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Songline and Sodashi Go At It Again in Yasuda Kinen

Serifos one to watch in this "Win and You're In" race for Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T).

Songline wins the Victoria Mile at Tokyo Racecourse

Songline wins the Victoria Mile at Tokyo Racecourse

Masakazu Takahashi

Sodashi and Songline renew their rivalry in the Yasuda Kinen (G1) June 4 at Tokyo Racecourse and this time around, it's advantage Sodashi.

When Songline and Sodashi last met May 14 in the Victoria Mile (G1) over the same course and distance, Songline drew the cozy gate 6 while Sodashi, the dashing white filly beloved by Japanese fans, was installed in the outside 16 slot.

Sodashi had to dash through the first 100 meters to get near the front while Songline was able to relax at midfield through most of the race. Sodashi held the lead near the top of the stretch incline but the trip took its toll and Songline got by for a narrow victory.

Almost as if by karma, the draw for the Yasuda Kinen flipped the script. This time, it's Songline in gate 16 while the white wonder will seek her fourth grade 1 win while breaking from stall 5.

Songline, a 5-year-old Kizuna mare, won the 2022 Yasuda Kinen with Schnell Meister second, reversing the order of finish in the 2021 NHK Mile Cup (G1). On the way to that, Songline reported fifth in last year's Victoria Mile (G1), won by Sodashi, with the excuse of a trip earlier in the year to Saudi Arabia, where she won the rich 1351 Turf Sprint Cup (G3).

The connections of both Songline and Sodashi seem satisfied with their mares' status.

Songline "has not only kept her condition since her last race, but she also seems to have improved for it," said trainer Toru Hayashi. "It's the same concept as last year with these two races, and we're seeing the real Songline."

Trainer Naosuke Sugai said of Sodashi, with age "things are smoother with her, especially loading at the gate and when she's in the gate. It was a good run last time, and nothing else got to her except the winner. Thankfully she came out of that race with no problems." 

Sodashi finishes second in the 2022 Fuchu Himba Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse
Photo: Masakazu Takahashi
Sodashi finishes second in the 2022 Fuchu Himba Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse

Yuga Kawada rides Sodashi, a 5-year-old Kurofune mare. Keita Tosaki hops on Songline.

None of that is to say the Yasuda Kinen, a "Win and You're In" for the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) Nov. 4 at Santa Anita, is a two-horse race.

Serifos, an up-and-coming Daiwa Major 3-year-old, clearly has claims as he won the Mile Championship (G1) last Nov. 20 with Sodashi reporting third.

Serifos, however, will have to show he's recovered from his last race, the Dubai Turf (G1) March 25 at Meydan Racecourse. That was 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) and Serifos did not have that extra furlong in the tank, finishing fifth as a promising stretch move fizzled out.

"He's recovered from the trip to Dubai," assistant trainer Taku Fukunaga said of Serifos. "Things have gone well with him, and he's as you would expect of a grade 1 horse, moving well and putting in a good workload. Training this last week puts him just right for the race."

Schnell Meister is in the Yasuda Kinen mix, too, but the 5-year-old son of Kingman  has not quite lived up to the promise he showed in 2021 Mile Cup victory. He has posted only two wins since, although one of those was in his last start, the Yomiuri Milers Cup (G2) at Kyoto April 23.

Among the others:

Champagne Color, a 3-year-old Duramente colt, won this year's Mile Cup May 7 in just his fifth career start and first in a grade 1 event.

Dolce More, the only other 3-year-old in the race, won the 2022 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1) but has been nowhere in two starts this season, finishing 12th in the Mile Cup in his latest.

Jack d'Or cuts back from 2,000 meters for the first time in his career off a win in the Osaka Hai (G1) April 2 at Hanshin Racecourse.

Cafe Pharoah has spent most of his career on dirt and was last seen reporting 12th in the Dubai World Cup (G1). The return to the turf is puzzling as his last effort on the green course saw him finish 17th in last year's Yasuda Kinen but cagey conditioner Noriyuki Hori said, "It wasn't because he was racing on turf that he lost last year."