In this ongoing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. The final Group 1 of the season takes place Thursday at Nakayama and a fashionably bred son of Kitten's Joy will be well in the market in the Hopeful S.:
Thursday, December 28, 2017
9th-NKY, ¥19,490,000 ($176k), Allowance, 2yo, 1200m
MR MELODY (c, 2, Scat Daddy–Trusty Lady, by Deputy Minister) turned in a stunning career debut over this distance at Tokyo Nov. 4, defeating subsequent two-time winner Ryono Tesoro (Justin Phillip) by a resounding eight lengths (video, gate 1) in track-record time before finishing runner-up when last seen at Chukyo Dec. 2. A half-brother to GSP Trendy Lady (Unbridled's Song), Mr Melody is a maternal grandson of MGSW & MGISP Klassy Kim (Silent Screen). Bought back for $75K as a KEENOV weanling, Mr Melody was a $100K KEESEP yearling before fetching $400K as an OBSAPR breezer. B-Bell Tower Thoroughbreds (KY)
11th-NKY, Hopeful S.-G1, ¥136k ($1.2m), 2yo, 2000mT
Fresh off his win atop Kitasan Black (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}) in the G1 Arima Kinen, Yutaka Take pilots GENDARME (c, 2, Kitten's Joy–Believe {Jpn}, by Sunday Silence) as he looks to stay perfect in three starts. The homebred graduated at first asking over 1600m in September (video, gate 6) and made it two in a row when annexing the G2 Daily Hai Nisai S. at Kyoto Nov. 11 (video, gate 3). A son of Koji Maeda's champion sprinter, Gendarme is kin to MSW & G1SP Faridat (Kingmambo) and hails for the deeper female family of US Horse of the Year Lady's Secret (Secretariat). B-North Hills Co Limited (KY)
11th-HSN, ¥42,300,000 ($373k), Open Class, 3yo/up, 1800m
RESONATOR (c, 3, Blame&log=">Blame–Bluegrass Sara, by Tabasco Cat) capped a three-race winning streak with a handy victory through the Nakayama slop in April (video, gate 9) and makes his first appearance since a highly creditable and narrowly beaten fourth in the Listed Japan Dirt Derby back in July (video, gate 10) where he lost third on the wire. The $130K KEESEP yearling is out of a multiple stakes-winning dam whose SW half-sister Richbabe (Richman) bred GSWs Street Babe (Street Sense) and Richwoman (Successful Appeal). B-Hubert Vester (KY)
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