Meisho Hario Nips Crown Pride on the Japanese Dirt

Meisho Hario (JPN) was just up at the wire to post a repeat victory June 28 in the Teio Sho at Oi Racecourse, a key event on the emerging Japanese dirt racing calendar. The late rally, around the entire field, denied 2022 UAE Derby (G2) winner and Kentucky Derby (G1) contender Crown Pride (JPN) by a nose with 2021 Teio Sho winner and Japanese champion dirt horse T O Keynes (JPN) a head farther back in third. Meisho Hario finished the 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) in 2:01.9. The Teio Sho is a local group 1 race conducted under the auspices of the National Association of Racing, administered by local governments, but also open to horses belonging to the Japan Racing Association's primarily turf program. With Japan's recent successes on dirt in major international meetings including Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the NAR schedule is receiving increased attention. Meisho Hario, with Suguru Hamanaka up, raced well back in the 12-horse field, taking the worst of significant kickback from the frontrunners. The 6-year-old son of Pyro kicked into gear approaching the far turn and circled the field but was still well behind rail-skimming Crown Pride with the 400-meter stretch yet to run. He needed every meter of that to get up—so much so that Hamanaka said after the race he was not sure who'd won. "I felt pretty good about the horse and made a good run into the stretch," Hamanaka said. "But, to me, Crown Pride looked good at the wire. I'm happy we won the race back to back." Trainer Inao Okada said he, too, had doubts about what the photo would show. "But he did it. Oh, what a feeling!" Meisho Hario, who "belongs," in Japanese terminology, to the JRA circuit, picked up his ninth win from 22 starts. He started his 2023 campaign with a strong third-place showing in the February Stakes (G1) on the Tokyo Racecourse dirt, then won the listed Kashiwa Kinen at Funabashi Racecourse back on the NAR circuit May 4. Okada said he reveled in the back-to-back victories in the local grade 1 race but added, "I look forward to Meisho Hario winning JRA grade 1 races one day." The result was another tough beat for Crown Pride. He returned from his 13th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby to finish second in three straight races, including the Champions Cup (G1) at Chukyo Racecourse Dec. 4. Earlier this season, he reported fifth in both the Saudi Cup (G1) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh in February and the Dubai World Cup (G1) at Meydan Racecourse in March. This year's World Cup winner, Ushba Tesoro (JPN), took a pass on the Teio Sho in favor of some R&R before mounting an autumn campaign. The 6-year-old son of Orfevre (JPN) won four straight races, all on dirt, two on each Japanese circuit, before his upset victory in the World Cup. T O Keynes was fourth in that race. Jun Light Bolt (JPN) finished last in Dubai and seventh of 12 in the Teio Sho.