Jantar Mantar Clashes With Soul Rush In The Mile Championship

[Wandering Eyes]

Group 1 winner Jantar Mantar (Palace Malice) looms large in the 18-strong G1 Mile Championship at Kyoto on Sunday.

The dual top-level winner earned a victory over Gaia Force (Kitasan Black) in the G1 Yasuda Kinen in June, and found only that rival too good prepping for this contest with a second in the G2 Fuji Stakes.

Trainer Tomokazu Takano said of the G1 NHK Mile Cup hero, “After his run in the Fuji Stakes Oct. 18, his heart and lungs had improved. He was just about in tiptop shape for his final fast work on Nov. 19, he just needs a few finishing touches. I gave instructions to get a time of 54-some seconds up the hill course and push him just enough to get a good response over the final furlong. And, that's exactly what we got. The horse knows the course, the jockey knows the course.”

The ghostly grey Gaia Force has yet to win a Group 1, but his connections are undeterred on behalf of the G1 February Stakes second. The six-year-old entire is set to start from stall six under Takeshi Yokoyama, one to the outside of G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and G1 Victoria Mile heroine Ascoli Piceno (Daiwa Major).

Trainer Haruki Sugiyama said, “His last race was over the Tokyo mile, the Fuji Stakes. The break was very sharp and the pace suited him. After that, he went to the farm for about 10 days and returned looking good, as he had before his last race too. On Nov. 13, he worked under Fuma Izumiya with a focus on the final stage. He clocked :51.6 seconds up the hill course. The most important thing is that he has no physical problems.”

Ascoli Piceno makes her first start since a decent sixth in August's G1 Prix Jacques le Marois behind Diego Velazquez (Frankel) in France. Earlier this year she won the G2 1351 Turf Sprint in Saudi Arabia followed by the Victoria Mile back in her native land. She is booked in stall five under Christophe Lemaire.

Trainer Yoichi Kuroiwa, “After the Prix Jacques le Marois her recovery went mostly well, much better than after the Victoria Mile. Her physique has gotten much more solid and she gains weight easily. To her fast work and regular work, I've had to add two more workouts up the hill course followed directly by a gallop over the flat to get in fit. Her breathing and footwork both improved from last week. This will be her first time at Kyoto, but it's a spacious course and the going should be fast.”

Soul Rush had Elton Barows (Deep Brillante) back in second in the 2024 edition of this race. The son of Rulership has yet to be off the board since that victory, running second in December's G1 Hong Kong Mile, third in the G2 Nakayama Kinen in his 2025 bow, followed by a victory over Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) in the G1 Dubai Turf in April. Third in the Yasuda Kinen, he filled that spot again in the Fuji Stakes behind Gaia Force and Jantar Mantar.

Trainer Yasutoshi Ikee said, “After returning to the training center he had a fast workout every week for 3 weeks in a row, including this week. At Kyoto, with the downward slope out of the backstretch, he's going to pick up speed. Since, at times, he has trouble getting his engine revved and can get left behind at the crucial moment, the Kyoto course may help him.”

British raider and G1 Queen Anne Stakes hero Docklands (Massaat) will leave from stall 16 for trainer Harry Eustace. Fifth in the G1 Sussex Stakes in July, he has rolled a pair of fours in his past two starts–the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in August and October, respectively.

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