Do Deuce is the highest-ranked Japanese-trained horse on the world rankings after climbing into the Top Ten with a last-to-first victory in the Japan Cup, the nation’s most important international race at Tokyo racecourse on Sunday [Nov 24].
The five-year-old will have one final opportunity to ascend the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary list as he is set to bring the curtain down on his career in the Arima Kinen, the season-ending grand prix at Nakayama on December 22.
Ridden by Japanese legend Yutaka Take, Do Deuce (#10 from #18, +123pt) was sent off favourite in a solid-looking 14-runner line-up for the Japan Cup – with prize-money of ¥1.085bn ($7.7m/£5.56m), the fourth-richest race on the planet, taking place in front of an official corwd of 79,720.
A messy race ensued, however, with only a moderate pace that seriously compromised the chances of a strong-looking European trio of Goliath, Auguste Rodin and Fantastic Moon as they attempted to improve a dismal record that has seen no overseas horse even make the frame since Conduit was fourth in 2009. The Luca Cumani-trained Alkaased was the last European winner, in 2005 under Frankie Dettori.
However, it should be noted that the race setup hardly aided the winner, as Do Deuce is a proper middle-distance type who was anchored at the rear before getting the better of the sprint down the Tokyo straight. (The last three furlongs were clocked at 33.4s – only one other furlong diped below 12s. Do Deuce himself was timed at a breathtaking 32.7s for the last three.)
Do Deuce scored by a neck from dead-heaters Durezza – whose rider William Buick deserves credit for making a mid-race move when he realised the pace wasn’t up to much – and Arc flop Shin Emperor, who made the running.
Long since regarded as a top-class performer, Do Deuce has rediscovered his form this autumn after losing his way following his Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) success as a three-year-old in 2022, when he bettered none other than former world #1 Equinox.
Not many horses did that – only two, in fact, in Equinox’s lauded ten-race career – but Do Deuce failed to build on the performance, misfiring badly when sent to France for an Arc campaign and then stuttering at home last term before ending the year on a major high in the Arima Kinen.
But if it looked as if the son of Heart’s Cry was back on track, he was derailed again by a lacklustre effort at Meydan at the beginning of 2025 and another below-par display when he went home.
The summer break worked wonders, however, and Do Deuce returned with an eyecatching performance to win the Tenno Sho (Autumn) before this weekend’s success.
“We had a miserable experience overseas,” admitted trainer Yasuo Tomomichi, winning his second Japan Cup after Cheval Grand in 2017.
“This time we were running on a Japanese track and there was no way he was going to be defeated,” added Tomomichi. “This horse gets better with every start – I had thought that his last start was very much his best performance but he even exceeded that in the Japan Cup. I hope that he is able to show his very best in his final Arima Kinen.”
This was a fifth Japan Cup for 55-year-old idol Take. “I love horse racing and always have this feeling of wanting to win, which is something I’ve been able to keep,” he said.
“That’s the number one thing in why I’ve continued my racing career and when I come across a wonderful horse like Do Deuce, that feeling gets stronger.”
Having made a little headway down the back straight, King George winner Goliath (#12 from #11, -5pt) did best of the overseas trio in sixth place. After a winter break, he’ll be back on the international trail in 2025.
“He didn’t break well from the gate and after following a very slow pace, he couldn’t show his usual performance and late speed in the end,” commented trainer Francis-Henri Graffard.
“He was unable to get into a rhythm after following a race with no pace and used up in the critical stages. It didn’t go smoothly for him at all,” added Christophe Soumillon.
Around 15,000 racegoers stayed on after racing to attend a special retirement ceremony for dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (#27 from #24, -5pt), a son of the late, great Japanese equine icon Deep Impact.
In the race, though, he produced only a flat effort. “Ryan [Moore] said to me that it was a bit of a mess—the race was very slow early and it just didn’t suit him and it didn’t work out for him,” said trainer Aidan O’Brien.
German-trained Fantastic Moon was 12th of 14. “The pace we had expected was never there – the pace at least in Japanese standards was extremely slow,” said jockey Rene Piechulek. “So the horse never had the chance to make use of his late speed.”
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• Unlike traditional methods of racehorse rankings, TRC Global Rankings are a measure of an individual’s level of achievement over a rolling three-year period, providing a principled hierarchy of the leading horses, jockeys, trainers, owners and sires using statistical learning techniques. Racehorse rankings can be compared to similar exercises in other sports, like the golf’s world rankings or the ATP rankings in tennis.
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