By Alan Carasso
Koji Maeda's Gendarme (Kitten's Joy) finished under a full head of steam and took his record to a perfect two-from-two with a comfortable victory in Saturday's G2 Daily Hai Nisai S. at Kyoto.
Impressive in breaking his maiden at first asking over this trip at Kyoto Sept. 9, the well-related colt was beaten for speed and was content to race towards the tail of the field early on before making some ground to be fifth as the field raced around the turn. Given his cue at the top of the lane by visiting jockey Andrea Atzeni, Gendarme looked poised to deliver his challenge three off the fence, but instead went for a run between horses and nearer the inside and quickened impressively for the victory. All being equal, Gendarme could make his next start in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. at Hanshin Dec. 17.
Pedigree Notes…
Gendarme's pedigree is dotted with champions, as his sire was an Eclipse Award winner in the U.S., while his dam was Japan's top older mare of 2003. His Kentucky Derby-winning broodmare sire was champion 3-year-old and U.S. horse of the year in 1989. Racing in Maeda's blue-and-red silks, Believe did her best work as a sprinter, winning each of Japan's top short-track events–the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and Sprinters' S.–in their pre-graded days. Her first foal, Faridat (Kingmambo), was a two-time stakes winner and third in the 2009 G1 Yasuda Kinen over the mile, while Fiducia (Medaglia d'Oro) has more closely followed her mother's penchant for speed over five and six furlongs. One of several Maeda-owned mares who are bred and foaled out each year in Kentucky before the foals are retured to Japan, Believe was barren to Kitten's Joy in 2016 and 2017 and was most recently covered by Munnings. Kitten's Joy's 5-year-old son Dashing Blaze is a Group 3 winner in Japan this term.
Saturday, Kyoto, Japan
DAILY HAI NISAI S.-G2, ¥72,460,000, Kyoto, 11-11, 2yo, 1600mT, 1:36.30, fm.
1–GENDARME, 121, c, 2, by Kitten's Joy
1st Dam: Believe (Jpn) (Ch. Older Mare, MSW & GSP-Jpn, $3,836,758), by Sunday Silence
2nd Dam: Great Christine, by Danzig
3rd Dam: Great Lady M., by Icecapade
*1ST STAKES WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Koji Maeda; B-North
Hills Co. Limited (KY); T-Yasutoshi Ikee; J-Andrea Atzeni;
¥38,322,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, ¥45,322,000. *1/2 to
Faridat (Kingmambo), SW & G1SP-Jpn, $2,775,990; and Fiducia
(Medaglia d'Oro), SW & GSP-Jpn, $1,373,112. Werk Nick
Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”us-bred-ky-bred”]2–Katsuji (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Melissa (Jpn), by
White Muzzle (GB). O-Kanayama Holdings; B-Okada Stud;
¥15,092,000.
3–Keiai Nautique (Jpn), 121, c, 2, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Keiai
Gerbera (Jpn), by Smarty Jones. O-Kazuhiro Kameda; B-Takae
Farm; ¥ 9,546,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, 2HF, HD. Odds: 6.30, 4.40, 4.20.
Click for the Racing Post chart. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. JRA VIDEO.
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