Lovcen to join illustrious lot with G1 Kikuka Sho victory
Lovcen will attempt to join an illustrious band of horses to have won Japan’s fabled Triple Crown when the colt contests the JPY434 million G1 Kikuka Sho (3000m) at Kyoto Racecourse on Sunday.
Victorious in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, 2000m) and the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, 2400m), Lovcen is on the cusp of emulating St. Lite (1941), Shinzan (1964), Mr. C.B. (1983), Symboli Rudolf (1984), Narita Brian (1994), Deep Impact (2005), Orfevre (2011) and Contrail (2020), who are the only horses to win all three legs of Japan’s Classics for three-year-old colts and fillies.
Trainer Haruki Sugiyama and jockey Kohei Matsuyama are also chasing a unique piece of history, having combined with Daring Tact in 2020 to land the Japanese Triple Tiara for three-year-old fillies with victories in the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, 1600m), G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks, 2400m) and the G1 Shuka Sho (2000m).
Lovcen has won five of his six starts and resumed successfully in the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai (2400m) at Hanshin on September 21.
“He had an inside draw (barrier one) in the Kobe Shimbun Hai, and I was hoping he’d get a slightly more forward position after the start, but he was returning from a spell, so he was just a bit hesitant,” Sugiyama said.
“It was a slow pace, and he dropped back for a while, but when the jockey switched him to the outside, he showed a good turn of foot, and I think it just showed how confident the jockey is with him. Overall, it was a good race.”
Danon History, to be ridden by Christophe Lemaire, is widely regarded as the horse most likely to foil Lovcen after an eight-length victory over 2600m at Sapporo on August 16.
“Everything’s been good with him, and with his big stride, he’s just been training on the flat, as we work on getting him to run in a balanced way,” Trainer Noriyuki Hori said.
Lemaire, one of the world’s top jockeys, takes over on the colt – a half-brother to Danon Beluga – as the Frenchman bids for a sixth victory in the race and a fourth in succession.
Yutaka Take is also chasing a sixth Kikuka Sho triumph. The veteran rides Contrail colt Going To Sky, who finished fourth in the Japanese Derby.
“He has a tendency to hang, so that’s been the focus of his training, and just recently he’s been running a lot straighter,” Trainer Yuki Uehara said.
Majorelle Bleu, who has won his last three races, including two over 2400m, rises to Group 1 company for the first time.
“It was a slow pace last time, but he showed that he has a lot of fighting spirit,” trainer Yasuo Tomomichi said. “I was pleased with the way he ran, and he’s getting better every time he races. The jockey (Keita Tosaki) said last time that a longer distance wouldn’t be a problem.”
