Success Brocken collars Casino Drive in record time

Success Brocken collars Casino Drive in record time

Tetsu Takashima's SUCCESS BROCKEN (Symboli Kris S) got up late to deny Casino

Drive (Mineshaft) by a neck in Sunday's $2,233,000 February S. (Jpn-G1),

clocking about one mile in a record time of 1:34.6 on Tokyo's good track.

The result may be read as a changing of the guard on the Japanese dirt scene.

The top two finishers, both four-year-olds, dethroned seven-year-old champions

Kane Hekili (Fuji Kiseki) and Vermilion (El Condor Pasa). Kane Hekili, Japan's

reigning champion dirt horse, had won the 2006 February, while Vermilion,

Japan's top-ranked dirt horse of 2007, had captured last year's running and was

attempting a title defense.

With Hiroyuki Uchida aboard, Success Brocken settled into a stalking third in

the early going. Leading the way was the speedy Espoir City (Gold Allure), who

was closely tracked by Casino Drive in second. Kane Hekili scraped the paint in

fourth, while Vermilion bided his time in midpack on the outside.

Espoir City tried to poach an insurmountable advantage turning for home, but

he began to tire midway up the demanding stretch. Casino Drive then launched his

bid and struck the front, only to find himself under attack from both sides.

Success Brocken was making rapid headway on the outside, and the nearly black

colt produced an irresistible late charge.

Victory was not yet assured, however. Kane Hekili also began to strike top

gear along the inside. For a second, it looked as if he might just claim the

spoils, but Kane Hekili could not find enough in the waning yards. Success

Brocken was narrowly, but clearly, in command at the wire, and Casino Drive

managed to hold on to runner-up honors by a head.

The final time shaved .10 off the previous record of 1:34.7 set by Meisho Bowler in

the 2005 February. The triumvirate separated themselves from the rest of the pack, with Espoir

City checking in another 1 1/4 lengths back in fourth. Ferrari Pisa (Touch Gold)

snared fifth by a neck from Vermilion, who never delivered his customary rally.

Admire Subaru (Admire Boss), Bamboo Ere (Afleet), Tosen Bright (Brian's Time),

Hishikatsu Leader (Fusaichi Concorde), Cafe Olympus (Grand Slam), Victory

Tetsuni (Gone West), Nanyo Hilltop (Charismatic), Kikuno Salire (Jade Robbery),

Sunrise Bacchus (Hennessy) and Officer (Fusaichi Pegasus) completed the order of

finish.

"I didn't think he would win today," Success Brocken's trainer Hideaki

Fujiwara said. "He has potential, but I just thought a victory like this would

come a lot farther down the line.

"This was the race we had been targeting all long, and we built him up for

it," he added. "I'm not trying to take anything away from him, but I really

thought he would need more time to get the most out of his ability.

"The conditions were all there for the horse today. It was 1,600 meters and

we had an outside draw. I think it was much easier for Uchida to ride today than

some of the races at 2,000 meters he's had recently.

"When Kane Hekili came up on us from the inside, I thought we were through,"

Fujiwara admitted. "There were two class horses in the field, and I was just

hoping our horse would make them work for it."

"The horse has grown up fast," said Uchida, who won his first Grade 1 dirt

race since his switch from the local circuit to the JRA. "The race went much

smoother for him today. We weren't really marking anyone, but with Kane Hekili,

Casino Drive and Vermilion being the three strongest, we were wondering who

would have the best day. He's been up against some very tough competition

recently, and I think that's what has helped him come into form."

Success Brocken had been knocking on the

proverbial door in major races against older horses, and the late-developing

colt finally put it all together on Sunday. The winner of the Japan Dirt Derby

at Ohi last summer, he just missed to Vermilion in the JBC Classic in November

and was coming off a pair of thirds to Kane Hekili in the Tokyo Daishoten and

Kawasaki Kinen. His February coup improved his record to 11-6-1-2 with a

bankroll exceeding $2.96 million.

Kane Hekili's rider Christophe Lemaire commented on why he just failed in his

attempt to win four in a row.

"I think his condition was perfect. But today the reason was that the race

was a little bit different than the last three races -- those had been more than

a mile, slow pace and a fast finish," Lemaire said. "This time the pace was

different and the finish was not as brilliant as last time. But he ran very,

very good and I'm very happy with him. Now he's seven years old, and he's still

a great horse and we had a perfect race with good leaders. We had a big gap in

the straight to overcome. He tried very hard, I tried very hard. But today the

winner was the best. No regrets at all.

"Just a little change of rhythm and for a horse seven years old, maybe he

prefers when he controls a little bit more of the race and makes a fast finish.

But I'm very happy with his run today," the Frenchman summed up.

Bred in Japan by Tanigawa Bokujo, Success Brocken is out of the Japanese

Grade 2 heroine Success Beauty (Sunday Silence). His third dam is Colonial

Waters (Pleasant Colony), the winner of the 1989 John A. Morris H. (G1) at

Saratoga, who is herself a half-sister to Grade 1 turf star Southern Sultan

(Stage Door Johnny) and Grade 2 victor Iron Constitution (Iron Ruler). This is

also the family of 2006 Frizette S. (G1) queen, Sutra (Meadowlake), and at a

further remove, successful sire Carson City (Mr. Prospector).

Fujiwara indicated that Success Brocken would now enjoy a holiday.

"He left everything he had out there today, and now it's time for a break.

When he first came to the stable, I remember him being so weak and he just

continues to amaze us with his spirit."