“Contrail’s condition in the gate is getting worse. The trainer’s comments just after the race hinted at his own regrets. But as the three raced tightly to the finish, he failed to catch the 3-year-old champion Efforia by a length and barely managed to finish second, outrunning queen Gran Alegria by only a neck. He entered the stretch in the middle pack, eyeing his two rivals at the front.
He entered as the favorite, forming a triumvirate of top racers that also included Gran Alegria, a five-time G1 champion and the 2020 Best Sprinter, who was racing a 2,000-meter course for the second time in her career, and Efforia, winner of the 2021 Satsuki Sho, competing for the first time after his second-place finish in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby).Ĭontrail, however, was restless in the starting gate and fell slightly behind at the start. Following a nearly seven-month layoff, he returned to action in the Tenno Sho (on October 31). Not fully recovered from the fierce race, he passed on the Takarazuka Kinen in late June.Ĭontrail’s retirement was set after the two autumn races this year. He suffered his first loss in 2021 with a third-place showing in April 4’s Osaka Hai, hampered by heavy ground due to rain. Contrail, winner of the 81st Kikuka Sho on October 25, 2020.Įxpected to take a further leap this year, Contrail’s journey has been a rocky one.But Contrail’s showing in the dream matchup of three Triple Crown horses, which also included Daring Tact, a colt from the same generation, demonstrated his strong stature. In the subsequent Japan Cup, Contrail lost by a second to Almond Eye, the nine-time turf Grade 1 champion who ended her career in crowning glory. Leger) last year, achieving the feat for the first time in 15 years, since his sire, Deep Impact, won his own Triple Crown in 2005. “It will be hard to say goodbye, but I feel responsible to let him have a strong finish,” he said.Ĭontrail became Japan’s third undefeated Triple Crown winner in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Last year’s undefeated Triple Crown hero Contrail will bid farewell to the turf after the Japan Cup on Sunday, November 28.Īs the day of his final start approaches, trainer Yoshito Yahagi took a determined tone on the phone. Join JAPAN Forward and Shukan Gallop as we share some of the backstory of these top contenders in Japanese horse racing today. Launched in October 1993, the popular magazine is loved by many Japanese horse racing fans. The pair of stories were first published in Japanese by our media partner Shukan Gallop, a weekly magazine specializing in horse racing published in Japanese by The Sankei Shimbun as a Sankei Sports Special Edition. In the run-up to the 41st Japan Cup on Sunday, November 28, JAPAN Forward is highlighting two of the most accomplished horses in the field, Contrail and Shahryar.