Vic Zast

TOKYO - Other than the 52,071 fans at Tokyo Race Course on Saturday, few people paid much attention to the poorly named $2.4 million Japan Cup Dirt, a Group I race won by Alondite, a 3-year-old son of a former Japan Cup champion, El Condor Pasa. 

In particular, the trainers of American-trained horses, for which the one and five-sixteenths mile race on a left-handed course would seem suited, avoided the important lucrative test completely. The absence of foreign runners was a setback to the Japan Racing Association, which, in the past couple decades, has been making a dedicated push to improve the local product with international involvement.

With attention focused on Sunday’s 26th running of the $4.6 million Japan Cup, in which local heroes Deep Impact and Heart’s Cry will take on the all-world beater Ouija Board, no American, European, Australian or Hong Kong-trained horses contested the Japan Cup Dirt. Fifteen horses ran. All but two were bred in Japan, and none had raced elsewhere previously.

Regardless, although denouement is seldom an improvement over prelude, Alondite’s surprising performance was an exception. Sent off at odds of 15-1 by trainer Sei Ishizaka, Alondite raced in the colors of U Carrot Farm, one of Japan’s 19 licensed syndicates, for which many shares are sold and ownership is spread across dozens.  In addition, the winning ride by Hiroki Goto featured a dare devilish move through a narrowing gap past the 5-2 favorite in late stretch, always a crowd pleasing tactic.

Goto, a top 10 jockey on the JRA circuit, stayed close to the pacesetters on the rail before sneaking his mount through on the inside as leading jockey Yutaka Take aboard Seeking the Dia anticipated victory. It was Goto’s third Group I triumph in a commendable career that began 14 years ago.

Alondite’s margin was a comfortable 1 1/4 lengths and his winning time was 2:08.5, not excessively fast but sufficient. Last year, Kane Hekili, a grandson of leading sire Sunday Silence, set the Japan Cup Dirt stakes and course record of 2:08 flat.

Upon returning to the applause of the appreciative crowd, the dark bay colt buckled his knees and bowed his body to his admirers like an actor. Completing the fairy tale production, Goto crossed himself and pointed to the heavens a la Pat Day on the backstretch, and, when he arrived where everyone could see him, waved triumphantly.

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“Winning the Japan Cup Dirt is very special for me because in the first running in 2000, I had the bad experience of having fallen off in the post parade and had to scratch from the race,” Goto said in the post-race press conference.  “I ended up watching from the stands with tears in my face.  Also last year, I was again unable to ride because of a broken bone,” the jockey added.

The Japan Cup Dirt was the fifth consecutive victory for Alondite, which begs the question of why he was not backed stronger.  Perhaps it was because the lightly-raced colt was jumping up in class from allowance competition to Group I status. But looking ahead, Alondite seems to be a horse that will not be overlooked again, even with the prospect of a better named race the day after.