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2006 News
December 3, 2006
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http://japanracing.jp/_news2006/images/061203-01.jpg
Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (JPN G1) - Vodka toast of her class
Katsuhiko Sumii's Vodka piped red-hot favorite Aston Machan at the wire to take the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies on Sunday afternoon, surging to the top of the 2-year-old generation.
Vodka, trained by Melbourne Cup winner Sumii, nosed out the Yutaka Take-ridden Aston Machan for the 1 minute, 33.1 second victory over a mile at the newly laid out Hanshin Racecourse.
Jockey Hirofumi Shii guided the fourth favorite to her first graded win in three starts at the renovated track, which now features the third longest straight in the country after Niigata and Tokyo.
The first leg of the filly's triple crown, the Oka Sho, is run under the same conditions as the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, and Vodka now will undoubtedly be one of the top picks come the spring.
"We drew an inside barrier so I wanted to make sure got off to a good start, then bring her outside,” said the 34-year-old Shii, who won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies for his second time.
He last captured the race three years ago aboard Yamanin Sucre, who was retired last month due to a career-ending injury she suffered in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup.
Shii said the plan during the race was to mark Aston Machan, who won last month's 1,400-meter Fantasy Stakes by five lengths in record time to emerge as the punters' number one choice.
"(Aston Machan) was in front throughout the trip, and made a good target for us. (Vodka) did well to beat her in the end,” said Shii, who collected his eighth Grade 1 medallion.
"It's a very fair track, and we have big expectations for her. I just hope they don't switch the jockey.”
http://japanracing.jp/_news2006/images/061203-02.jpg
Luminous Harbor led the full field of 18 off the blocks, with Mejiro Adhara stalking Futoshi Komaki's mount. Aston Machan was third in line as the pack rolled around the new, gentler turns.
Take steered his horse toward the inside as the fillies hit the stretch, Vodka closing in from the outside. Aston Machan jumped out to the lead halfway through the 474-meter strip, and Vodka made it a match race by moving to her side.
Vodka came out on top in the end, with Luminous Harbor trailing three and a half lengths behind. Robe Decollete and Excuse came in fourth and fifth, respectively.
http://japanracing.jp/
The good thing goes around today at Kyoto R 10.
The more you put on, the more you get back.
Will be short though.
The good thing won like the good thing she was.
Hope you got on with plenty and can now retire to a life of peeled grapes, vodka martinis and watermelon juice on board your new yacht.
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6761/386/320/Lychee2.jpg
Got another win in today.
Hope you doubled up and threw a little extra on as well. :)
Screwdriver
Fill a tall glass with ice. Add:
1-1/2 oz. Vodka
Orange juice to fill
Stir and serve.
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Bloody Mary
Fill a short glass with ice. Add:
1-1/2 oz. Vodka
Dash Worcestershire Sauce
Dash Tabasco Sauce
Dash lemon or lime juice
Tomato juice to fill
Stir and garnish with celery salt on top.
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Sex On The Beach
Fill a tall glass with ice. Add:
1 oz. Vodka
1 oz. peach liqueur
1-1/2 oz. orange juice
1-1/2 oz. cranberry juice
Stir and serve.
Won the Japan Derby today ( G1) at 10-1 :)
Filly Vodka wins prestigious Japan Derby
The only filly to run the 74th Nippon Derby on Sunday in Tokyo also became the first filly to win the race in 64 years, beating her 17 male contenders.
She became the champion of all 8,470 3-year-old racehorses.
Vodka's historic performance on Sunday afternoon drew praise from Crown Prince Naruhito, and made a winner out of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's wife.
Vodka rocked the Tokyo Racecourse crowd of 131,185 like a half-dozen shots of Smirnoff, becoming the first filly in 64 years to win the Japan Derby with a cogent, three-length victory.
Hirofumi Shii rode third favorite Vodka, the top 2-year-old filly last year, to a 2 minute 24.5 second win over the 2,400 meters ahead of long-shot Asakusa Kings in what turned out to be another wild Grade 1 finish of the spring thoroughbred racing season.
