FROM: Masahiro Usuda General Manager, Media & Publicity Department, THE (JRA) DATE: December 16, 2018 SUBJECT: RESULTS OF THE 70TH ASAHI HAI FUTURITY STAKES (G1) Races for two-year-olds were held for the first time in 1946 at Tokyo. As the number of contenders increased, championship races—the Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes (predecessor to the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes) and the Hanshin Sansai Stakes (predecessor to the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies)—which determined the top two-year-olds of the season in eastern and western Japan, respectively, were established in 1949. In conjunction with the new grading system implemented, the two races were designated G1 status in 1984. In 1991, the two races were divided by gender into two separate G1 events; the Hanshin Sansai Himba Stakes for two-year-old fillies and the Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes for two-year-old colts and geldings, then renamed “Hanshin Juvenile Fillies” and “Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes”, respectively, in 2001. Since 2004, the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes has been limited to non-gelded colts and fillies. The race, which started off as a 1,100-meter sprint, was extended to 1,200 meters in 1959 and again to 1,600 meters in 1962. In 2010, the race was opened to foreign runners. Due to the restructured racing program for two-year-olds, the venue was transferred from Nakayama to , the same location as the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, in 2014. One of the featured runners this year and aiming to become the first female winner of the race since 1980 was heavily favored who had come off her Saudi Arabia Royal Cup (G3, 1,600m; Oct.6) victory against male runners. The strong line-up also included four other graded winners; Aster Pegasus, who claimed the Hakodate Nisai Stakes (G3, 1,200m; Jul.22) and was a fifth in his latest (G2, 1,400m; Nov.3) start; Cadence Call who landed his second win in the Niigata Nisai Stakes (G3, 1,600m; Aug.26); Fantasist and , both boasting three wins out of the same starts which include wins in the the Keio Hai Nisai Stakes and the (G2, 1,600m; Nov.10), respectively. Other notable contenders were Saudi Arabia Royal Cup runner-up De Gaulle, the Kikyo Stakes (1,400m; Sep.22) victor It's Cool and, Nihonpiro Henson and Meiner Surpass who came off their wins in the Momiji Stakes (1,400m; Oct.13) and the Kimmokusei Tokubetsu (1,800m; Nov.4), respectively. Last year’s victor Danon Premium (JPN, by Deep Impact) renewed the race record to 1:33.3.

