Two Japanese Derby winners who had been down on their luck returned to former glory with a 1-2 finish in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) Oct. 27 at Tokyo Racecourse—Do Deuce over Tastiera.
It was a different story for the race favorite, 2023 filly Triple Crown winner Liberty Island, who missed a top-three finish for the first time while reporting 13th in the 15-horse field.
Do Deuce, unplaced in his only two previous starts of the season, didn't look a likely winner through most of the 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) of the Tenno Sho.
With Yutaka Take riding, the 5-year-old son of Heart's Cry started smoothly enough but held up second-last during the long run down the backstretch as the field was led along at a relatively sedate stroll by long shot Ho O Biscuits.
Ho O Biscuits, a 4-year-old colt by two-time Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) winner Mind Your Biscuits, continued to show the way well down the stretch run while Take was getting Do Deuce revved up outside rivals. Do Deuce closed with a steady rush through the final 200 meters, outfinishing Tastiera by 1 1/4 lengths. Ho O Biscuits, not overly taxed early, held off Justin Palace for third.
Liberty Island was in perfect striking position behind the leaders but faded as quickly as Do Deuce accelerated in the late going.
Do Deuce finished in 1:57.3—well off the course and stakes record set a year earlier by Equinox in his second straight Tenno Sho victory.
"The pace was not very fast and I was relying on his strong finishing speed," Take said. "So I didn't want to make any unnecessary moves in the first half of the race and settled him second from last."
The strategy paid off when Do Deuce delivered needed late punch.
"I wanted to show the true ability and strength of Do Deuce today so I was really happy when he was able to display his usual powerful kick in the last stretch and crossed the wire first," Take said.
Take won the Tenno Sho (Autumn) for a record-tying seventh time, dating back to 1989 with Super Creek. He shares the mark with Takayoshi Yasuda.
The outcome was more than welcome for both of the top two finishers.
Do Deuce won his first three stars in the autumn of 2021. He finished second in his 3-year-old debut, then was third in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas-G1) before his triumph in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby-G1).
That earned him the summer off before a trip to France and a try at the prize that has eluded Japanese racing for decades—the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1). He showed promise with a warmup fourth-place finish in the Prix Niel (G2) at Longchamp but the Arc itself was a flop as Do Deuce managed to beat only one of his 19 rivals.
A win in the Kyoto Kinen (G2) opened his record for 2023 but overseas travel again proved too much. After scratching from the Dubai Turf (G1) in March, he returned home, was given a long break and finished seventh in that year's Tenno Sho (Autumn) and fourth in the Japan Cup.
He bounced back from that to win the Arima Kinen (G1) in December—his first grade 1 victory since the Derby—then was fifth in a repeat try in the Dubai Turf and fourth in the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) June 23.
Tastiera was in an arguably deeper slump. After his Derby victory, he finished second in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger-G1) to finish 2023. He then was sixth in the Arima Kinen (G1) in December and, this season was 11th in the Osaka Hai (G1) and seventh in the Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1). He had not competed since that run in April.
Trainer Noriyuki Hori said before the race Tastiera had given him very positive signs in training.
"He came back to the training center on Sept. 21 and, unlike before, when he'd go off his feed for a while, this time he had a great appetite," Hori said. "Mentally and physically he seemed much more in balance. He wouldn't get upset and his footwork was back to what it had been in the Kikuka Sho last year."
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