Throughout his career, legendary jockey Yutaka Take has been a prolific winner, bringing out the best in top-class thoroughbreds. Such was the case in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) on Sunday, October 27 at Tokyo Racecourse.
Take made a magnificent late surge aboard second favorite Do Deuce to win the 2,000-meter Grade 1 race by 1¼ lengths over Tastiera (Kohei Matsuyama's ride).
Do Deuce, a 5-year-old Heart's Cry-sired bay, was clocked in 32.5 seconds over the final three furlongs (about 600 meters) to complete a pulse-rising comeback.
With the victory, Do Deuce has now won G1 races in four consecutive years. According to the Japan Racing Association, he's the seventh horse in JRA history to achieve the feat.
Prior to Sunday, Do Deuce's most recent triumph was at the star-studded Arima Kinen on December 24, 2023, at Nakayama Racecourse in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture.
Sunday's victory also produced notable milestones for trainer Yasuo Tomomichi (his 20th G1 victory) and Take (his seventh Autumn Tenno Sho triumph).
Take most recently won this race with Kitasan Black in 2017. His previous victories in the event came aboard Super Creek (1989), Air Groove (1997), Special Week (1999), Meisho Samson (2007) and Vodka (2008).
What's more, Take is now tied for the all-time lead in Tenno Sho (Autumn) wins with seven, sharing the mark with Takayoshi Yasuda, who passed away at age 88 in 2009.
He's also won the Tenno Sho (Spring), which is held annually at Kyoto Racecourse, eight times.
Ho O Biscuits (Mirai Iwata) placed third a further one-half length adrift, followed by sixth favorite Justin Palace (Ryusei Sakai) and Matenro Sky (Norihiro Yokoyama).
Tenno Sho Highlight: A Spectacular Finish for Do Deuce
With 400 meters remaining, Do Deuce was in next-to-last place.
But Take, a 55-year-old winner of more than 4,500 JRA races, seized the moment, coaxing Do Deuce into picking up the pace in what appeared to be an improbable comeback attempt. However, they had plenty of space to gallop on the outside without equine traffic in their way.
As it turned out, they also had more than enough time to move past a slew of thoroughbreds at a dizzying pace. (Watch the full race on the JRA YouTube channel.)
And Do Deuce, as if following a preordained script, reached the front of the pack just before the race ended. It was brilliant teamwork by the jockey and the horse.
Meanwhile, race favorite Liberty Island (Yuga Kawada) faded from contention late and slipped back to 13th place and third pick Lebensstil (Christophe Lemaire) finished eighth.
Take Reacts to His Victory in the Tenno Sho
"I wanted to show the true ability and strength of Do Deuce today. So I was really happy when he was able to display his usual powerful kick in the last stretch and crossed the wire first," Take said in his post-race interview.
"The pace was not very fast and I was relying on his strong finishing speed, so I didn't want to make any unnecessary moves in the first half of the race and settled him second from last."
Do Deuce was clocked in 1 minute, 57.3 seconds. The race record of 1:55.2 was set by Equinox in 2023.
RELATED:
- Tenno Sho (Autumn) Preview: Top-Level Champions to Vie for Glory
- [ODDS and EVENS] A Horse Racing Journey of Love with Yutaka Take and Christophe Lemaire
- Equinox Repeats as the Tenno Sho (Autumn) Champion
Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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