Racing career Agnes World

1 racing career

1.1 1997 & 1998: career
1.2 1999: four-year-old season
1.3 2000: five-year-old season

racing career
1997 & 1998: career

agnes world began racing career win in maiden race on 1200 metres @ hakodate racecourse on 7 june 1997. in july stepped in class grade iii hakodate futurity stakes on same course , distance , won again, beating saratoga beauty in record time of 1:09.8. after mid-season break, colt returned contest japan s prestigious race two-year-olds, grade asahi hai futurity stakes on 1600 metres @ nakayama racecourse , finished fourth behind grass wonder. on final start of year, agnes world won on 1600 metres on dirt @ kawasaki racecourse on 27 december.

on three-year-old debut, agnes world finished second dantsu sirius in grade iii nikkan sports sho shinzan kinen @ kyoto racecourse in january, subsequently injured , missed rest of season.

1999: four-year-old season

after absence of year, agnes world returned finish sixth in grade iii garnet stakes @ nakayama on 18 january , finished second in minor stakes race on 1200 metres @ kyoto. in april, on same course , distance, finished second meiner love in grade iii silk road stakes. next 2 races moved highest class: finished fifth masa lucky in takamatsunomiya kinen @ chukyo , eighth behind air jihad in yasuda kinen @ tokyo racecourse. colt returned winning form when dropped in class 2 sprint races @ kokura racecourse. in july won kitakyushu tankyori stakes in record time of 1:06.5 , in following month added win in kokura nikkei open.

after wins @ kokura, agnes world, accompanied stablemate dojima muteki, sent europe prepared run in group 1 prix de l abbaye @ longchamp racecourse on 3 october. entered race without prep race in europe , racing on 1000 metres, distance had never attempted. godolphin colt bertolini started favourite ahead of sainte marine (prix du gros chene) , imperial beauty (world trophy) japanese duo next in betting on 6.8/1. other runners included keos (prix de ris-orangis, prix de seine-et-oise), arkadian hero (mill reef stakes), black rock desert (prix de saint-georges), mitcham (king s stand stakes), averti (king george stakes), sampower star (duke of york stakes) , yorkies boy (palace house stakes). agnes world among leaders , went front approaching last 400 metres. driven out yutaka take win short neck imperial beauty keos length , half way in third place.

agnes world returned japan last 2 races of 1999. @ kokura in november recorded first major win in japan sixteen months when defeated masa lucky half length in grade ii cbc sho. on final appearance of season contested sprinters stakes in december , finished second, beaten neck five-year-old black hawk.

2000: five-year-old season

on first run five-year-old agnes world made second attempt win takamatsunomiya kinen , finished third, beaten neck , same king halo , divine light.

in summer of 2000, horse sent europe contest 2 major sprint races in united kingdom. again accompanied dojima muteki air shakur being prepared run in king george vi , queen elizabeth stakes. @ royal ascot on 20 june, week after arrival in britain, started 16/1 outsider in twenty-three runner field king s stand stakes , finished second, 1 , half lengths behind nuclear debate. on 13 july @ newmarket racecourse, agnes world started 4/1 favourite july cup on 6 furlongs. on eve of race masa matsuda, had handled horse s preparation interviewed guardian , said @ 3 , 4 years, @ home when galloped, when got races child, because nervous. time biting me or kicking me. adult. more relaxed when goes racing, , getting better time . agnes world s main rivals in betting lincoln dancer (sandy lane stakes), primo valentino (middle park stakes), lend hand (gran criterium, hungerford stakes, duke of york stakes), monashee mountain (tetrarch stakes) , pipalong (palace house stakes). yutaka take tracked leaders primo valentino made running before making challenge in last quarter mile. lincoln dancer took lead furlong out, agnes world overhauled leader in final strides win short head, pipalong short head away in third. victory first, , still only, group 1 victory in britain horse trained in japan. commenting through interpreter, take said horse felt before race felt confident. thought enough. great pleasure me win , happy . jra spokesman yukio nakayama said 130 years ago british people introduced horseracing japan. have imported many, many horses here, , have won race here .

agnes world returned japan sprinters stakes on 1 october in finished take second, 1 , half lengths behind front-running 257/1 outsider daitaku yamato. in november, horse sent united states contest breeders cup sprint @ churchill downs. racing on dirt first time since december 1997 never looked win , finished eighth of fourteen runners behind kona gold.