3 minute read

At Nakayama on Sunday we had a spectacle before the G1 Sprinters' Stakes and another in the finish.

Very unusually for a Japanese runner Bien Fait did not want to go into the gates, with all the handlers trying their best and something we had never seen before in a Japanese race the jockey dismounting.   In many other places she would have past her allowable tries to enter but since this was such a rare phenomenon in Japan seemed like they were all bemused by Bein Fait's antics.  They could well have scratched him as he finished last!

Gran Alegria looked to be too far back as the horses entered the straight but no he put in an amazing sprint to win the race by 2 lengths to Danon Smash who had been up the front of the field and A Will A Way who tried to emulate the winner and took the third prize.  Gran Alegria has now won at G1 level over 1200m and 1600m.