No. 1 pick Deep Sky came home first in the NHK Mile Cup on Sunday afternoon, comfortably winning the mile championship for 3-year-olds at Tokyo Racecourse ahead of Black Shell.

The Hirofumi Shii-ridden Deep Sky took the tape a length and three-quarters in front of Black Shell, who was the third choice in a full field of 18. The winning time was 1 minute, 34.2 seconds on good turf. Danon Go Go, the 14th choice, finished third, almost two lengths behind the runner-up.

“I was working him out the whole time, and the trainer and the owner were targeting this race all long,” said Shii, who lifted his first NHK Mile Cup in six tries. “I’m glad we achieved what we set out to achieve.”

Second favorite Faridat, with Yutaka Take in the saddle, was fifth behind long-shot Dream Signal, who trailed the top three by three and a half lengths on a surface soaked by the overnight downpour.

Goshawk Ken, the 2-year-old champion among colts, flamed out to 12th.

The Fuchu crowd witnessed a strong performance from the Mitsugu Kon-trained Deep Sky, who stormed through the last three furlongs in a race best 33.9 seconds. Shii’s mount took position at the back during the trip, traveling two from the rear held up by Danon Go Go.

Goshawk Ken, who flopped in his prep race last month and was expected to rebound in the NHK Mile Cup, grabbed the lead off the blocks as he tried to run with it—the same tactic he used to win the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes in December. His new partner, Hiroyuki Uchida, had him out in front for the first 200 meters of the 525-meter straight, but Goshawk Ken could not hold up the rest of the way.

As most of the runners went outside in search of firm going, Shii guided Deep Sky to the inside where the turf was not as bad as it appeared. It was hardly a coincidence that jockeys Hiroki Goto and Yusuke Fujioka did the same with Black Shell and Danon Go Go, respectively.

“I knew everyone was going to try to take the outside route on the straight, so as long as the horse could handle it, I wanted to go inside,” Shii said. “It worked out alright. I managed to get a good patch of the turf on the inside.”

Once Shii unleashed Deep Sky on the stretch, there was no turning back. Black Shell came off the last turn looking victory bound, but Deep Sky caught up to him midway through and after that, it was a one-horse show.

“The surface was real soft today, but the conditions are the same for everyone,” Shii said. “I didn’t want to do anything out of the ordinary and just focus on bringing out the best from the horse. I wasn’t thinking of positioning or anything like that; from the moment he went off, I wanted to let him run at his own pace.”

Deep Sky, by Agnes Tachyon out of Abi, is now 3 of 10 for his career, with earnings surpassing 161 million yen. He is expected to race in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) on June 1, which will also be held at Tokyo.
(Source: JRA)