Father's day in the Takarazuka Kinen as Meisho Tabaru follows up for sire Gold Ship

Meisho Tabaru led the field from start to finish for his first Grade 1 title in the Takarazuka Kinen, a race particularly associated with his sire Gold Ship.

Big Red Farm's Gold Ship, the quirky but immensely able grey, is the only dual winner of this 11-furlong race in which the runners are voted for by fans. He claimed the event in 2013 and 2014 before being sent off favourite for a hat-trick only to rear up as the stalls opened, trailing the field by a distance and beating only one home.

Meisho Tabaru, a four-year-old bred by Mishima Farm in Urakawa out of winning French Deputy mare Meisho Tsubakuro, became Gold Ship's second top-level winner after his Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) scorer Uberleben.

Fifth in this year's Dubai Turf, he had won up to Grade 2 level in the Kobe Shimbun Hai and benefitted from a brilliant ride by Yutaka Take, getting away quickly from stall 12, sticking close to the rail and coming home three lengths clear of favourite Bellagio Opera.

Trainer Mamoru Ishibashi, who won the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) as a jockey in 2006 and opened his yard in 2014, was also registering his first Grade 1 victory as a trainer while it was a fifth in this very race for Take, successful on Inari One (1989), Mejiro McQueen (1993), Marvelous Sunday (1997) and Deep Impact (2006).

Take said: "I'm so happy. I was so happy I could cry. I feel the bond that the horses make with me, or the bond that the people make with the horses.

"Basically, I wanted to take the initiative, but I hadn't decided what pace to go at. I didn't want to go any faster than the pace I made and I didn't want to slow down either, so I thought it was just right. I think the horse was in good condition and I wasn't worried about the condition of the track, so I think everything went well."

Goffs London Sale

Read next

McDonnell relaxed about prospects of another Group 1 winner through bargain offering Shes Perfect