretch when Lemaire moved the colt to the outside. Songline appeared poised for a win, but drifted to the inside in the last sixteenth and lost the lead in the final stride.
“We were able to follow Songline into the homestretch for the attack and had just that little more when Songline started to lean near the finish,” Lemaire told Japan Racing Association publicity.
“There is still a lot of greenness in Schnell Meister and he has a lot of room for improvement. But once he’s established physically he should be able to handle the best at Grade 1 level.”
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Schnell Meister had his fourth start in the NHK Mile. Schnell Meister won his first two starts in a maiden race at 7 1/2 furlongs and an allowance race at a mile in the final months of 2020 before finishing second by 1 1/4 lengths in a Grade 2 at 1 1/4 miles at Nakayama Racecourse on March 7.
Following that race, the decision was made to start Schnell Meister at a shorter distance.