Do Deuce racks up fifth Group 1 win in Japan Cup

The world’s best descended on Tokyo for Sunday’s Japan Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) but it was local legend Yutaka Take who prevailed, delivering a perfectly timed ride aboard Do Deuce (5 h Heart’s Cry – Dust And Diamonds by Vindication) to win the race for the fifth time. 

Do Deuce was last of the 14 runners for most of the race, making ground only in the final few yards of the back straight, but it proved to be the race-winning move as a motionless Take cruised widest and fastest in midfield on the turn for home before surging to the front and defeating Shin Emperor (Siyouni) and Durezza (Duramente), who dead-heated for second, by a neck for his fifth Group 1 victory. 

“I love horseracing and always have this feeling of wanting to win, which is something I’ve been able to keep. That’s the number one thing in why I’ve continued my racing career,” the 55-year-old winning rider said.

“When I come across a wonderful horse like Do Deuce, that feeling gets stronger.”

Winning trainer Yasuo Tomomichi said: “We had a miserable experience overseas. This time we were running on a Japanese track and there was no way he was going to be defeated. I want everyone all over the world to see that performance and not what we saw in Dubai or France.”

Deep Impact (Sunday Silence) is among Take’s five winners and he kicked off a now 19-year winning streak for the hosts in 2006. One of his highest-profile sons, Auguste Rodin was unable to strike a blow on his final run for Aidan O’Brien on Sunday before taking up stallion duties at Coolmore in Ireland, finishing eighth.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 1m 4f) winner Goliath (Adlerflug) finished best of the overseas runners in sixth, with German raider Fantastic Moon (Sea The Moon), another now bound for a stallion career, finished 11th.