With the Prince and the First Couple in attendance, the Katsuhiko Sumii-trained Vodka became just the third female horse ever to top the Derby, and the first since Kurifuji accomplished the feat in 1943. Vodka, who had a two-kilogram handicap on the colts, was the first filly to run in the Derby after Biwa Heidi bombed to 13th place 11 years ago.
After the lap of honor, Shii, aboard Vodka, tipped his hat to the Prince who returned the gesture with a smile and applause. The Prime Minister said that he took a tip from his wife, and the two went home with a bit of extra cash.
"My wife picked Vodka to win, and following my wife, I picked her to show," Abe said through a press release. "I'd like to commend the effort of everyone in the connections."
"This is the best," said Shii, who, along with Sumii, won his first Derby, the ninth Grade 1 title of his career. "I could quit right now.
“I got a good response out of her on the final turn,” Shii told Striding Thoroughbreds in Japan.
“I pushed her as hard as possibly as we broke away from the pack in the stretch. The plan was to save ground and bring her to the outside going into the stretch. That's exactly what happened in the race. It was the most honorable thing to ride a Derby winner as a jockey. I feel great."
http://japanracing.jp/_news2007/images/070528-01.jpg
Bred by Country Bozuko in Hokkaido, Vodka is the second winner from three starters produced by the Rousillon mare Tanino Sister.
"It's great, but I'm not surprised by this. We always knew she had this kind of potential, and I looked at this as a good challenge for her," said the 34-year-old jockey who had come in third in the race the last two years aboard Sixth Sense and Dream Passport.
"I didn't ride her thinking she was a filly. I rode her as if I was riding one of the boys."
"I didn't do anything today," said Sumii, who is considering running Vodka in arguably the most prestigious race in Europe, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France. "It was a difficult decision to make, but I picked the Derby because I knew this would be more exciting.
"Credit Shii because he rode a big-time race today. He picked a good part of the straight to run on, and I was just praying she would break through."
Taking third was fourth choice Admire Aura, who went under the wire a length and three-quarters behind Asakusa. Satsuki Sho runner-up Sun Zeppelin came in fourth and Dream Journey filled out the board.
The winner of the Satsuki Sho, Victory, failed badly in his bid to capture the second race of the triple crown series. Katsuharu Tanaka's mount was slow out of the barrier, and the frontrunner had to dig deep early to catch up. The second favorite fizzled to ninth place.
The Derby had been won by the Satsuki Sho champion the past two years, the retired Deep Impact doing the double in 2005 and Meisho Samson repeating the feat in '06.
The race favorite, Fusaichi Ho O, was equally a no-show, finishing seventh. Jockey Katsumi Ando had been roasted in the press for his riding in the Satsuki Sho, for positioning Ho O too far toward the rear.
Ho O became the prohibitive pick after a disappointing yet strong showing in the Satsuki Sho. The second pick came from behind to take third with the fastest time over the last three furlongs (33.9 seconds), missing out on the title by inches.
Fans and critics alike had felt Ho O would rebound at the spacious Tokyo track, where his sire, Jungle Pocket, had success, winning the Derby as well as the Japan Cup which is also at 2,400 meters.
The leading jockey in the country said he did not want to make the same mistake twice Sunday, and forced Ho O closer to the lead during the journey. But as it turned out, Ando ended up fighting the Fusaro Sekiguchi-owned horse on the trip.
"It was a fast track, and the ones in front were running away with it," Ando said of the sun-bit turf at Fuchu, listed as in excellent condition. "I didn't want him to fall behind at the first turn because if you fall too far behind there, you really fall behind.
(May. 28, 2007)
http://japanracing.jp/_news2007/images/070528-02.jpg
Katsuhiko Sumii trained Vodka now has five wins from seven career starts.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/photo/DY20070528113902206L1.jpg
The last filly to win the Japan Derby was Kurifuji in 1943. The most prestigious title in Japanese thoroughbred racing has been won by females just three times in the race's previous 73 runs. (AP)
Vodka is also registered to enter the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France in October. It is the same prestigious race in which Japanese stallion Deep Impact finished third but was disqualified last year. May 28, 2007
cheesebeast
09-08-2007, 11:38
Injury spills Vodka from Arc challenge
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan Derby winner Vodka will not make her scheduled start in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October, trainer Katsuhiko Sumii announced Wednesday.