THE 70TH ASAHI HAI FUTURITY STAKES (G1) 2-year-old Colts & Fillies, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), turf, right-handed Sunday, December 16, 2018 Hanshin Racecourse 11th Race Post time: 15:40 Total prize money: ¥ 152,200,000 (about US$ 1,384,000 ) 2-y-o: 55kg (about 121 lbs), 1 kg allowance for Fillies, 3 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2016 Safety factor: 18 runners Sex Wgt Sire Jockey Owner Margin Odds FP BK PP Horse Ag (kg) Dam Trainer Breeder (L3F) (Fav) e Admire Mars M. Demuro Riichi Kondo 1:33.9 4.6 1 4 6 C2 55.0 (JPN) Via Medici Y. Tomomichi Northern Farm (33.9) (2) Kurino Gaudi Screen Hero Y. Fujioka Hiroharu Kurimoto 2 77.4 2 1 1 C2 55.0 (JPN) Kurino Billionaire N. Fujisawa Hiroharu Kurimoto (34.0) (9) Gran Alegria Deep Impact C. Lemaire Sunday Racing Co., Ltd. 1/2 1.5 3 2 2 F2 54.0 (JPN) Tapitsfly K. Fujisawa Northern Farm (34.6) (1) Fantasist Lord Kanaloa Y. Take Toshihiro Hirosaki 1-1/2 8.5 4 8 14 C2 55.0 (JPN) Deep in Ask T. Umeda Toshihiro Hirosaki (33.9) (3) Deep Diver Black Tide Y. Kawada North Hills Co., Ltd. 1-1/4 105.7 5 5 8 C2 55.0 (JPN) Sillage R. Okubo Hirayama Bokujo (34.5) (11) Emeral Fight W. Buick Tsutomu Takahashi 2-1/2 64.1 6 8 15 C2 55.0 (JPN) Setouchi Solar I. Aizawa Tsutomu Takahashi (33.5) (7) Aster Pegasus Giant’s Causeway Y. Fukunaga Hisae Kato 1-1/2 76.1 7 2 3 C2 55.0 Stonestreet Thoroughbred (USA) R Heat Lightning K. Nakatake Holdings LLC (34.8) (8) Girasol Matsurida Gogh Y. Iwata Einoshin Abe 1/2 495.5 8 6 10 C2 55.0 (JPN) Hana Ichirin T. Kayo Einoshin Abe (34.6) (14) It’s Cool Aldebaran D. Matsuda Yutaka Kukita 1/2 279.2 9 5 9 C2 55.0 (JPN) Tachyon Maker H. Take Japan Racing Association (36.1) (12) Meiner Surpass I’ll Have Another Y. Tannai K. Thoroughbred Club 3/4 21.3 10 3 5 C2 55.0 Ruffian (JPN) Meine Aktis N. Takagi Big Red Farm (34.1) (5) Copano Martin Screen Hero R. Sakai Sachiaki Kobayashi 1-1/4 604.6 11 7 12 C2 55.0 (JPN) Love Dylan A. Murayama Tanioka Stud (34.4) (15) De Gaulle Sakura President A. Tsumura Kanayama Holdings Neck 56.6 12 3 4 C2 55.0 Co., Ltd. (JPN) Gaillard Y. Kuroiwa Hoyo Farm (34.7) (6) Cadence Call Lord Kanaloa C. Demuro Sunday Racing Co., Ltd. Nose 11.2 13 6 11 C2 55.0 (JPN) Inductee T. Yasuda Northern Farm (34.6) (4) Salt Ibuki Belshazzar H. Shii Toshio Sugiura 2-1/2 388.5 14 4 7 C2 55.0 (JPN) Aino Kokoro K. Kihara Nozaka Bokujo (34.6) (13) Rulership Nihonpiro Henson S. Hamanaka Hyakutaro Kobayashi 1-1/4 82.9 15 7 13 C2 55.0 Nihonpillow (JPN) A. Adachi Hyakutaro Kobayashi (35.5) (10) Abumi FP=Final Position / BK=Bracket Number / PP=Post Position / Wgt=Weight / L3F=Time of Last 3 Furlongs (600m) NOTE 1: No foreign contenders NOTE 2: Figures quoted under Odds are Win Odds, which show the amount of money you get back per single unit (100yen), and Fav indicates the order of favorites.

WINNING TIME: 1:33.9 GOING: Firm WEATHER: Drizzle TURNOVER FOR THE RACE ALONE: ¥ 13,722,294,300 TURNOVER FOR THE DAY: ¥ 22,787,755,400 ATTENDANCE: 24,820

PAY-OFF (for ¥100) WIN No.6 ¥460 BRACKET QUINELLA 1-4 ¥10,060 QUINELLA 1-6 ¥9,710 No.6 ¥130 1-6 ¥1,560 EXACTA 6-1 ¥14,240 PLACE No.1 ¥490 QUINELLA PLACE 2-6 ¥180 TRIO 1-2-6 ¥3,340 No.2 ¥110 1-2 ¥1,080 TRIFECTA 6-1-2 ¥45,180

1. Admire Mars (JPN), chestnut, colt, 2-year-old Daiwa Major / Via Medici () Owner: Riichi Kondo Breeder: Northern Farm Trainer: Yasuo Tomomichi Jockey: Mirco Demuro 4 Starts, 4 Wins Added money: ¥ 71,064,000 Career earnings: ¥ 132,547,000

2. Kurino Gaudi (JPN), chestnut, colt, 2-year-old Screen Hero / Kurino Billionaire (Diablo) Owner: Hiroharu Kurimoto Breeder: Hiroharu Kurimoto Trainer: Norio Fujisawa Jockey: Yusuke Fujioka

3. Gran Alegria (JPN), bay, filly, 2-year-old Deep Impact / Tapitsfly (Tapit) Owner: Sunday Racing Co., Ltd. Breeder: Northern Farm Trainer: Kazuo Fujisawa Jockey: Christophe Lemaire

