3 minute read

Provides Speightstown with his 17th elite level winner.

Mozu Superflare (5 m ex Christies Treasure by Belong To Me) won Sunday's Takamatsunomiya Kinen (Gr 1, 1200m) at Chukyo, providing Speightstown (Gone West) with his 17th Group / Grade 1 winner. 

The mare was awarded the race having been second past the post. Four-year-old mare Gran Alegria (Deep Impact) finished second and five-year-old entire Diatonic (Lord Kanaloa) was third. First across the line, Kurino Gaudi (Screen Hero), was demoted to fourth after being deemed to have caused interference to the winner. 

Mozu Superflare jumped well and took the lead in the 18 runner field and maintained that position whilst Kurino Gaudi and Diatonic closing on her lead in the final 100 metres.

"She broke well as I hoped she would and was able race in her own rhythm.

"With the sun coming out in the afternoon, the ground was not as bad as we had anticipated, which I think worked in her favour. To be honest, I thought that we had lost when we crossed the wire but I'm genuinely happy that we were able to win our first Grade 1 title," said winning jockey Fuma Matsuwaka. 

Mozu Superflare, a Grade 3 winner and Grade 1 placed before Sunday's victory, is out of the Listed placed mare Christies Treasure (Belong To Me) who has produced five winners from as many foals to race which also include the US Grade 3 winner Sacristy (Pulpit) and Zighy Bay (Tapit), dam of 2019 South Australian Derby (Gr 1, 2500m) winner Qafila (Not A Single Doubt). 

Her second dam is Roses At Sunset (Valid Appeal, a half-sister to stakes winners Valid Wager (Valid Appeal) and Copelan's Bid Gal (Copelan) as well as the dam of multiple Grade 1 winning sprinter Jersey Girl (Belong To Me) who in turn produced the Grade 1 winning sire Jersey Town (Speightstown). 

Speightstown stands at WinStar Farm in Kentucky where his 2020 fee is advertised at US$70,000.