Namura Clair in perfect condition for her long-awaited target
Tuesday, 20 August, 2024 18:00
The fastest horses the JRA has to offer will gather in Sapporo for the G3 Keeneland Cup, a natural prep race for the G1 Sprinters Stakes, which will be held a month later. The star of the race will be Namura Clair, winner of four graded races. After a long period of rest after her second-place finish in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
Connections have been very vocal that their sprinting star's main goal is the sprint G1 title. She will go into the first race of her fall campaign full of energy and will try to win the race outright en route to the G1 Sprinters Stakes.
In the summer as a three-year-old, she won the Summer Sprint Series by winning the G3 Hakodate Sprint Stakes and finishing third in the G3 Kitakyushu Kinen. The following year, in the spring as a 4yo, she finished a luckless second in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen. The durable five-year-old has ran in the G1 Victoria Mile but finished a disappointing eighth.
Namura Clair won the 2023 G3 Keeneland Cup and then finished third the G1 Sprinters Stakes, when sent-off as favorite. This year, in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen in the spring at age 5, she again had her sharpness distracted by poor track conditions and finished second by a head.
Jockey S.Hamanaka rode her work in her final week of training on August 14th. She responded well to the rider and finished showing off her trademark turn-of-foot. The jockey said, "I wanted to see how she reacts like she will need to in the race. The racetrack was quite heavy, so it took some time, but the workload was on schedule. She has had time off this year without running since the Victoria Mile, so there is plenty of improvement to come and, she has plenty of time for the G1". As for her condition in a prep race, there's no complaints. This is a race she cannot afford to lose, even after the break, in order to achieve her long-cherished dream.
Connections have been very vocal that their sprinting star's main goal is the sprint G1 title. She will go into the first race of her fall campaign full of energy and will try to win the race outright en route to the G1 Sprinters Stakes.
In the summer as a three-year-old, she won the Summer Sprint Series by winning the G3 Hakodate Sprint Stakes and finishing third in the G3 Kitakyushu Kinen. The following year, in the spring as a 4yo, she finished a luckless second in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen. The durable five-year-old has ran in the G1 Victoria Mile but finished a disappointing eighth.
Namura Clair won the 2023 G3 Keeneland Cup and then finished third the G1 Sprinters Stakes, when sent-off as favorite. This year, in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen in the spring at age 5, she again had her sharpness distracted by poor track conditions and finished second by a head.
Jockey S.Hamanaka rode her work in her final week of training on August 14th. She responded well to the rider and finished showing off her trademark turn-of-foot. The jockey said, "I wanted to see how she reacts like she will need to in the race. The racetrack was quite heavy, so it took some time, but the workload was on schedule. She has had time off this year without running since the Victoria Mile, so there is plenty of improvement to come and, she has plenty of time for the G1". As for her condition in a prep race, there's no complaints. This is a race she cannot afford to lose, even after the break, in order to achieve her long-cherished dream.
Article Creds:Daily Sports