Earnestly had to shatter the Takarazuka Kinen race record to defeat champion mare Buena Vista at Hanshin on Sunday.

Clocking 2.10.10s for 2200 metres, Earnestly was a full second faster than the previous mark held by Tap Dance City since 2004.  The Group 1 victory also earned Earnestly a guaranteed spot in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs on November 5.

Earnestly (6h Grass Wonder – Lettre d’Amour by Tony Bin) held off 2010 Japanese Horse of the Year Buena Vista to capture the G1 Takarazuka Kinen by more than a length.  The 2010 Japanese Derby winner Eishin Flash finished third, just in front of 2010 Japan Cup winner Rose Kingdom.

Earnestly settled just behind pacesetter Namura Crescent who raced through the opening 1000m in 58.70s.  As the field of 16 turned for home, Earnestly charged to the front under Tetsuzo Sato to score an unchallenged victory.

Bred in Japan by North Hills Management, he is owned by Koji Maeda and has won 9 times in 20 starts.

His sire Grass Wonder was a G1 winner of the 1999 Takarazuka Kinen and his dam Lettre d’Amour is an unraced half-sister to Tokyo G2 winner Agnes Kamikaze (Sunday Silence).