A winning miss in the popularity stakes
December 30th 2008 08:13
The Arima Kinen at Nakayama has the highest betting turnover of any race in the world. It is an iconic event with the aura and drama to match other feature races like the Melbourne Cup, Kentucky Derby, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, and the Grand National at Aintree - all which have become part of the psyche and folklore of the people. It is not just another horse race.
(photo: japanracing.jp)
The Arima Kinen is an unusual race. It was devised in 1956 by Yoriyasu Arima, then the chief of the Japanese Racing Association, to be run at Nakayama racetrack and rival or match the popularity of the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) held at Tokyo racecourse.
It has developed over the years and changed in format. At its inception it was run over 2600m with racing fans voting for all the entries - a popularity (racing) stakes (race). From 1966 it has been run over the current distance of 2500m - and was open to inclusion from foreign bred runners from 1971.
In its current format 10 horses are still selected by the votes of the racing enthusiast and are automatic entries (if they choose to accept). The rest of the field is selected upon points based on results.
The Japanese star mare Vodka was this year’s most popular vote gatherer (now two years in a row), but she never accepted after suffering the effects of her very hard and brave run in the Japan Cup.
But this was fated to be to be the year of the females, with the brilliant Agnes Tachyon mare Daiwa Scarlet becoming the first female to win the Arima Kinen in the past 37 years. In this Group One finale to end the year of Japanese racing, the recent bridesmaid to Vodka (by just two centimetres) in the Tenno Sho was able to dictate the moderate (to fast) pace and still run away from a star field to win by nearly two lengths. Admire Monarch (outsider of the field) chased hard for second, and Air Shady finished third. The 2007 champion Matsurida Gogh finished well back in 12th placing after racing 4 wide the whole trip. Last year Daiwa Scarlet was runner-up to Matsurida Gogh. The Japan Cup winner Screen Hero finished 5th, and Meisho Samson in his last race before retirement to stud finished a fading eighth.
“We had to set a relatively fast pace to the race because if we slowed it down too much, it would have made it easier for the others. Because the race progressed pretty fast, the other horses had to work to keep up, and you have to give credit to [Katsummi] Ando for dictating the race precisely the right way. Last year, Matsurida Gogh passed us on the final turn to the finish, but at today’s pace, he wasn’t going to do that.”
“I haven’t gotten the owner’s permission yet, but speaking strictly from a trainer’s standpoint, I would like to try her overseas. We haven’t decided where, when and which race yet but we want to put her up against the best horses in the world.” - Kunihide Matsuda, trainer.
Daiwa Scarlet is blessed with that delicious blend of speed and stamina that makes a good horse difficult to beat in all company. She is at her best at 2000m, but proven (here) at Group One over a staying trip.
The top five vote gatherers from the public for the 2009 Arima Kinen were:
Vodka on 136,619 votes (did not accept)
Daiwa Scarlet on 131,460 votes (winner)
Meisho Samson on 113,124 votes (unplaced)
Matsurida Gogh on 110,192 votes (unplaced)
Deep Sky on 109,966 votes (did not accept)
The 2009 Arima Kinen (Grand Prix) Group 1:
(no need for an interpreter - Daiwa Scarlet leads all the way)
Daiwa Scarlet wins the Arima Kinen
(photo: japanracing.jp)
The Arima Kinen is an unusual race. It was devised in 1956 by Yoriyasu Arima, then the chief of the Japanese Racing Association, to be run at Nakayama racetrack and rival or match the popularity of the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) held at Tokyo racecourse.
It has developed over the years and changed in format. At its inception it was run over 2600m with racing fans voting for all the entries - a popularity (racing) stakes (race). From 1966 it has been run over the current distance of 2500m - and was open to inclusion from foreign bred runners from 1971.
In its current format 10 horses are still selected by the votes of the racing enthusiast and are automatic entries (if they choose to accept). The rest of the field is selected upon points based on results.
The Japanese star mare Vodka was this year’s most popular vote gatherer (now two years in a row), but she never accepted after suffering the effects of her very hard and brave run in the Japan Cup.
But this was fated to be to be the year of the females, with the brilliant Agnes Tachyon mare Daiwa Scarlet becoming the first female to win the Arima Kinen in the past 37 years. In this Group One finale to end the year of Japanese racing, the recent bridesmaid to Vodka (by just two centimetres) in the Tenno Sho was able to dictate the moderate (to fast) pace and still run away from a star field to win by nearly two lengths. Admire Monarch (outsider of the field) chased hard for second, and Air Shady finished third. The 2007 champion Matsurida Gogh finished well back in 12th placing after racing 4 wide the whole trip. Last year Daiwa Scarlet was runner-up to Matsurida Gogh. The Japan Cup winner Screen Hero finished 5th, and Meisho Samson in his last race before retirement to stud finished a fading eighth.
“We had to set a relatively fast pace to the race because if we slowed it down too much, it would have made it easier for the others. Because the race progressed pretty fast, the other horses had to work to keep up, and you have to give credit to [Katsummi] Ando for dictating the race precisely the right way. Last year, Matsurida Gogh passed us on the final turn to the finish, but at today’s pace, he wasn’t going to do that.”
“I haven’t gotten the owner’s permission yet, but speaking strictly from a trainer’s standpoint, I would like to try her overseas. We haven’t decided where, when and which race yet but we want to put her up against the best horses in the world.” - Kunihide Matsuda, trainer.
Daiwa Scarlet is blessed with that delicious blend of speed and stamina that makes a good horse difficult to beat in all company. She is at her best at 2000m, but proven (here) at Group One over a staying trip.
The top five vote gatherers from the public for the 2009 Arima Kinen were:
Vodka on 136,619 votes (did not accept)
Daiwa Scarlet on 131,460 votes (winner)
Meisho Samson on 113,124 votes (unplaced)
Matsurida Gogh on 110,192 votes (unplaced)
Deep Sky on 109,966 votes (did not accept)
The 2009 Arima Kinen (Grand Prix) Group 1:
(no need for an interpreter - Daiwa Scarlet leads all the way)
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