Vodka, who in May became the first filly to win the Derby in 64 years, has suffered an injury to her right hind hoof, according to Sumii, who spotted the injury after Vodka's workout last Thursday.
The injury--an inflammation of the hoof--is not believed to be serious, but Sumii is not taking any chances with a horse of Vodka's prominence for the Oct. 7 race at Longchamp in France.
"I don't want to take her if she's not in top form," Sumii said through the Japan Racing Association. "We cannot let her run because we are out to win the Arc--not just enter."
(Aug. 9, 2007)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20070809TDY18001.htm
Pity...but she will keep Im sure.
She is sure to keep the Japanese horses honest untill next year albeit at a shorter price.
FEATURE STORY ::
Vodka back to her best in the Yasuda Kinen 08 Jun 2008
Japan Racing Association
In the final leg of the 2008 Asian Mile Challenge, the Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen run today at Tokyo Racecourse, 2007 Derby winning Japanese filly Vodka broke through for her first win in over a year with a devastating performance to win by 3 -1/2 lengths.
Jockey Yasunari Iwata was riding Vodka for the first time as previous jockey Yutaka Take was booked to ride Suzuka Phoenix in the race.
He rode the horse perfectly on a track that had been favorable to leaders and horses on the inside, as he pushed her out of the gates to settle down just behind the leaders.
In an interview after the race, he explained he had been willing to lead if necessary, but expected leader Kongo Rikishio was pushed along to keep the lead, and Vodka settled in behind him in 3rd or 4th position.
Top Hong Kong jockey Douglas Whyte pushed Hong Kong galloper Armada in the early stages to get across from barrier 16 and sit outside the leader, while outsider Jolly Dance sat outside Vodka.
As the field entered the final straight, Kongo Rikishio still had a handy lead, and Whyte was getting anxious on Armada, pushing him along to try and catch the leader.
But when Iwata pulled Vodka around the heels of the leader with about 300m to go, she shot away from the field to open a break of around 4 lengths, and the race was all over.
Armada got past Kongo Rikishio who battled on well, and Air Shady and Suzuka Phoenix were making up plenty of ground on the outside of the track, but in the final 100m outsider Eishin Dover poked through the center of the field to grab 3rd behind Armada who fought on very well for 2nd.
Vodka was 3-1/2 lengths ahead of Armada at the finish, and she passed the line in a time of 1:32.7.
Air Shady grabbed 4th ahead of Suzuka Phoenix and early leader Kongo Rikishio finished 6th. 2006 winner Bullish Luck ran about in the straight (he finished 14th) which seemed to cause a few problems for other runners including the favored Good Ba Ba and Super Hornet, with Good Ba Ba eventually being pulled up 2nd last.
Super Hornet finished on fairly for 8th which could be considered a respectable result after missing the start and experiencing some interference in the straight, but the day belonged to Vodka.
Vodka was bred by owner Yuzo Tanimizu at his Country Bokujo, and is trained by top Japanese trainer Katsuhiko Sumii.
http://www.thoroughbrednews.co.nz/international/Default.aspx?id=35224&page=1&keyword=
She won well .
Good Baba raced below his best - maybe he`s had enough after a long tough season ?
Armada was only a length or 2 worse that Good Baba at his last start & was certainly the one that would be improved & as usual his jockey gave him every chance.
Its a tough trip to make to Japan I guess especially after putting in against the best milers in HK. Might be a case of not handling the track too...Tokyo goes around left handed ( Melbourne way) unlike Sha Tin / Happy Valley?
Vodka had had enough too past prep...came back in top top shape and once again started at decent ods. She should have another few good runs up her sleeve? Maybe she can improve on her Japan cup 4th.
Jordon said Katsumi had declared Delta Blues, a rising eight-year-old, a definite starter and Pop Rock a possible.
