Efforia keeps unbeaten record intact in Japanese 2,000 Guineas

Shadai Stallion Station-based Epiphaneia (Symboli Kris S) sired his second Grade 1 winner on Sunday as his son Efforia (3 c ex Katies Heart by Heart's Cry) kept his unbeaten record intact with an impressive victory in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas) (Gr 1, 1600m) at Nakayama. 

The Yuichi Shikato-trained three-year-old colt came into the race having broken through for his maiden stakes victory in the Kyodo News Hai (Gr 3, 1800m) and he backed up that performance with a breathtaking three length victory over Titleholder (Duramente). Stella Veloce (Bago) was another neck away in third. 

“It’s such a great feeling,” said winning jockey Takeshi Yokoyama. “I was fortunate to have been able to ride this colt since his debut and although I knew the colt, coming here undefeated, would be heavily backed and the pressure would be great, I believed that if I put my concentration on using whatever skills I had as a rider and bring out the best performance from my horse, that we would have a great chance of winning. 

“The pace wasn’t that fast, so we were able to cruise along in a good position but we were a little tight going into the stretch and I could be sure of my win until the end.” 

The colt is out of the three time-winning Heart’s Cry (Sunday Silence) mare Katies Heart and she is herself a three-quarter sister to multiple Grade 1-winning champion and sire Admire Moon (End Sweep). 

Further afield this is the same family as Group 1 winner Katies (Nonoalco) and Grade 1 scorer Sleepless Night (Kurofune). 

Epiphaneia’s other Grade 1 winner is Daring Tact, who won the fillies’ Triple Crown last year and the stallion has sired four stakes winners overall.