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Anzu Ame Breaks Through in JBC Ladies' Classic

Breaking well from the gate, Anzu Ame settled in fourth before Yuga Kawada began advancing along the inside approaching the third turn. She took command early in the stretch and held off Memoria Cafe's challenge by 1 ½ lengths, stopping the clock at 1:32.7 over 1,500 meters on slightly wet dirt.

As her first top-level title, the JBC Ladies' Classic marked Anzu Ame's fourth straight win and her third in three starts with Kawada aboard. She had previously won the Cluster Cup in August, establishing herself as an emerging force among Japan's dirt sprinters. Having focused on 1,200-meter dirt races, there were concerns about whether Anzu Ame could handle the extra distance, which Kawada acknowledged, but he praised the mare’sability.

“She's a horse whose stamina over this distance was a question mark, so I was hoping she would be able to see it through. This victory opens up a lot of possibilities for her,” Kawada said, as quoted by Netkeiba.

Trainer Daisuke Takayanagi also celebrated with delight, having overseen T O Elvis winning the Breeders' Cup Sprint in the US just two days earlier.

Meisho Hachiro Wins Back-to-Back Jpn1s

Meisho Hachiro continued his autumn campaign success by capturing the JBC Sprint (Jpn1)after his Nambu Hai win. Ridden by local jockey Hiroto Yoshihara, he overcame a slow start to prevail against Wilson Tesoro by 1 ½ lengths.

The 1,400-meter contest initially put the four-year-old at a disadvantage after he broke slowly and found himself at the back. Yoshihara nevertheless kept his mount wide before launching a powerful move down the backstretch, closing on the leaders.

Entering the home straight, Meisho Hachiro found another gear and surged through the middle of the track to claim victory in 1:25.5. Happy Man finished another one and a half lengths behind Wilson Tesoro in third.

“I'm shaking from all the cheers... He was slow out of the gate, and I thought I might have asked him to move a little too early, but he was travelling so well. I'm delighted to win here in front of a packed home crowd,” Yoshihara said, as quoted by Netkeiba, who celebrates his first Jpn1 win at Kanazawa since the 2021 JBC Classic with Mutually.

Outrange Claims First Jpn1 in JBC Classic

Outrange delivered the central performance of the Kanazawa meeting, dominating the JBC Classic (Jpn1) by four lengths to claim his first Jpn1 championship after some frustrating near-misses. The six-year-old, ridden by Kohei Matsuyama, justified his status as the 2.9-to-1 favorite in the 2,100-meter contest.

Settling fourth along the rail, Outrange stayed within striking distance of the leaders before Matsuyama made his move near the straight. The son of Regalo took the lead early in the stretch and powering clear to win in 2:11.3 on slightly wet dirt. Ho O Roulette finished second, with Seraphic Call another length behind in third.

“He was incredibly strong once I asked him to go, and he stretched out with a really good turn of foot. We'd had so many close calls, so I'm truly delighted. He put in such a strong performance,” Matsuyama said.

Outrange had already shown his aptitude for Kanazawa with a bronze in the Hakusan Daishoten six weeks earlier. Trainer Ryuji Okubo explained that the preparatory race was deliberately selected to help the horse reach peak condition for the JBC Classic.

“Both the schedule and the way the race unfolded went exactly as we had hoped,” Okubo said. “We'd had so many frustrating results in G1 races. I'm just glad we've finally won one.”