Admire Mars Pulls Away Strongly to Capture 70th Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes Second favorite and undefeated Admire Mars claimed this year’s Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes by a two-length margin and stretched his winning streak to four. Breaking his maiden in his debut start in June, the colt marked an open-class win in the Chukyo Nisai Stakes a month later and went on to claim the G2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes in October, all at the mile distance. This win marks trainer Yasuo Tomomichi’s 10th JRA-G1 win following his Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) victory earlier this year with Wagnerian. For jockey Mirco Demuro, this is his fourth Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes victory while the others were with Grand Prix Boss (2010), Logotype (2012) and Leontes (2015), and is now tied with the most Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes titles. This also comes as his 27th overall JRA-G1 victory following his most recent G1 triumph in the Champions Cup with Le Vent Se Leve two weeks earlier.

The race unfolded with It’s Cool shooting to the front to set the pace while Admire Mars was settled in third a few lengths behind the race favorite Gran Alegria in second through the early going. Admire Mars made a strong bid while shifting outside the filly at the final turn and quickly stole the lead from the two 300 meters out. Fiercely trying to shake off the stubborn race favorite inside of him on the rails, the Daiwa Major colt found another gear in the last half-furlong and pulled away with good speed to secure a two-length win.

“Just as he did in his last start, he made a clean break today. It was our plan to keep our eyes on Gran Alegria and everything went smoothly. He showed a terrific turn of foot. He’s a smart colt and hates to lose so I’m looking forward to seeing how he improves next season,” commented Mirco Demuro after the race.

Breaking from the innermost stall, ninth favorite Kurino Gaudi ran the rails in fourth to fifth, chased the eventual winner into the lane and displayed a strong drive up the stretch hill. Although no match for the winner, the longshot caught Gran Alegria in the last 50 meters for the runner-up seat.

The only female runner in the field, Gran Alegria was voted as heavy favorite in hopes of becoming the first filly to capture the title in 38 years. The Deep Impact filly broke smoothly, chased the pace in second, stubbornly disputed for the lead in mid-stretch but tired in the final strides and was caught by Kurino Gaudi to finish a half-length third.

Other Horses: 4th: (14) Fantasist—traveled in mid pack, quickened in last 200m, never threatened top 3 finishers 5th: (8) Deep Diver—raced behind eventual winner, met traffic at final corner, showed effort thereafter 6th: (15) Emeral Fight—trailed in rear, showed belated charge, timed fastest over last 3 furlongs 7th: (3) Aster Pegasus—settled along rails in mid-division, failed to respond 8th: (10) Girasol—hugged rails in mid-pack, switched to outside at early stretch, passed tired rivals 9th: (9) It’s Cool—set pace, gradually dropped back after 400m pole 10th: (5) Meiner Surpass—took economic trip near rear, lacked needed kick 11th: (12) Copano Martin—raced towards rear, even paced 12th: (4) De Gaulle—saved ground in mid-group, never fired at straight 13th: (11) Cadence Call—was off slow, traveled 3-wide in rear pack, faded after entering lane 14th: (7) Salt Ibuki—ran near rear, unable to reach contention 15th: (13) Nihonpiro Henson—broke poorly, soon advanced to mid-division, no factor at stretch

Fractional time (sec./furlong): 12.7 - 10.9 - 11.7 - 12.4 - 11.8 - 11.3 - 11.2 - 11.9 Last 4 furlongs: 46.2 Last 3 furlongs: 34.4

Positions at each corner: 3rd corner 9,2-6(1,8)(3,14)10(4,12,13)(5,11)(7,15) 4th corner 9,2-6(1,8)-(3,14)10,13(4,11)12(5,15)7 NOTE 1: Underlined bold number indicates the winning horse. NOTE 2: Horse numbers are indicated in the order of their positions at each corner, with the first position listed first. Two or more horses inside the same parentheses indicate that they were positioned side by side. Hyphens between the horse numbers indicate that there is distance between the former and the latter. The asterisk indicates a slight lead.