Japan Own The World! | Sporting Post

Ushba Tesoro capped another memorable night for Japan on the biggest stage of them all by finishing strongest at the 27th Dubai World Cup (2000m) sponsored by Emirates Airline at Meydan.

The six-year-old son of Orfevre achieved third place with a lengthening of two and a quarter lengths in front of local hero Algier and Emblem Road, who was trained in Saudi Arabia.

Ushba Tesoro is trained by Noboru Takagi for Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings and was ridden by Yuga Kawada with great authority.

It was a race where the picture changed significantly in the final two stages. As the field entered the home stretch, Algiers, the Emirati fan favorite, rode with conspicuous ease, and as he took the lead with a furlong and a half to race, the lion’s share of the $12 million race seemed at his mercy.

However, about five lengths down, jockey Yuga Kawada unfolded a fatal shot from Ushba Tesoro, which he placed at the end of the field before moving wide with 600 yards to run. The winner was 15 lengths behind the field in the early stages of the race. What a nerve free ride Kawada delivered.

Victory trainer Takagi said the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, still the one race Japan has yet to conquer and is most coveted, will be considered later in the year if all goes well.

The draw for the World Cup in Dubai had put three of the main favorites – Country Grammer, Algiers and Panthalassa – wide open and the latter could never dominate like he did a month ago when he won the Saudi Cup. He was tired of finishing well beaten in 10th place. Last year’s Held Country Grammer always struggled, finishing seventh.

Despite Japan’s dominance of the world’s biggest races in recent years, it was her only success in the $12 million tournament since Victoire Pisa’s breakthrough in 2011. It was also her first on clay, with Victoire Pisa’s success on top the synthetic tapeta surface came .

But the quality and quantity of the Japanese challenge in Dubai these days is such that it won’t be long before their next success arrives at the Meydan flagship

Kawada said, “He jumped quite well, but most of the other Japanese runners ran to the middle of the field. I was just trying to focus on keeping the horse’s rhythm and keeping his rhythm off the center of the pack.

“It was his first time skating abroad and there were questions about traveling as well as the fact that it was his first time on the surface. He’s been training pretty well over here this week and I knew the horse was in good shape so it was all about the horse keeping his head in the race and he did that very well today.

“There were eight Japanese horses in the field and besides me the only other Japanese jockey on a Japanese horse was Yutaka Yoshida on Panthalassa. It was my first time on the horse today but it was a great honor to ride him and there was a lot of pressure as the leading Japanese jockey started the race.

“Thanks to the performance of the horse on which he fought very well, I am very proud of myself as the leading Japanese jockey in winning the premier race in the world today.”

Takagi said, “It’s a great feeling! Having seen his last run (when I won the Kawasaki Kinen last month) I certainly had the Dubai World Cup in mind for this horse.

“Everything went as planned. When he got here he was actually quite nervous and a bit fidgety but that was to be expected and over the days he gradually adjusted to his surroundings and ran a great race. This is by far the greatest honor of my career.

“We will return to Japan as he is a bit vulnerable in hot weather and heat. We’ll see how he’s doing over the summer and come up with a plan for him.”

An owner representative from Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings said, “This was a complete team effort and the victory is due to the efforts of everyone on this team.

“This was the first overseas win for our syndicate and now we have opened our doors to the global stage which we will look back at. The owners have expressed an interest in fighting for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe if we win it today.”

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Algiers (2nd), jockey James Doyle, said: “Delighted with the way he ran. It was a first opportunity to ski at this top level and he did great. He traveled around like a superstar and it was a lot from the top corner to the winning line but his stamina was just exhausted at the end.”

Assistant coach Ed Crisford added: “He ran with great appreciation. James gave it a nice ride. He jumped well and I thought we had it in the bag, but the last furlong he just walked a bit in place. I was probably just overwhelmed with the pace of the race but kudos to the horse and my team at home and we should be proud. He ran his race there, if not better.”

Emblem Road (3rd) jockey Adel Al Furaydi said: “He had a good race but we couldn’t find that winning luck today. There was some traffic at times and we couldn’t get a clear run on the straight either, but overall it was a good performance.”

Saad Abdulwahid, assistant (and son of) coach Abdul Abdulwahid said: “He drove a fantastic race, we were just trapped for too long. As soon as he was clear, he came flying. We will now refer to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.”

TO Keynes (4th), jockey Oisin Murphy said: “It was a tremendous run and a great opportunity. My thanks go to my interpreter and agent who got me on the horse.”

Crown Pride (5th), jockey Damian Lane said: “Good run, he ran really well.”

Bendoog (6th), jockey Christophe Soumillon said: “I thought on the turn I would get something but unfortunately the Saudi Cup winners [Panthalassa] slowed down. I took him outside and the horse went too easily but I don’t think he really keeps the distance. He needs maturity but he will be good for next season and I think the Saudi Cup could be a good option for him. He did everything right today.”

Country Grammer (7th), jockey Frankie Dettori said: “He ran so big in Saudi Arabia and I would never go today. I pushed him but he was lethargic. When they run that big, they sometimes take longer to recover than you think.

Dettori joked about what will probably be his last World Cup meeting in Dubai: “At least I got one [Lord North]. I’ll have a nice cold drink now.”

Salute The Soldier (8th), jockey Adrie de Vries said: “In our draw you had to be really quick to stay out of the setback which he hates. The race was overclocked and they went like crazy towards the first corner. The Japanese horse Panthalassa came in early. I was going well, he just doesn’t like the kickback, he went well.”

Remorse (9th), jockey Tadhg O’Shea, said: “Travelled well and had every chance to budge. It was a good run.”

Panthalassa (10th), coach Yoshito Yahagi said: “The draw was difficult and it’s two tough races [Saudi and here]. The race was incredible, crazy.”

Café Pharoah (12th), jockey Joao Moreira said: “I thought there was something wrong with him physically but no I don’t think so, he just didn’t perform.”

Vela Azul (13th), jockey Cristian Demuro said: “The draw was tough and the pace was too fast for him. He is a horse for 2400 m on grass.”

Super Corinto (14th), jockey Hector Berrios said: “I don’t know, he wasn’t enjoying it. Maybe he didn’t like the dirt on his face. He is very tired.”

Jun Light Bolt (15th), jockey Ryan Moore said: “We just never got into it.

Winning time: 02:03.25 (race record 02:01.38).