Narukami jumped out of the gate and right to the lead in the Japan Dirt Classic Oct. 8 at Oi Racecourse and never surrendered the advantage on the way to a 3-length victory over Natural Rise.
The strong showing denied Natural Rise a sweep of the Japanese Dirt Triple Crown. The tour-de-force performance also relegated to third, another 9 lengths back, Luxor Cafe, making his first start since finishing 12th in the Kentucky Derby (G1).
The Dirt Classic, benefiting from Japan's renewed emphasis on dirt racing, already has had international impact. Last year's winner, Forever Young, used the race as a prep for the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), where he finished third. This year, the Real Steel colt prepped with a win in the Nippon TV Hai a week earlier.
Jockey Keita Tosaki had a smooth ride on Narukami through the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) Classic. Never seriously threatened, he applied one reminder just inside the 200-meter mark as Natural Rise loomed up behind. Narukami responded and quickly put the outcome beyond doubt.
"I thought he would be able to go naturally once he got off to a good start," Tosaki said of the Hiroyasu Tanaka trainee. "He hadn't raced in a race that he ran in the midpack, so I wanted to avoid getting covered in sand. He was better than in his last race and ran relaxed. He was in great form heading into the straight, and I thought he could keep going like this.
"He ran a strong race, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in the future."
Narukami ("God of Thunder" in Japanese) improved to five wins from six starts. His only loss came in his second race and 3-year-old debut—a seventh-place finish at Chukyo Racecourse.
The colt's pedigree blends global bloodlines. His sire, Thunder Snow, who stands at Darley Japan, twice won the Dubai World Cup (G1) for Godolphin but famously refused to perform out of the gate in the 2017 Kentucky Derby and was pulled up, bucking and jumping. Thunder Snow's sire, Helmet, is by Exceed And Excel, familiar names in Australian racing.
Narukami's dam, Omnipresence, represents the crest of Japanese breeding as she is by Deep Impact, the best son of Sunday Silence. Her dam, Vallericca, is a daughter of pervasive turf influence Dynaformer.
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