Werther fell just short of victory in the Gr.1 Takarazuka Kinen.
From gate 13, jockey Hugh Bowman snagged the Tavistock gelding back to settle in the last four down the Hanshin straight the first time, sitting quietly on the bay until the 600m point.
The world's best jockey then brought Hong Kong’s 2015/16 Horse of the Year to the outside of the field and began to track up promisingly, making strides at every call. Cornering widest of all, he came with a withering run down the centre of the track and, entering Hanshin’s notorious rise at the 200m, he loomed up as the possible winner.
However, he could not reel in trainer Hidetaka Otonashi’s gutsy Mikki Rocket, who scraped home for a neck victory. Noble Mars was third for trainer Hiroshi Miyamoto, three lengths behind Werther, while Dubai Turf winner Vivlos (fourth), Arima Kinen winner Satono Diamond (sixth), Kikuka Sho victor Kiseki (eighth) and LONGINES Hong Kong Vase winner Satono Crown (12th), the defending champion, were among those in behind.
It was a notable effort from Werther given that he was entering the Takarazuka Kinen with only one run under his belt in the last four months. That was in the G3 Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1600m) three weeks ago, where he finished sixth to The Golden Age under top-weight.
Moore confirmed that Werther, with his season now at an end, would aim at the Gr.1 Hong Kong Cup in December, while he is eyeing off a Gr.1 Dubai Turf (1800m) run next year with the six-year-old. Bowman said that he would like to ride Werther whenever possible in his upcoming campaign.
Mikki Rocket was ridden by Ryuji Wada, who recently celebrated his 41st birthday. The jockey, best known as the regular rider of the recently-deceased T M Opera O, was scoring his first Gr.1 victory since that galloper’s 2001 Tenno Sho (Spring) win.
Click Here To Watch Takarazuka Kinen Winner Race 2018
1st Mikki Rocket (H. Otonashi,R. Wada), 2nd Werther (J. Moore,H. Bowman), 3rd Noble Mars (H. Miyamoto,R. Takakura), 4th Vivlos (Y. Tomomichi,Y. Fukunaga), 5th Danburite (H. Otonashi,Y. Take), 6th Satono Diamond (Y. Ikee,C. Lemaire), 7th Staphanos (H. Fujiwara,Y. Iwata), 8th Kiseki (K. Sumii,M. Demuro), 9th Perform A Promise (H.Fujiwara,K. Tosaki), 10th Smart Layer (R. Okubo,K. Matsuyama), 11th Strong Titan (Y. Ikee,Y. Kawada), 12th Satono Crown (N. Hori,S. Ishibashi), 13th Albert (N. Hori,K. Fujioka), 14th Seewind (T. Kimura,K. Ikezoe), 15th Tatsu Gogeki (I. Sameshima,S. Akiyama), 16th Saimon Ramesses (T. Umeda,F. Komaki)
Distance:2200 meters,(About 11 furlongs / 1 3⁄8 miles), Surface Turf, Track:Right-handed (inner course), Qualification:3-y-o & Up, Thoroughbreds,Weight;3-y-o 53 kg \ 4-y-o & up 58kg, Purse:¥ 286,000,000 (as of 2015),1st: ¥ 150,000,000
Credit: JRA