He said Vodka, winner of Sunday's Group 1 Yasuda Kinen, a leg of the Asian Mile, which she carved out in a sizzling 1min 32.7sec, was unlikely to tackle the Cox Plate, with trainer Katsuhiko Sumii keen to keep her for the Japan Cup.
Vodka wins Tenno Sho...
Exciting and thrilling photo-finish in Tenno Sho
The most exciting and thrilling photo-finish has been produced in Tenno Sho history when Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka rushed into the line this afternoon at Tokyo Racecourse.
After an about 15-minute photo examination, the Tenno Sho Autumn glory went to favorite Vodka. A skin of nose behind, second favorite Daiwa Scarlet took second in the 2,000-meter traditional race. The third, another neck back, was third favorite Deep Sky.
Exciting and thrilling part of the race began to arise when the field led by Daiwa Scarlet reached the 200-meter marker after climbing up the stretch hill. Vodka and Deep Sky, running side by side on the outside, hit into front. Meanwhile, Daiwa Scarlet, running along the rail, looked like she was sinking into the crowd, but this filly fought back to keep getting into contention.
In the end, Vodak and Daiwa Scarlet got home at the same level to stop the clock in 1 minute 57.20 seconds for the new course record.
Vodka, a 4-year-old filly by Tanino Gimlet out of the Rousillon mare Tanino Sister, has raced 17 times(7 wins of them) with more than 758 million yen in career earnings for trainer K.Sumii and owner Y.Tanimizu. Country Bokujo in Hokkaido was the breeder of the bay filly.
The 138th running of the Tenno Sho Autumn, grade one
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Tokyo Race-11 3:40pm 17-ran
3yo+ international 2,000-meter right-handed turf firm clear
final time: 1m 57.20s
14 Vodka Yutaka Take
7 Daiwa Scarlet Katsumi Ando
2 Deep Sky Hirofumi Shii
16 Company Norihiro Yokoyama
3 Air Shady Hiroki Goto
margins: nose, neck, nose, neck
also ran: Sakura Mega Wonder, Osumi Grass One, Asakusa Kings, King's Trail, Dream Journey, Admire Fuji, Admire Monarch, Erimo Harrier, Pop Rock, Higher Game, Tosen Captain and Tascata Sorte
http://stosarabu.blogspot.com/2008/11/exciting-and-thrilling-photo-finish-in.html
Gloryfication
07-11-2008, 15:30
ranking 1st 2nd 3rd total rides winning % lifetime
wins
1 Yutaka Take 137 82 60 611 0.224 3,162 2
Yasunari Iwata 104 88 76 728 0.143 499 3
Katsumi Ando 99 65 66 464 0.213 888 4
Hiroyuki Uchida 96 85 79 722 0.133 225 5 Eiji
Nakadate 91 65 66 734 0.124 1,471 6
Hiroki Goto 90 75 74 694 0.130 1,101 7
Norihiro Yokoyama 87 65 60 597 0.146 1,927 8
Masami Matsuoka 81 57 58 677 0.120 261 9
Kosei Miura 80 61 48 629 0.127 80 10 Shinji Fujita 79 73 60 633 0.125 1,512 11
Masayoshi Ebina 70 64 50 604 0.116 1,663 12
Yusuke Fujioka 68 60 60 624 0.109 273 13
Yuichi Fukunaga 67 60 73 671 0.100 989 14
Yuga Kawada 67 58 43 566 0.118 239 15 Suguru Hamanaka 65 65 49 734 0.089 85 16 Futoshi Komaki 58 59 55 634 0.091 370 17
Hayato Yoshida 55 43 48 669 0.082 214 18
Yoshitomi Shibata 53 62 63 621 0.085 1,822 19
Hideaki Miyuki 49 42 59 784 0.063 719 20
Yutaka Yoshida 46 61 54 657 0.070 744
* Data is inclusive of JRA racing only
http://japanracing.jp/images/arrow03.gif (http://japanracing.jp/japan/rankings.html#)
2008 Trainer Ranking
as of 2nd Nov. 2008
ranking 1st 2nd 3rd total runs winning % lifetime
wins 1 Yasutoshi Ikee 38 25 16 232 0.164 134 2
Kazuo Fujisawa 37 26 23 230 0.161 952 3
Hideaki Fujiwara 37 18 14 184 0.201 207 4
Katsuhiko Sumii 35 28 13 215 0.163 205 5
Yasuo Ikee 34 16 21 234 0.145 740 6
Hidetaka Otonashi 33 44 38 260 0.127 361 7
Ippo Sameshima 32 24 26 302 0.106 233 8
