Panja Tower Gets First G1 Win in NHK Mile in Tokyo

Panja Tower (JPN) survived a frantic, four-horse finish to score his first top-level victory in the NHK Mile (G1) May 11 at Tokyo Racecourse, claiming a niche spot among Japanese 3-year-olds. The race featured an assortment of runners successful at age 2 and seeking a good start in the new season and newcomers stepping up after early-season success. Panja Tower didn't quite fit either mold and was largely overlooked by the fans, dispatched at odds of 26-1 in the 18-horse field. With Kohei Matsuyama up, the Tower of London (JPN) colt broke cleanly from the No. 11 stall and settled near the middle of the field while negotiating the sweeping turn into the uphill stretch run. Steered to the extreme outside, he produced a burst that got him to the front where he was all out to win by a nose over Magic Sands (JPN). Cerbiatto (JPN), one of five fillies in the field, finished third, another nose back and 1/2 length better than Mondo Dell'amore (JPN). The favorite, Admire Zoom (JPN), one of the 2-year-old successes with a victory in the Asahi Hai Futurity (G1), got the lead early in the stretch run, then faded to finish 14th. Jockey Yuga Kawada said the colt threw a shoe early in the contest. Panja Tower is from the first crop of Tower of London, winner of the 2019 Sprinters Stakes (G1). He won his first two starts, including the Keio Hai Nisai Stakes (G2), but got home 12th in the Asahi Hai Futurity. He finished fourth in his 2025 debut, the Falcon Stakes (G3) at Chukyo Racecourse March 22. Matsuyama said a steady run got the job done for his colt. "We were able to sit in a good position but the rhythm was more of an important factor, and I'm happy he ran steadily in good rhythm today. As you know, he's shown his strength since his debut and has a graded win in Tokyo," Matsuyama said. "And the way he stretched incredibly today proves he has a bright future ahead of him," the jockey added. Bred by Champions Farm, Panja Tower is out of the Victoire Pisa (JPN) mare Clarksdale (JPN). Shinsuke Hashiguchi trains for owner Deep Creek Co. The NHK Mile Cup is a unique opportunity for promising 3-year-olds whose distance limitations make the Japanese Classic races problematic. The distance makes the race the equivalent of other jurisdictions' Two Thousand Guineas races while Japan's official Guineas, the Satsuki Sho (G1), is run at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles). Nonetheless, past NHK Mile Cup winners have gone on to success while stretching out. King Kamehameha (JPN) won the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby-G1) at 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) just three weeks after landing the Mile Cup in 2004, and Deep Sky (JPN) turned the same trick just four years later. The 2019 winner, Admire Mars (JPN), stuck to shorter distances and posted a win and a third in the Hong Kong Mile (G1) that year and in 2020. Hashiguchi indicated before the Mile Cup that Panja Tower might be a candidate for the shorter, rather than longer, competition. "He's in very good condition and he's been moving well in training, with everything going as expected," the trainer said. "He had to do it tough racing right-handed two starts ago in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, drawing a wide gate and having to race on the outside. "His best distance might be 1,400 meters (about seven furlongs), but we've been thinking about the extra distance when getting him ready this time. He's a horse with ability."