FROM: Media & Publicity Department, THE JAPAN RACING ASSOCIATION (JRA)DATE: April 17, 2021

SUBJECT: RESULTS OF THE 23RD NAKAYAMA GRAND JUMP (J-G1)
The Nakayama Grand Jump, the biggest steeplechase event in spring, span off from the biannual
Nakayama Daishogai (J-G1, 4,100m) steeplechase races in 1999. The history of the Nakayama Daishogai
dates back to 1934 when the two races, one each in spring and autumn, were created for the purpose ofmaking them the most prestigious and attractive races in steeplechase racing, just like the Tokyo Yushun(Japanese Derby) in flat racing.
In 2000, a year after the Nakayama Grand Jump received its current name, the race became aninternational event. Seven foreign runners from five countries took part and Boca Boca (IRE, byMandalus) from France finished second to Gokai (JPN, by Judge Angelucci) that year. During 2000 2010 when the Nakayama Grand Jump was an invitational event, St. Steven (NZ, by Hula Town) was thefirst foreign contingent to claim the title in 2002. He finished third the following year while Australiancontender Karasi (IRE, by Kahyasi) became the first horse to win three consecutive titles between 2005
and 2007. In 2013, eighth favorite Irish raider Blackstairmountain (IRE, by Imperial Ballet) became thefirst European contender to claim the title.
The Nakayama Grand Jump features 12 jumps over the figure-of-eight-shaped course, which includes
five up-and-downs over the banks and three hurdles set on the outside turf towards the final stretch. The
310-meter uphill stretch before the wire also is quite a test for many of the runners especially after
running at a solid pace throughout the race.
2016-18 Best Steeplechase Horse Oju Chosan, who registered his fifth back-to-back Nakayama GrandJump victory last year, commenced his 10-year-old season with this race after finishing third in last year’s
Kyoto Jump Stakes (J-G3, 3,140m, Nov.14), his first defeat in 14 jump starts. Meanwhile, 2020
Nakayama Daishogai winner and Best Steeplechase Horse Meisho Dassai came off an overwhelming
seven-length victory in the Hanshin Spring Jump (J-G2, 3,900m, Mar.13), followed by Smart Apex insecond and Thinking Dancer in third. The spring J-G1 field also included Ken Hovawart and Tagano
Espresso who came off second and third, respectively, in the Nakayama Daishogai, Meiner Prompt,
third-place finisher of the 2019 Nakayama Grand Jump, and Hiro Shige Seven who finished fourth in thePegasus Jump Stakes (3,350m; Mar.20).
THE 23RD NAKAYAMA GRAND JUMP (J-G1)4-year-olds & up, 4,250 meters (about 2 and 2/3 miles), turf
Saturday, April 17, 2021 Nakayama Racecourse
11th Race
Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 142,660,000 (about US$ 1,359,000 <US$1=¥105>)4-y-o: 62kg (about 137 lbs), 5-y-o & up: 63kg (about 139 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares
Course Record: 4:43.0
Race Record: 4:43.0 [Oju Chosan (JPN, by Stay Gold), 2018]
Safety factor: 16 runners Going: Good to Firm
Weather: Cloudy
FP

BKPP

1

6

6

2

2

2

3

3

3

HorseJockey

Meisho Dassai (JPN)
Kazuma Mori
Ken Hovawart (JPN)
Shigefumi Kumazawa
Tagano Espresso (JPN)
Takaya Ueno

S&AColor
Wgt

H8d.b.
63.0
H8b.
63.0
H9b.
63.0

Odds(Fav)

1.8
(1)
21.1
(5)
9.1
(3)

Margin4:50.142-1/2SireDam(Dam’s Sire)

Owner
BreederTrainer

Suzuka Mambo
Suzuka Bloom(Scatter the Gold)
Marvelous Sunday
Eishin Pansy(Tony Bin)
Black Tide
Tagano Reventon(King Kamehameha)

Yoshio Matsumoto
Grand Stud
Yuji Iida
Hiroaki Nakanishi
Mario Stable
Hideyuki Mori
Ryoji Yagi
Niikappu Tagano Farm Ltd
Tadao Igarashi

4775446557

11888

Smart Apex (JPN)
Masayuki Nakamura
Oju Chosan (JPN)
Shinichi Ishigami
Meiner Prompt (JPN)
Shinya Kitazawa
Hiro Shige Seven (JPN)
Jun Takada
Thinking Dancer (JPN)
Yusuke Igarashi

C4br.
62.0
H10b.
63.0
G9d.b.
63.0
H6b.
63.0
G8ch.
63.0

19.6
(4)
2.2

7

1-1/4

(2)
67.2
(8)
45.2
(6)
56.8
(7)

2-1/2

DSDS

Heart's Cry
Smart Movie(Sakura Bakushin O)
Stay Gold
Shadow Silhouette(Symboli Kris S)
Matsurida Gogh
Cosmo Krabbe(Meiner Love)
Deep Brillante
Daiichi Botan(Timber Country)
ConduitSpring Board(Assatis)

Toru Okawa
Smart Incorporated
Hidekazu Asami
Chosan Co., Ltd.
Naoyoshi Nagayama
Shoichiro Wada
Takefumi Okada
Cosmo View FarmTomoyasu Sakaguchi
Takashi Yoshioka
Go Kitada
Yoshihito Kitade
Yuji Sato
Okada Stud
Yasuo Takeichi

FP: Final Position / BK: Bracket Number / PP: Post Position / S&A: Sex & Age / Wgt: Weight (kg) / DS: Distance
Color: b.=bay / bl.=black / br.=brown / ch.=chestnut / d.b.=dark bay / d.ch.=dark chestnut / g.=gray / w.=white
NOTE 1: No Foreign Contenders
NOTE 2: Figures quoted under Odds are shown in form of decimal odds (single unit is ¥100), and Fav indicates the order of favorites.

