Suave Richard delivers as favorite in Osaka Hai

In the last year, Suave Richard has evolved from a contender in Japan’s leading races to winning such events.

On Sunday at Hanshin Racecourse near Osaka, Suave Richard won his first Grade 1 race in the $2,439,529 Osaka Hai at 1 1/4 miles on turf, his third graded stakes victory in his last four starts. The only loss in the sequence was a fourth in the Grade 1 Arima Kinen in December behind Kitasan Black, the Japanese Horse of the Year in 2016 and 2017.

Earlier in 2017, Suave Richard was sixth in the Japanese 2000 Guineas and second in the Japanese Derby.

Maturity has played a role in his development into a multiple stakes winner, jockey Mirco Demuro said.

In Sunday’s Osaka Hai, Suave Richard switched leads at the right time in the stretch. That did not happen in the Arima Kinen, Demuro said.

“Today, he did, which is a promising factor,” Demuro said. “Something to look forward to from now on.”

Demuro guided Suave Richard from the back of the field to reach contention on the turn. Suave Richard, the 5-2 favorite, took the lead in the stretch and won by three-quarters of a length over Persian Knight, a 15-1 chance. Al Ain, the 5-2 second choice and the winner of the 2017 Japanese 2000 Guineas, finished third in the field of 16.

Cheval Grand, the winner of the Grade 1 Japan Cup in November, could only finish 13th in his first start of 2018. Cheval Grand was checked during the Osaka Hai but was not a factor after that incident.

Suave Richard, a 4-year-old by Heart’s Cry, has won 5 of 10 starts for owner NICKS Co. Ltd. and trainer Yasushi Shono.

Suave Richard won the Grade 2 Kinko Sho at Chuyko Racecourse on March 11 in his first start of 2018.