Energico swept to the lead turning for home in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1) Oct. 26 at Kyoto Racecourse and ran on to finish the marathon final leg of the Japanese Triple Crown with a commanding two-length victory.
Eri King finished second as Energico completed the 3,000 meters (about 1 7/8 miles) in 3:04.0 with Christophe Lemaire in the irons. In an 18-horse field initially seen as fairly wide open, the fans got it right as Energico and Eri King went to the post as the favorite and second-favorite.
Shohei, third favorite, raced prominently through much of the race but couldn't find the stamina for the stretch run and faded to report 14th. The Triple Crown was not on the line as the winners of the first two legs both sat out, and Energico did not contest either of those races.
Lemaire let Energico, a Duramente colt, idle near the back of the field as the race unfolded. He swung out around rivals while climbing the upward grade of the backstretch, then used a downhill gradient through the final sweeping turn to quickly improve his position.
With 200 meters to run, Energico easily seized the lead, and none of the closers could dent his advantage. Excite Bio finished third at long odds.
"Energico has lots of stamina and, although he is not so sharp out of the gate, we had plenty of time to keep patient and make our way to a good spot," Lemaire said. "I took the opportunity to grab a good route on the outside and the colt responded well with a lasting finishing speed."
Lemaire won the Kikuka Sho for the fifth time and for the third straight year. He tied Yutaka Take for most wins in the race and also landed his second straight Japan Racing Association grade 1 event following the Shuka Sho a week earlier on Embroidery.
"It's hard to believe that I won three in a row in this race," Lemaire added. "It's a long-distance grade 1 and very difficult to win at grade 1 level, but I've been fortunate to have been given rides on such great horses with stamina every year. ... Winning at Kyoto is special because I reside at Kyoto and winning two weeks in a row feels so great."
Energico is a bit of a late bloomer. He won his only start as a 2-year-old in October and was still well down the class ladder starting his 3-year-old season in February with a victory in a one-win class event in February.
He graduated to graded stakes company with a win in the Aoba Sho (G2) in April but was scratched from the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1). After the summer break, he finished second in the Niigata Kinen (G3) while facing older rivals in August.
Like most of the field, he had not raced longer than 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) before taking on the challenge of the up-and-down terrain and 3,000 meters of the Kikuka Sho. Trainer Mizuki Takayanagi said before the race he was confident Energico could rise to the occasion.
"He ran very well last out," Takayanagi said. "He has a lot of talent and speed, and he was able to bring that out. As for the distance this time, he's able to settle well and even though he hasn't had any experience at this distance, I think he'll handle it."
Energico was bred by Northern Farm and races in the power blue with red dots colors of Silk Racing. He was produced by the Noverre mare Enora (GER), winner of the 2010 Preis der Diane (G1) at Dusseldorf. Noverre is by Rahy.
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