by Tom Musgrave

Sleepless Night earned the first Group 1 victory of her career and her fifth straight win when she scored by 1 1/4 lengths in the Sprinters Stakes (Jpn-G1) on Sunday at Nakayama Racecourse.

Sleepless Night rated comfortably behind the leaders as Western Venus set the pace. Shadowing B B Guldan, Sleepless Night made her winning bid on the turn for home and powerfully accelerated into the straight. She held off fast-closing runner-up Kinshasa no Kiseki for the clear win while covering 1,200 meters (5.97 furlongs) in 1:08 on a turf course rated as firm.

"The only concern I had was the start," said jockey Hiroyuki Uemura, who also won his first race at the highest level. "But she broke well and everything worked out. I waited and waited until the last turn, and she just exploded on the straight."

B B Guldan finished third, a neck behind Kinshasa no Kiseki.

Winning trainer Kojiro Hashiguchi, who turned 63 on Sunday, said he feels Sleepless Night has little left to prove in her native country.

"The [Cathay Pacific] Hong Kong Sprint (HK-G1) is an option," Hashiguchi told japanracing.jp. "I'm also thinking Dubai because she can handle the dirt. But there's no question she's a specialist at 1,200 meters."

While he was happy for Sleepless Night's win, Hashiguchi said he also was proud of Uemura on his first Group 1 win. The 17-year riding veteran has battled a severe eye infection that required multiple surgeries to correct.

"That is actually the best thing about this victory," Hashiguchi said. "He had to have surgery four times on his eye, and he nearly lost his career. I'm happy but I think his family is the happiest."

Bred by Northern Farm, Sleepless Night improved to five wins in six starts for the season and nine wins in 16 starts overall. The four-year-old Kurofune filly is out of the Nureyev mare What Katy Did.

The Sprinters Stakes is the sixth leg of the eight-race Global Sprint Challenge series, a worldwide competition among five nations that is based on a point system. The first six races of the series have produced six different winners. Takeover Target, the 2006 Sprinters Stakes winner, currently leads with 16 points.

The final two races of series are the Patinack Farm Classic (Aus-G1) on November 8 at Flemington and the Hong Kong Sprint on December 14 at Sha Tin.

Tom Musgrave is internet content editor of Thoroughbred Times