Horse Racing
In this continuing series, we take 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. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Nakayama and Chukyo Racecourses. American-bred Cafe Pharoah and the American-sired Danon Pharaoh (Jpn) are among a field of 16 for Sunday's G1 Champions Cup at Chukyo, a group led by the rail-drawn 3-year-old filly Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune). Click here for...
The world's best-known--not to mention most-talented--white Thoroughbred, Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) gets a different sort of test when she tries the dirt for the first time in Sunday's G1 Champions Cup (ex Japan Cup Dirt) at Chukyo Racecourse, a race won in scintillating fashion by her sire 20 years ago. Named the champion of her generation when capping a perfect freshman campaign in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies last December, Sodashi resumed with a victory in the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) over the metric mile Apr. 11, but did...
'TDN Rising Star' Shoplifted (Into Mischief--Shopit, by Yes It's True) and Gold Double (Medaglia d'Oro--Fiftyshadesofgold, by My Golden Song) will enter stud for the upcoming breeding season at Valor Farm in Texas. Bred by Machmer Hall, Craig and Carrie Brogden, Shoplifted was a $525,000 Keeneland September yearling turned $800,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream breezer and raced for Robert Clay's Grandview Equine, Everett Dobson's Cheyenne Stable and the Roth family's LNJ Foxwoods. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Shoplifted won his maiden by 4 1/2 lengths at first asking at Saratoga in 2019 and was...
An open letter to Ben Huffman, Chris Polzin, Dan Bork, and Tyler Picklesimer, racing secretaries at CD & KEE, IND, ELP and KD, respectively-- The Thoroughbred racing industry continues to demonstrate its willingness to embrace technology, innovation and transparency for the long-term good of the sport. Our recent flagship events and race meets have been a credit to the sport-- a phenomenal product showcasing the equine and human stars and stories, and generating record handle. There is national TV exposure that we could have once only dreamed of. History will...
Around this time last year, Chantal Sutherland was riding in Kentucky, struggling to get mounts and to win races and she was miserable. She won just 11 races in 2020, the worst year of her career. Worse yet, she didn't have a lot of answers. "I was just not in a good place," she said. "I was really struggling there. I couldn't believe how no one would give me a shot. I thought, 'what is my next move, what is going to happen?' I prayed about it. I thought 'is...
'TDN Rising Star' Following Sea (Runhappy) and the progressive Americanrevolution (Constitution) worked a half-mile in company in :49.21 over the Belmont training track Saturday morning, with both 3-year-old colts headed towards next Saturday's GI Cigar Mile, presented by NYRA Bets. Spendthrift Farm's Following Sea, two-back winner of the GII Vosburgh S., exits a third-place effort to Aloha West (Hard Spun) and Dr. Schivel (Violence) in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, while Americanrevolution ran up the score last time in the Oct. 30 Empire Classic, besting his New York-bred elders by...
The first crop of foals sired by Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Drefong (Gio Ponti) have performed so well since 2-year-old racing in Japan began in early June that he has seen his covering fee bumped from ¥3 million (about $26,400) to ¥7 million (about $61,700) for the 2022 breeding season. Consigliere (Jpn) has done his part to help cement his sire's footing on the competitive Japanese breeding landscape and ran his record to two wins from as many starts with a neck defeat of Cafe Karma (Jpn) (Henny Hughes) in Saturday's...
The 2022 Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby kicks off Saturday with the running of the Cattleya S. (allowance) at Tokyo Racecourse. Thirteen colts and two fillies line up for the 1600-meter test which begins with a run-up on the grass before linking up with the dirt track. World Connector (Connect) has made both of his career starts to date at Tokyo, settling for a debut second as the 8-5 favorite going this course and trip Oct. 9 before dead-heating for the maiden win in a one-mile event on the...
In this continuing series, we take 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. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Hanshin and Tokyo Racecourses. Click here for a preview of Sunday's G1 Longines Japan Cup at Tokyo, which has drawn four of the last six winners of the course-and-distance G1 Tokyo Yushun. Last year's Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) (Deep...
4th-Jebel Ali, AED60,000, Maiden, 2yo, 1000m, 1:00.21, ft. RAZEEN DUBAI (c, 2, Frosted--War Poppy, by Discreet Cat) opened his account in promising fashion at first asking Friday at Jebel Ali. Given a positive ride by Royston Ffrench, the Pennsylvania-bred stayed on strongly up the rise through the final stages to defeat Classic City (Constitution) by a convincing five lengths. The winner's dam, a daughter of the classy War Thief (Lord At War {Arg}), was purchased for $85,000 in foal to Animal Kingdom at Keeneland November in 2017. She is also...
Shinji Maeda's Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn} matched the feat of his late and much-missed sire by sweeping the three legs of the Japanese Triple Crown last season. Sunday afternoon at Toyko Racecourse, the homebred colt will look to add the G1 Longines Japan Cup to his resume in his final career trip to the races, an event won by Deep Impact in his penultimate start in 2006. The two-time Horse of the Year would go on to avenge his only defeat on Japanese soil in that year's G1 Arima...
16.05 Wolverhampton, Nov, £6,500, 2yo, 7f 36y (AWT) William Muir and Chris Grassick trainee STOCKPYLE (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) is an unraced half-brother to last term's G1 St Leger third and this year's G1 Coronation Cup-winning stablemate Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}). He encounters nine rivals including Godolphin's once-raced Silent Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is a homebred half to three black-type performers headed by G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere-winning sire Ultra (Ire) (Manduro {Ger}), from the Charlie Appleby stable.