1. Vodka (JPN) M5 Christophe Lemaire
2. Oken Bruce Lee (JPN) C4 Hiroyuki Uchida
3. Red Desire (JPN) F3 Hirofumi Shii
4. Conduit (IRE) C4 Ryan Moore
5. Air Shady (JPN) H8 Hiroki Goto

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On Sunday the classy Katsuhiko Sumii-trained Vodka took out the 29^th running of the world’s richest turf race, the Group 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse in her third attempt.

It was an extremely close call, five-year-old Vodka starting as the odds-on favourite at $3.60 pulled up trumps in a photo finish over Oken Bruce Lee ($4.70) by a nose with Red Desire ($9.60) a further length and a half back in third. Ridden by Christophe Lemaire, the winner ran a sharp 2:22.4 seconds over the 2400m race, just outside of the Cumani-trained Alkaased’s race record of 2:22.1 set in 2005, in the third fastest Japan Cup in history.

With the victory Vodka, the 2008 Horse of the Year, became the first Japanese female runner to win the Japan Cup securing the winner’s prize of nearly US $2.8 million. The filly now boasts 10 victories from 25 career starts for over 1.3 billion yen in prizemoney earned.

The highest seeded international runner in the Cup was Conduit. The M. Stoute-trained horse coming off two successive Breeder’s Cup Turf victories, managed to finish a brave fourth on Sunday in the final race of his career and will now be sent to stud at the Big Red Farm in Hokkaido next year.

Last year’s Japan Cup winner Screen Hero ran a disappointing 13^th.

Vodka, by Tanino Gimlet out of Tanino Sister, pulled up with a nosebleed after her sixth top level win at Fuchu and has been ruled out of the Arima Kinen (2500m) at Nakayama in December.

2009 Japan Cup Results:

As a part of the four “Japan Autumn International” series races, the Japan Cup offers a total prize money amount of 533.5 million yen, approximately US$5.615 million.

However despite this large amount of money offered to horses and their owners, the race has failed to attract international competitors.

The new bonus system, which was originally only awarded to the Japan Cup and Japan Cup Dirt winners, offers horses who have competed in specific overseas races extra prize money if they finish in the top three places in the Japan Cup.

The list of international designated races include the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Breeders’ Cup Turf, Breeders’ Cup Classic, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, The Derby, The Irish Derby, Prix du Jockey Club, Breeders’ Cup Classic and Dubai Sheema Classic.

With a track distance of 2400 metres on the Tokyo turf racecourse, the organisers of the Cup are hoping to attract the best 3 year old and over staying horses from around the world.

The system works by allowing the 2009 winner and runner-up and 2008 winner of each designated race to qualify for the bonus if it finishes in the top three places in the Japan Cup.

Depending on which designated race the horse was previously entered in, the winner of the Japan Cup will be awarded between AU$714 million and $1.857 million. The second placed horse will receive between AU$285,000 and $742,000 and the third will be awarded between AU$178,000 and $464,000.

This new scheme is also being applied to the country’s Japan Cup Dirt, the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup and the Mile Championship.