Buena Vista set for last hurrah in Arima Kinen

Buena Vista set for last hurrah in Arima Kinen

Buena Vista and Tosen Jordan (right) will take their rivalry to Nakayama (Tomoya Moriuchi/Horsephotos.com) Reigning Japanese Horse of the Year Buena Vista, who recently avenged her controversial disqualification in last year's Grade 1 Japan Cup, has one more item on her to-do list before retiring. The world's all-time richest Thoroughbred, with approximately $17 million in the bank, will seek the coveted Arima Kinen title on Sunday. For the past two years, Buena Vista has been beaten narrowly in this prestigious season finale. Success in the about 1 9/16-mile Grade 1 test at Nakayama would be a Christmas gift indeed for the popular mare, and for her legions of fans. "She's won a Grade 1 race the last four years and you can only be grateful for what she's achieved," trainer Hiroyoshi Matsuda said of the five-year-old, voted champion in each of her seasons of racing.

Her career Grade 1 tally stands at six, following her rousing victory over

Tosen Jordan in the November 27 Japan Cup at her beloved Tokyo. But for her

demotion for alleged interference in the 2010 Japan Cup, she would have already

equaled the Japan Racing Association record of seven Grade 1s, achieved by Deep

Impact, T.M. Opera O, Symboli Rudolf and Vodka.

Now Buena Vista must try to join their elite club over the Nakayama course

that doesn't play as well to her strengths, as her two previous cracks at the

Arima Kinen imply. As a three-year-old filly in 2009, she went down by a

half-length to the older male Dream Journey. Last year, the deep closer was

foiled by the relatively short homestretch, where she flew late but missed by a

diminishing whisker to Victoire Pisa.

That was the beginning of an uncharacteristic losing streak for Buena Vista,

but the multiple champion regained her winning form last time. Her connections

believe that she's poised for another top performance.

"I was reminded once again what a great racehorse she is," jockey Yasunari

Iwata said of her Japan Cup triumph. "She's easy to ride, does what you tell her

to. You can appreciate how quality she is.

"I think Buena, as intelligent as she is, knew she hadn't won in a year,"

Iwata added, "so winning the Japan Cup must have rejuvenated her. You can see it

in her eyes now. I can ride her with confidence.

"She ran a strong race in the Japan Cup, but I think she'll be even better

for the Arima Kinen. If Buena can run the way she knows how to run, we don't

have a single thing to worry about. I hope she can finish her career on a high

note."

"She's such an amazing horse," Matsuda said, "because she knows how to get

herself into shape. Just like always, she'll do what she's got to do here as

well.

"With female horses, a lot of them suddenly stop running when they get to a

certain age, but not Buena. She runs her heart out every start, and I've got all

the respect in the world for it.

"This is it for her," her trainer concluded. "I know the fans will miss her,

but I can always see her whenever I go to the farm."

Buena Vista has drawn post 1 in her swan song, and her enthusiasts hope that

is a foreshadowing of her finishing position as well.

Orfevre will try to become the third horse to sweep the Japanese Triple Crown and the Arima Kinen in the same year (©Japan Racing Association) As one champion rides off into the proverbial sunset, another is ambitiously eyeing the top spot on the podium -- the dominating three-year-old colt Orfevre, who just completed a sweep of the Japanese Triple Crown. Ironically, he's a full brother to the now-retired Dream Journey, who denied Buena Vista here in 2009. Normally, a Triple Crown winner would already own a win at Nakayama, through the Grade 1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas). But this year, because of the devastating Japanese earthquake, the first jewel was transferred to Tokyo. Orfevre ran out an impressive winner there, and went on to take the Grade 1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and the Grade 1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) in grand style. The superstar-in-embryo looks to extend his current winning streak to six in his first attempt versus older horses. Orfevre will try to emulate past Triple Crown winners Symboli Rudolf (1984) and Narita Brian (1994) by adding the Arima Kinen to his haul in the same year. At the same time, he hopes to avoid the fate of the last Triple Crown winner, Deep Impact, who was famously upset in the 2005 Arima Kinen.

Similar to Buena Vista, Orfevre was a near-miss second in his only prior

appearance at Nakayama. That came more than a year ago, however, and Orfevre is

an entirely different animal now.

"I get the impression he's in even better form than he was for the Kikuka Sho,"

jockey Kenichi Ikezoe said. "He's starting to have a real presence, looking very

intimidating to the other horses. He was so strong in the Kikuka Sho.

"It's not easy to win the Triple Crown, which is why there are only seven

horses who have done it. But we're not the champion here; we're the challenger.

I hope we can keep winning.

"We've got a horse who's retiring after this race so if we beat her, we can

be proud of it forever.

"I'm not going to lie, I think about him following in his brother's

footsteps. Dream Journey was so strong when he won it...I want to come through

with his little brother this year."

