Grade 1 racing returns to Japan Oct. 4 at Nakayama Racecourse with Gran Alegria, a solid favorite for the Sprinters Stakes (G1), in a rematch with Mozu Superflare.
The race is one of two top-level turf sprints on the Japanese racing calendar. Mozu Superflare was declared winner of the springtime counterpart, the Takamatsunomia Kinen (G1), when first-finisher Kurino Gaudi was disqualified to fourth. Gran Alegria was placed second.
Gran Alegria is a 4-year-old daughter of Deep Impact out of the 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner Tapitsfly. She rebounded from the loss to Mozu Superflare over soft going to win the Yasuda Kinen (G1) at 1 mile June 7 at Tokyo with star filly Almond Eye second. She has not raced since.
"She ran a strong race in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, which was her first time at the trip," said assistant trainer Masaru Oehara. "In the Yasuda Kinen, she put in a good late spurt from the fourth corner, so in both races she ran very well. She's had a summer break and has come back to the stable looking bigger and stronger."
It will be Gran Alegria's first start at Nakayama but her rider, Christophe Lemaire not only leads Japan's jockey statistics but also boasts a 25% strike rate at the course.
While Gran Alegria is expected to go favorite in the Sprinter's Stakes, Mozu Superflare will look to prove her victory in the Takamatsunomia Kinen was no fluke. A win would make her just the sixth horse to sweep the events in the same year.
The 5-year-old, Kentucky-bred mare by Speightstown has only one other graded win to her credit—a score in the Yukan Fuji Sho Ocean Stakes (G3) some 19 months ago. She was, however, second in last year's Sprinters Stakes.
Trainer Hidetaka Otonashi, commenting on Mozu Superflare's runner-up finish in her last outing in August, said, "She was coming off a break last time, but still put in a good showing in a race that was run at a fast pace. She returned from the farm recently, and has been moving well in training."
Among the others: Danon Smash, was third and last year's Sprinters Stakes and won the Sankei Sho Centaur Stakes (G2) at Chukyo in his most recent outing; and Mr. Melody, a Kentucky-bred by Scat Daddy, won the 2019 Takamatsunomia Kinen (G1) but hasn't won since.
The Sprinters Stakes starts on the backstretch of the egg-shaped Nakayama turf layout. The course dips before the sweeping turn into the stretch, which then confronts the runners with a sharp climb to the finish. The race is open to foreign runners but none entered this year.