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 2,356,881,100
Pay-off (for ¥100)
Win
No.6
No.6
Place
No.2
No.3

¥ 180
¥ 110
¥ 280
¥ 200

Bracket Quinella
Quinella Place

Turnover for the Day: ¥ 9,709,391,600

2-6
3-6
2-3

¥ 350
¥ 230
¥ 850

Quinella
ExactaTrio
Trifecta

Attendance: 2,671

2-6
6-2
2-3-6
6-2-3

¥ 1,400¥ 1,560¥ 1,730¥ 4,810Winner= 36 starts, 10 wins, 4 seconds, 3 thirds (17 starts, 9 wins, 4 seconds, 2 thirds *steeplechases only)
Added money: ¥ 66,280,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 384,946,000 (¥ 375,146,000 *steeplechases only)

Meisho Dassai Extends Winning Streak to Four in This Year’s Nakayama Grand Jump
Race favorite Meisho Dassai claimed his fourth consecutive win in this year’s Nakayama Grand Jump tovalidate his 2020 JRA Award Best Steeplechase Horse title. After finishing second to Oju Chosan in lastyear’s edition, he registered three successive graded titles—in the Tokyo High-Jump (J-G2, 3,110m), theNakayama Daishogai (J-G1, 4,100m) last year, and the Hanshin Spring Jump (J-G2, 3,900m) inMarch—coming into this race. Both trainer Yuji Iida and jockey Kazuma Mori cerebrates their second
J-G1 victory following last year’s Nakayama Daishogai with this horse.
Breaking smoothly from stall six, eight-year-old Meisho Dassai eased back to mid-division, jumping thefirst obstacle (fence no.5) in fifth. As the field of eight stretched out into a long line led by Oju Chosan
after the third jump (no. 2), the son of Suzuka Mambo gradually improved position and, when Oju
Chosan conceded the lead to Tagano Espresso after the fifth jump (no.6), advanced to third to stalk thedefending champion. Meisho Dassai closed in on the frontrunner in the last two jumps and made bid
immediately after completing the last jump, taking the front 200 meters out and easily pulling away to afour-length victory.
“I let the horse race as he pleased, which resulted in racing near Oju Chosan. I was sure of his victorywhen we jumped the last obstacle. It wasn’t an easy race but I’m overwhelmed with joy that we were able
to defeat Oju Chosan in a G1 race,” commented Kazuma Mori.
Fifth pick Ken Hovawart, settled in fifth after leading the field in the first jump (no.5) and maintained
this position until the final corner, where the eight-year-old son of Marvelous Sunday made bid, advanced

to third jumping the last obstacle (no.10) and stretched well behind the eventual winner, passing Tagano
Espresso 100 meters out for a well-fought second.
Third choice Tagano Espresso pressed the pace in second in the early stage, took command after the fifthjump (no.6) and held on well in the stretch, though overtaken by the first two finishers, to finish 2-1/2
lengths behind the runner-up in third.
2016-2020 Nakayama Grand Jump champion Oju Chosan chased the leader in second or third after
briefly leading the field at the early stage but as the rivals made their move approaching the 11th jump
(no.9), he struggled to keep up with them and failed to launch his trademark late drive, finishing a distant
fifth.
Other Horses:
4th: (7) Smart Apex—tracked leaders in 3rd or 4th, dueled with Tagano Espresso for lead after 7th
jump (no.7), gradually fell back after 11th jump (no.9)
6th: (5) Meiner Prompt—settled in 6th, made headway after 10th jump (no.8) to follow frontrunners ingood striking position, weakened after last jump (no.10)
7th: (1) Hiro Shige Seven—trailed in rear throughout most of trip, never a factor
8th: (8) Thinking Dancer—sat around 7th until 10th jump (no.4), no factor
Fractional time:

Last 1 mile: 1:45.1

Positions at each corner (2nd lap):

1st corner
2nd corner
3rd corner
4th corner

Last 4 furlongs: 51.8

Last 3 furlongs: 38.3(3,*7)-(4,6)-2-5=8,1(*3,7)-(4,6)2-5=1,83(7,6)(4,2,5)=1=8
3,6(7,2,5)-4=1=8

NOTE 1: Underlined bold number indicates the winning horse.
NOTE 2: Horse numbers are indicated in the order of their positions at each corner, with the first position listed first. Two or more horses
inside the same parentheses indicate that they were positioned side by side. Hyphens between the horse numbers indicatethat there is distance between the former and the latter. The asterisk indicates a slight lead.