The Arima Kinen is a Grade I race held at Nakayama Race Course in Japan and it is called the ‘biggest betting horse race’ in the world. The winner of Arima Kinen gets 787,178 pounds and it is a race over 2,500 metres for horses three years-old and up. Nakayama is a right-handed racecourse and the homestretch is 300 metres long.
On Sunday, the Arima Kinen was run and before 110,363 fans, a 51-1 outsider, Matsurida Gogh came away a winner and in the process, beat some of the world’s best thoroughbreds. Jockey Masayashi Ebinda kept Matsurida Gogh third in the 15-runner field. Asked for an effort in the final turn, the unfancied Matsurida Gogh shot to the front and held Daiwa Scarlet by one and one quarter lengths. Daiwa Major ran on to be third and was two and one half lengths behind Daiwa Scarlet. The time was 2 33.6 seconds on a good track.
Considered the biggest wagering race on the planet, the Arima Kinen had a 200-million pound pool this year. It is the most popular race in Japan and attracts a huge crowd.
Daiwa Major was retired after his third place finish. A son of Sunday Silence, Daiwa Major won six Grade I races in his glittering career.
Pop Rock took fifth place. Meisho Samson, the 14-10 favourite, was in the rear and ended up eighth. Vodka, Japan’s premier filly, finished 11th of 15 runners.
Trained by Sakae Kunieda, Matsurida Gogh is by Sunday Silence. Sunday Silence, the 1989 Kentucky Derby winner, has sired several winners of big races in Japan in recent years. Sunday Silence is no more. The legacy is thriving.
There will be a 14-horse field in the Grade I Malibu Stakes on opening day at Santa Anita. Drainage problems have not been fully addressed as the cushion track is being renovated. The latest news is that the track is in good condition and the meeting will get under way on Wednesday as scheduled.
Trainer Dale Baird, mentioned in my last piece, was killed in a car crash Sunday afternoon in Indiana. Baird, 72, was based in Mountaineer in Chester, West Virginia. Baird received a Special Achievement Eclipse Award in 2006. Strong winds, according to the police, contributed to the accident.
