On September 6 at Sapporo Racecourse, the 60th running of the G3 Sapporo Nisai Stakes saw race-favourite Shonan Gulf (Colt, 2yo, by Harbinger) storm from the rear of the field, unleashing a powerful late run down the outside to collar longshot pacesetter Gene King (Colt, 2yo) in the final strides and win by a neck. The winning time was 1:50.6.

Another 1 and 1/2 lengths back in third was Smart Priere (Filly, 2yo), the fourth choice in the betting.

The winner, Shonan Gulf, is by Harbinger out of Mi Carino, by Heart's Cry. He followed up his seven-length debut romp in a Hakodate Newcomers with a flawless second straight victory, this time capturing his first graded stakes title. For jockey Kenichi Ikezoe, the win marked a career milestone, giving him 100 JRA graded stakes victories.