Lovcen's Stamina Gets Him the Win in Japanese Guineas

Lovcen (JPN), a distant second in the voting for Japan's best 2-year-old colt of 2025, got a flying start on improving that position this season with a course-record victory in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas, G1T) April 19 at Nakayama Racecourse. Lovcen, despite winning the Hopeful Stakes (G1T) to wind up his 2-year-old campaign, lost the 2025 2-year-old title to Cavallerizzo (JPN), winner of the Asahi Hai Futurity (G1T), in a landslide, 190 votes to 56. Both returned for the Satsuki Sho but the fans ignored the "expert" voters from the Japanese media and made Lovcen the favorite. They were proved right in a big way as the World Premier (JPN) colt got away cleanly from the No. 4 gate and went straight to the front of the 18-colt field. He settled well for jockey Kohei Matsuyama, stalked on his outside by Realize Sirius (JPN). Realize Sirius inched closer around the sweeping second turn and got to even terms as the uphill rise of the stretch run loomed. Lovcen's stamina-laden pedigree kicked in then as he shrugged off the incline and the competition, winning by 3/4 length. Reichsadler (JPN) closed ground in the stretch to pip Ask Edinburgh (JPN) for third in a battle of long shots. Forte Angelo (JPN), runner-up in the Hopeful, recovered from an awkward start to finish fifth with an encouraging late burst of speed. Cavallerizzo, close early, faded through the final few hundred meters and finished 13th. Lovcen stopped the clock at 1:56.5, lowering the course record for 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) by 0.1 second. Matsuyama became just the seventh jockey to score a same-year double of the Satsuki Sho and the Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas, G1T) after partnering Star Anise (JPN) to victory in the fillies' Classic a week earlier. "I owe it all to my incredible mounts," Matsuyama said, adding that Lovcen dictated the shape of the Satsuki Sho from the start. "We had a good draw and we knew that when it comes to Nakayama's turf and with the experience from last year, we'd have a better chance if we ran near the front," he said. "To be honest, I wasn't thinking of setting the pace but the colt broke really well and we went with the flow. "He showed amazing speed and to break the record also proves how much stamina he has. He's such a strong and versatile colt." Lovcen won on debut Nov. 9 at Kyoto in a 2,000-meter newcomers race. He went directly to the Hopeful Dec. 27, also at 2,000 meters, and won that, ending the year undefeated. Trainer Haruki Sugiyama gave the colt a prep for the Satsuki Sho in the Kyodo News Hai (G3T) Feb. 15, where he finished third with Realize Sirius in front going 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles). "He's been more settled when running in training," Matsuyama said before the Satsuki Sho, "and his times have been good enough. I think he's at another level now. He got a bit agitated in the gate last time but he's quite capable of getting a position in a race over 2,000 meters." Distance—at least to 2,000 meters—is Lovcen's friend and his pedigree shows why. His sire, World Premier, won the 2019 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1T) at 3,000 meters (about 1 7/8 miles) and the 2021 Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1T) at 3,200 meters (about 2 miles), the latter also in course-record time. World Premier is by Deep Impact, by Sunday Silence. Between them, Sunday Silence and Deep Impact shaped modern Japanese breeding after compiling stellar records on course. Lovcen's dam, Songwriting, is by Giant's Causeway, a son of Storm Cat, out of an Unbridled's Song mare. Katsumi Yoshida bought Songwriting at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale for $800,000. She was winless in eight starts Japan in 2015 and 2016. Cavallerizzo, by contrast, had not raced beyond 1,600 meters (about 1 mile) before tackling the Satsuki Sho. His sire, Saturnalia (JPN), is by world-class sprinter Lord Kanaloa (JPN) but outran that influence in winning the 2018 Hopeful and the 2019 Satsuki Sho. He was competitive going longer. Lovcen was bred by Northern Farm and races for Forest Racing.