Japan Sore After King George Disappointment

Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) was a disappointing last of the three runners in Saturday's G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., beaten 16 1/2 lengths by Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), but a potential excuse has come to light with the 4-year-old having exited the race with a “bad stone bruise.”

“Japan came back a little bit sore from the King George,” said trainer Aidan O'Brien on Thursday after he sent out Japan's full-brother Mogul (GB) to win the G3 Gordon S. “He had a bad stone bruise the following day, so maybe he was feeling that on the fast ground. These things take a bit of time to show up, but the next day he was very sore. Maybe that was the reason for his disappointing run.”