KYOTO -- Meisho Samson's bid for the Triple Crown was stopped at two Sunday as darkhorse Song of Wind stormed down the stretch to clinch the final leg Kikkasho in record time. Winning time was 3 minutes, 2.7 seconds over 3,000 meters of fast turf. Second choice Dream Passport followed Song of Wind over the line in second place by a neck, with third pick Admire Main finishing a length and a quarter behind him in third, Meisho Samson in fourth place 2 1/2 lengths later.
Song of Wind, son of the late El Condor Pasa, relaxed to a third-from-the-back position from the gate, surprising rider Koshiro Take (Yutaka's younger brother) with his calm. "He was the most relaxed I've known him," Take said, "and I was only concerned with keeping him that way, not with my position."
It was surely not easy sitting quietly so far to the rear with Yutaka and Admire Main a good 7 lengths ahead of the field of 18 top-class 3-year-olds, but the younger Take exhibited exemplary patience. Not until the final bend and the end of the downslope did Koshiro give the go sign. He found the response superb.