Though he was the 9th-favorite out of 11 with odds of 25.0 entering Saturday's G3 Radio Nikkei Hai Kyoto Nisai Stakes, Justin Vista led a rapidly-accelerating trio including 10th-favorite Ask Edinburgh and 3rd-favorite Going to Sky on the outside to claim a longshot victory by one length.
4th-favorite Nettaiya Rai set the pace for most of the race and gave a good challenge from the rail, but couldn't keep up with the podium finishers, who all charged in from the outside on the final straight. 7th-favorite Meisho Solaris and 3rd-favorite Rock Ptarmigan kept the pace behind Nettaiya Rai, but they both faded quickly on the final straight.
Going to Sky made his move on the fourth and final corner to claim a brief lead entering the final 200m, but was caught by Justin Vista and Ask Edinburgh shortly before the finish. It was a frustrating afternoon for heavy favorite Valsecito (odds of 2.2), who sat towards the back of the pack for most of the race and finished 7th. Valsecito was momentarily last exiting the final corner, and couldn't begin the spurt he needed due to a good challenge by 8th-favorite closer Flieger and a magnificent mark by Justin Vista's jockey, Yuichi Kitamura.
Justin Vista's sire Saturnalia now has four graded stakes winners among his progeny, following Shohei ('25 Kyoto Shimbun Hai), Fandom ('25 Mainichi Hai), and Festival Hill ('25 Fantasy Stakes). Though still relatively early into his stud career, this year's success seems to justify his ¥10,000,000 stud fee.
Justin Vista was the fifth-favorite in his debut race last month, also at Kyoto Racecourse, and defied the odds again. His dam Pebble Garden (dms. Deep Impact) was winless in four starts, but Justin Palace managed to show a glimpse of his great damsire's might today.
Jockey Yuichi Kitamura claims his 992nd career win with Justin Palace, after also winning the 7th race at Kyoto with G T Man, and is clearly poised to earn his 1,000th win soon. Tomorrow he'll challenge the Japan Cup with third-favorite Croix du Nord, and the reigning Derby champion jockey has surely proven that he's at the top of his game with today's upset victory.
It's the second graded stakes win of the year for Masahiro Miki, following Erika Express's victory in January's Fairy Stakes and runner-up finish at the Shuka Sho. Given Justin Vista's early accomplishments at Kyoto Racecourse, including one of the longest graded races for two-year-olds, perhaps he has the potential to claim Miki a second spring Tenno Sho by following in the footsteps of fellow Deep Impact descendant Justin Palace?
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