Abu Qir Bay closes strongly for third in G3 Kitakyushu Kinen

Abu Qir Bay ran an admirable race against seasoned sprinters as she stormed home to take third in the G3 Kitakyushu Kinen at Kokura, Japan, on Sunday, 6 July. 

Taking on older opposition for the first time, the recent G3 Aoi Stakes winner broke on terms from her wide draw and soon settled in 12th on the outside of the field. 

Abu Qir Bay was shuffled back a place at the halfway point, with jockey Ryusei Sakai continuing to plot a wide course on the Tomoyasu Sakaguchi-trained three-year-old into the straight. 

The Fine Needle homebred produced an excellent turn of foot entering the final furlong, passing the majority of the field to take third in the final strides and go down by three-quarters of a length in total. 

Harry Sweeney, President of Godolphin in Japan, said: “It was another great run by Abu Qir Bay. Being drawn in stall 14 in an 18-runner six-furlong sprint and having to negotiate a 180-degree bend midway while running at speed against older horses is far from ideal for a petite three-year-old filly. However, despite having to corner seven wide, she showed great acceleration in the home straight to get up to be third, beaten in total by less than a length. 

“She is very small but absolutely full of heart. I expect she will now have a summer break before returning in the autumn.”