Trainer Yasutoshi Ikee deliberately skipped the Japan Cup in favor of

awaiting the Arima Kinen. The classic form was well represented by Japanese

Derby and St Leger runner-up Win Variation, who finished fifth in the Japan Cup.

"It's just less taxing on the body if we space out his races more," Ikee said

of Orfevre. "And like we had hoped, he has started to fill out while he was away

from the track. He raced really well in his two starts this fall, and he

shouldn't have a problem with Nakayama.

"He has a relatively late birthday compared to the other horses in his

generation, and I think he's in his growth spurt right now. "Win (Variation)

took the race to them and came in fifth (in the Japan Cup). Judging by that, I

think he's more than equipped to run well."

Ikee has another leading contender in Tosen Jordan. In the form of his life

at the moment, the late-blooming five-year-old was a record-setting winner of

the Grade 1 Tenno Sho Autumn two starts ago, and was a gallant second to Buena Vista in

the Japan Cup.

"He's had a string of tough races recently, so we thought he might need some

time to recharge his batteries," Ikee said. "But he's recovering just as fast as

he did after the Tenno Sho. We've been really impressed. He shouldn't have a

problem at all with the course at Nakayama. And he can adjust to any pace."

Tosen Jordan will renew his partnership with Craig Williams from post 10, one

spot to the outside of stablemate Orfevre in post 9.

Rounding out the Ikee triumvirate is multiple Grade 2 scorer To the Glory,

who hopes to rebound from an 11th in the Japan Cup.

Other Japan Cup alumni contesting the Arima Kinen, whose field is assembled

in part by popular vote of the fans, are third-placer Jaguar Mail; Eishin Flash,

eighth; Rose Kingdom, awarded the Japan Cup victory in 2010 but only ninth as

the defending champion; Victoire Pisa, 13th in his first start since his heroics

in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup; King Top Gun, 15th; and Pelusa, a shocking last

of 16.

Victoire Pisa bids to become the first repeat winner of the Arima Kinen since Symboli Kris S in 2002-03 (Andrew Watkins/Dubai Racing Club) Victoire Pisa, the reigning Arima Kinen champion, had too tall a task to attempt the Japan Cup off an eight-month, injury-induced layoff. The Katsuhiko Sumii charge is entitled to do better here, especially as a Nakayama specialist with a perfect four-for-four local mark. Mirco Demuro, whose tactical acuity played a decisive role in winning last year's Arima Kinen, will once again take the reins. "Demuro knows him like the back of his hand and hopefully, the race will unfold the way it did last year," Sumii noted. "It's difficult to compare him to last season when he was racing on a consistent basis, but clearly, he's improved since his last race (the Japan Cup). "He's shown no signs of stress, and he pretty much went right back to work after the race. Without a doubt, he's far more ready to run than last time. It was disappointing, the race he had and the performance he had.

"Yet still, he drew the third most number of votes from the fans for (the

Arima Kinen) and we have to be thankful for that. We hope he can run a race good

enough to satisfy all the support.

"Buena Vista was so strong in the Japan Cup, and it made us appreciate just

how meaningful last year's Arima Kinen was and still is. I hope we can do it

again."

Sumii will also send out multiple Grade 2 victor Rulership, who has not raced

since his fifth-place effort behind Earnestly in the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen on

June 26. The highly-regarded four-year-old is a son of past Horse of the Year

Air Groove.

"I wanted (jockey Ioritz) Mendizabal to get a good feel for him," Sumii said

of a recent piece of work. "He seemed very smooth out on the course, and the

jockey said he was very easy to handle. We were planning on to race him in the

Japan Cup, so he's more than ready. We pushed him these last three weeks and he

looks like he's in really good condition. He's not short of work, that's for

sure. His potential is incredible."

Earnestly faded to 14th in a frenetically-fast Tenno Sho Autumn, but two

starts back, garnered the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers at Nakayama.

Also in search of redemption is Hiruno d'Amour, the hero of the Grade 1 Tenno

Sho Spring, who flopped in the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe last time out.

The Mitsugu Kon trainee is much better than that, however. In his Arc prep in

the Group 2 Prix Foy, he

was just outdueled by the high-class Sarafina, with eventual Breeders' Cup Turf

winner St Nicholas Abbey well back in third.

The three-year-old gelding Red Davis has the distinction of beating Orfevre

in a Grade 3 back in January. Out of action for most of the summer and fall, he

returned triumphant in the Grade 3 Naruo Kinen on December 3, and faces a bigger

test Sunday.

"I didn't think I'd have a ride this year," jockey Yutaka Take said, "so I'm

really pleased (to pick up the mount).

"He's beaten both the Triple Crown winner and the Oka Sho champion (Marcellina)

fair and square. The fans have got to consider him a dark horse.

"He's shaken off the rust in his last race, which makes it all the more

exciting for me. He's never run at this distance before, but it doesn't mean he

can't handle it; he just hasn't experienced it yet. And from the feeling I've

gotten, he's not a short-distance runner."