The Tokyo City Cup (Grade 3)- $100.000 Purse
SA- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Half on the Dirt
April 18, 2021

The last time that No More Haggis went a mile and a half, he won the Grade 3 Valedictory Stakes by four lengths. In shorter races, he was not able to show his ability to the fullest, but here in The Tokyo City Cup, he would go twelve again, and once again, he would win by four lengths. The Ginger Haggis colt is trained by YME Stable, and for the long time trainer, it is their first win in the race. His jockey, V Espinoza, has experienced success here before and now wins the race for the fourth time. Congratulations to them! The time of the race was 2:28.71, the second fastest amongst the editions held at this distance. Let’s take a look!

(½ Mile- :49.80)- Puppet Master jumps out to the lead for Spankys Barn, and clears the field by about a length and a half. He is able to move all the way to the rail with ease, and stays along to the inside for the opening turn. Command Me, from Serenity Stables, takes the second spot, running about four wide around the first turn, before being able to move to the second lane down the frontstretch for the first time. His stablemate, Charlemagnes Command stalks the pacesetters in third to the inside, while Mad Monster, out of The Sidley Stud, initially broke well before settling into the middle of the field. Our eventual winner, No More Haggis, from YME Stable, was not one of the quickest of the gate, but he would inch his way forward into the fifth position, running just to the inside of Simmer Down Stable’s Hurricane Run, who also started well. Set In Space (Nakamura Stables) was within a length of them, and further back, the trailers are Hollywood Dump (Night Rider Stables) and Unfold (Harrell Racing).

(¾ Mile- 1:14.33)- Not much changes in this race as Puppet Master leads the way while not overdoing himself in the first half of the race. Command Me is second, keeping him honest, but not making a push for the lead. Behind them, No More Haggis is positioned between Charlemagnes Command and Hurricane Run, and the three of them are about two lengths from the front. Mad Monster and Set In Space have dropped well off the pace now, but even further back Hollywood Dump and Unfold have conceded a lot of ground.

(Top Of Stretch, 1.7F To Stretch)- Down the backstretch, Puppet Master is able to maintain a graceful stride, and opens up a little bit on the second place Command Me. As he continues to do this into the turn, he looks good going into the stretch and Command Me did not seem as though he was going to have anything for him. Behind him, it was Hurricane Run that, for now, was looking the best of the three wide stalkers, as he looks to be the first to get around Command Me, though he must do this while running four wide. No More Haggis is able to move to the inside of Command Me on exit of the turn and it seems as though a lane will develop nicely for him. Charlemagnes Command stayed on the rail and was in striking range. Midway through the turn, Mad Monster starts to show a lot more ambition as he tries to make up ground, and perhaps Hollywood Dump was going to have something for the stretch. Set In Space was dropping back, and Unfold still trailed the field.

(Finish- 2:28.71)- In the stretch, No More Haggis was incredible and had the rest of the field looking like they were in slow motion. He simply poured it on, and in a blink of an eye made the pass for the lead and began opening up with every stride as he got near the wire. In the end, it is an impressive four length win for this one! Puppet Master, in regards to the rest of the field, remained strong and is second by almost two lengths over a close photo for third. Hurricane Run gets up for show, with Charlemagnes Command taking fourth place spoils. Command Me dropped to fifth, beating Mad Monster, Unfold, Hollywood Dump, and Set In Space.

About The Winner- No More Haggis, trained by YME Stable and ridden to victory by V Espinoza, is a four year old colt by Ginger Haggis and is out of No Scrubs. He was bred in New York as a first quarter two year old by YME Stable, the only trainer for which he has ever known. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his fourth in 13 starts, and his second graded win. His career earnings are now $239.120.

Track: Fast
Time: :49⁴  1:14¹  2:03³  2:28³

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 3 – 5 Paid 23.50
$1 Trifecta: 3 – 5 – 7 Paid 245.70

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES