Sol Oriens lights up an overcast day in Nakayama
Tuesday, 18 April, 2023 08:20
Sol Oriens won the G1 Satsuki Sho (Yuki Shimono)
The dust had hardly settled on Liberty Island's devastating performance in The Oka Sho (1000 Guineas) seven days earlier, when inevitably the public attention quickly switched to the three-year-old colt's Classic, The Satsuki Sho. In the lead-up to the race, there was almost an air of pessimism with no obvious standout performer taking part in the 2000 Guineas.
Juvenile G1 winners, Dura Erede and Dolce More, were notable absentees from the final list of race declarations.
To add an extra variable to an already wide-open looking renewal, Nakayama Racecourse withstood a deluge of rain on Saturday resulting in the going officially described as soft for the Sunday afternoon Group 1 showpiece.
However, any concerns of a lack of star power in the 2023 colt's ranks were rendered completely misplaced with the sensational performance by Sol Oriens. The Takahisa Tezuka-trained colt produced a jaw-dropping turn-of-foot to come from last to first in the home straight. To add even further credence to the performance of the lightly raced colt, Nakayama racetrack is infamous for the short home stretch, measuring just 310 metres.
Drawn from the inauspicious stall one, Sol Oriens broke well but was quickly shuffled to the rear of the field behind a scorching early pace. Takeshi Yokoyama appeared to need to niggle his mount to remain in contact with the main contingent of runners. Approaching the final bend, still firmly at the rear, Yokoyama veered wide entering the home stretch. Sol Oriens produced an exceptional finishing burst to pass the entirety of the field crossing the line a comfortable length and a quarter winner from an impossible position. Tastiera was resigned to second place with Phantom Thief a further 1.75L behind in third.
Sol Oriens secured the record of the only colt in Satsuki Sho history to win the race on just his third career start. The second leg of the Triple Crown, Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) scheduled for May 28th will be the next engagement for the newest star of Japanese racing.
Sol Oriens is out of the G3 winning French-bred mare, Skia (Motivator). He is from the second crop of the quickly emerging juggernaut of the Japanese stallion ranks, Kitasan Black. Global superstar Equinox was already the poster boy for the Kitasan Black brand. Sol Oriens is a half-brother to G2 winner and dual G1-placed Vin de Garde (Deep Impact).
The JRA operate a highly successful advertising campaign for domestic racing using a mantra of "Hero is Coming". Some fans took to social media declaring "Hero is here" in reference to Sol Oriens' Satsuki Sho demolition.
To add an extra variable to an already wide-open looking renewal, Nakayama Racecourse withstood a deluge of rain on Saturday resulting in the going officially described as soft for the Sunday afternoon Group 1 showpiece.
However, any concerns of a lack of star power in the 2023 colt's ranks were rendered completely misplaced with the sensational performance by Sol Oriens. The Takahisa Tezuka-trained colt produced a jaw-dropping turn-of-foot to come from last to first in the home straight. To add even further credence to the performance of the lightly raced colt, Nakayama racetrack is infamous for the short home stretch, measuring just 310 metres.
Drawn from the inauspicious stall one, Sol Oriens broke well but was quickly shuffled to the rear of the field behind a scorching early pace. Takeshi Yokoyama appeared to need to niggle his mount to remain in contact with the main contingent of runners. Approaching the final bend, still firmly at the rear, Yokoyama veered wide entering the home stretch. Sol Oriens produced an exceptional finishing burst to pass the entirety of the field crossing the line a comfortable length and a quarter winner from an impossible position. Tastiera was resigned to second place with Phantom Thief a further 1.75L behind in third.
Sol Oriens secured the record of the only colt in Satsuki Sho history to win the race on just his third career start. The second leg of the Triple Crown, Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) scheduled for May 28th will be the next engagement for the newest star of Japanese racing.
Sol Oriens is out of the G3 winning French-bred mare, Skia (Motivator). He is from the second crop of the quickly emerging juggernaut of the Japanese stallion ranks, Kitasan Black. Global superstar Equinox was already the poster boy for the Kitasan Black brand. Sol Oriens is a half-brother to G2 winner and dual G1-placed Vin de Garde (Deep Impact).
The JRA operate a highly successful advertising campaign for domestic racing using a mantra of "Hero is Coming". Some fans took to social media declaring "Hero is here" in reference to Sol Oriens' Satsuki Sho demolition.