By Alan Carasso
Lovely Day (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), runner-up to Maurice (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) for Japanese Horse of the Year honors in 2015, makes a much-anticipated 6-year-old debut in a loaded renewal of the G2 Sankei Osaka Hai over his preferred 2000-metre distance Sunday at Hanshin Racecourse.
The dark bay faced the starter no fewer than 10 times last season for six wins, including a breakthrough Group 1 success in the Takarazuka Kinen (2200m) followed two starts later by a win in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) over this trip. Third to the filly Shonan Pandora (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Japan Cup (2400m), he closed the season with a slightly disappointing fifth in the G1 Arima Kinen over an extended 12 furlongs Dec. 27.
Lovely Day is using this seasonal return as a steppingstone to the G1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin Apr. 24, as is Nuovo Record (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}). Victorious in the G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) in 2014, the blaze-faced chestnut was beaten three lengths into fifth in the Takarazuka Kinen, then filled the runner-up spot in three straight races to close the season, including the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup Dec. 13, where only compatriot A Shin Hikari (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) finished ahead of her.
Shonan Pandora, third to Lovely Day in the Takarazuka Kinen, defeated Nhttps://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=race-replays-rukuovo Record in the G2 Sankei Sho All Comers S. in September and was fourth in the Tenno Sho before springing the upset in the Japan Cup.
Given the performance of the Japanese turf horses at the Dubai World Cup meeting Mar. 26, Ambitious (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) would have to be in with a major shout here. Fifth in the Tenno Sho, the late-developing 4-year-old came with a stinging late rally in his seasonal debut in the Feb. 28 G2 Nakayama Kinen that fell just short of subsequent G1 Dubai Sheema Classic runner-up Duramente (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}). Third home that day was Real Steel (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who gave Japan its second winner on World Cup night when taking out the G1 Dubai Turf.
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