FUNABASHI, Chiba Pref. -- No Christmas cheer awaited this year's superstar Deep Impact on Sunday, at least not in the form of an Arima Kinen victory and its 180-million yen winner's bounty.
Four-year-old colt Heart's Cry (left) beats out Triple Crown winner and heavily favored Deep Impact (right) in the final Grade One race Arima Kinen at Nakayama Racecourse in Funabashi, Chiba Pref.
Instead, this year's Triple Crown champion was handed the first defeat of his career, a loss by half a length to Japan Cup runnerup and race fourth pick Heart's Cry. Sixth-choice Lincoln and 10th-pick Cosmo Bulk finished in third and fourth place, respectively.