Yukihiro Kato 29 23 22 223 0.130 190 9
Masato Nishizono 29 20 27 280 0.104 207 10
Sakae Kunieda 29 19 23 226 0.128 465 11
Kunihide Matsuda 28 25 21 208 0.135 334 12
Hiroyoshi Matsuda 28 21 19 215 0.130 515 13
Inao Okada 28 15 12 243 0.115 102 14
Masazo Ryoke 28 12 11 236 0.119 651 15
Yoshito Yahagi 27 26 28 331 0.082 98 16
Mitsuru Hashida 27 14 18 176 0.153 471 17
Yasuhito Tamura 26 24 13 237 0.110 217 18
Masahiro Ikegami 26 21 23 223 0.117 265 19
Koujiro Hashiguchi 26 20 30 252 0.103 776 20
Sei Ishizaka 26 14 14 182 0.143 282
* Data is inclusive of JRA racing only
The Japanese wonder mare Vodka (#3), under jockey Yutaka Take (yellow silks, single blue sash), showed a brilliant turn of foot after locating racing room with a microscope in a thrilling edition of the Yasuda Kinen (G1) at Tokyo. The daughter of Tanino Gimlet is now the winningest mare in Japanese racing and 2-for-2 following her winter in Dubai.
http://dubairacenight.com/vodka-stellar-in-yasuda-kinen-victory/
click link for replay on u tube
http://www.bloodhorse.com/images/content/Vodka060609KH298.jpg
From Japanese Racing Association)
Champion Japanese mare Vodka was too good once again, winning an action packed renewal of the final leg of the Asian Mile Challenge, the 59th running of the Yasuda Kinen (Jap-I) June 7 at Tokyo racecourse.
Champion jockey Yutaka Take settled odds-on favorite Vodka midfield in the early stages, on the inside of the field. The pace of the race was hot, with Laurel Guerreiro and Armada coming over quickly from their outside draws soon after the start, and then being challenged by Kongo Rikishio, who eventually took up the leading role. Sight Winner (the Hong Kong winner of the Champions Mile, and therefore eligible for the Asian Mile Challenge US$1m bonus) was just behind the leaders, while the second and third favorites Deep Sky and Super Hornet settled in the second half of the field in the early stages.
The pace was very quick, and as the field entered the straight, the runs started coming. Armada and Sight Winner moved up to hit the front with 400m to go, and then Super Hornet charged up to join them on the outside. Company also grabbed everyones attention when he loomed up very wide on the track, but then it was clear that Deep Sky was getting a run through the field.
At the 200m Deep Sky shot away, and the crowd was gasping as horses bunched up behind on the inside of the track, with favorite Vodka in all sorts of trouble searching for a run. Smile Jack almost dropped rider Yasunari Iwata as he run out of room and ran into the back of the tiring Kongo Rikishio.
Company was out wide on the track and tiring as Deep Sky held a decent lead at the 100m mark, but Take squeezed Vodka through a space between Sight Winner and Super Hornet, and the mare accelerated brilliantly to overtake Deep Sky in the closing stages and get up for a fantastic victory. There was a three-quarters length margin on the line, with another length back to outsider Faridat, who came from last on the turn to run third, a nose in front of Company.
Vodkas win was her sixth top class race victory (five grade I races and the Japanese Derby), and she is now the highest earning mare in Japanese racing history.
Five of those race victories have been at the Tokyo racecourse.
Vodka is by Tanino Gimlet out of the Rousillon mare Tanino Sister. She was bred by Country Bokujo, is owned by Mr. Yuzo Tanimizu, and is trained by Mr. Katsuhiko Sumii.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/51153/vodka-becomes-japans-highest-earning-mare
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