Vacation springs upset victory in Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun

The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby gained a new leader December 18, when the promising Vacation rallied to a last-second triumph in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at .

Having won three of his four starts on the lower-level National Association of Racing (NAR) circuit in Japan, Vacation entered the 1,600-meter race as an exciting prospect, though he was overshadowed in the wagering by five presumably higher-quality Japan Racing Association (JRA) representatives.

But a perfect storm of circumstances enabled Vacation to spring an 8-1 upset. Frontrunning Iolite, one of the JRA runners, sprinted to the front and carved out fast fractions of :23.3 and :48.9 over the deep and tiring bullring racetrack, which spread out the field over 15 lengths or so. Vacation settled in mid-pack under jockey Hiroto Yoshihara, who waited for the right moment to strike.

Around the final turn Yoshihara sent Vacation inside of runners, saved ground and split horses at the top of the stretch. Once in the clear Vacation’s task still appeared formidable, because Iolite had sprinted to a four-length lead at the top of the stretch.

But Iolite was growing leg-weary from his early efforts, struggled through the penultimate 200 meters in :14.2 and the patiently ridden Vacation still had something left. In the final 100 meters, Vacation produced a last-ditch burst of speed to reach even terms with the pacesetter and cross the wire a head in front.

Vacation stopped the timer in 1:41.9, just shy of the 1:41.6 clocking posted by future group 1 winner Le Vent Se Leve in the 2017 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun. T's Dunk (NAR) and Maysho Tensui (JRA) rallied from off the pace to round out the superfecta.

Trained by Kenichi Takatsuki, Vacation is a son of Espoir City, a two-time JRA and seven-time NAR group 1 winner who competed in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). Espoir City was a high-class dirt runner, though Vacation’s pedigree also includes some grass influences through dam Tenno Benibaram, a daughter of 1988 Mile Championship (G1) winner Soccer Boy.

With his victory in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun, Vacation earned 20 qualification points on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby and leapfrogged Cattleya Sho victor Dieu du Vin to sit atop the early leaderboard. The series continues with the February 16 Hyacinth Stakes and the March 29 Fukuryu Stakes, both at Tokyo Racecourse.