No stopping Narukami in Kozukata Sho

Exciting Thunder Snow colt Narukami took his record to four wins from five starts with a convincing victory in the Jpn G2 Kozukata Sho at Morioka, Japan, on Tuesday, 2 September.

Making his NAR debut on the back of a five-length Fukushima Stakes win in June, the Hiroyasu Tanaka-trained three-year-old was quickly into his stride from the widest draw and tacked over to lead the 12 runners after a furlong.

Narukami travelled powerfully throughout the 10-furlong contest, with only Hug, Levant Univers and Meisho Zuiun able to get within striking distance of the Godolphin homebred in a strung-out field.

With all his rivals under pressure, Narukami increased his advantage in the straight and coasted home under a hands and heels ride from Keita Tosaki to score by an easy two and a half lengths.

Harry Sweeney, President of Godolphin in Japan, said: “This was an important race for Narukami as he earned the right to run in the Jpn G1 Japan Dirt Classic in October. He needed to win today to have enough prize money to get into the race, so this win was crucial.

“He actually had to win a ballot to be able to run today, as he has only raced four times with three wins, so didn’t quite have enough prize money for an automatic starting berth. He was lucky to get in and won very, very impressively.

“When Narukami won on his debut, we knew immediately that this was a quality horse who we hoped would go on to secure Black Type, as he did today. Unfortunately, he flopped inexplicably on his second outing, which put the kibosh on any plans to send him to the UAE Derby. With some changes in key personnel, he has regained his form and has now posted three wins on the trot. He is an exciting horse.

“Morioka has been a lucky track for us. We don’t go there too often, in fact we have only been there three times – twice with Lemon Pop, who won two Jpn G1 races, and now with Narukami, who to us is the heir to Lemon Pop. Narukami’s next start in the Japan Dirt Classic will be important for him.”