Kana Tape

Kana Tape (Jpn), a 6-year-old mare by perennial leading sire Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), gave North American owner/breeder Charles Fipke--one of just a handful of foreign owners to be granted a full-time license in Japan--his first feature-race winner in the country when coming from far back in the final quarter mile to take out the 1600-meter G3 Sekiya Kinen at Niigata Racecourse on Sunday, July 27. Ridden by the visiting Rachel King to a Tokyo allowance success Feb. 9, the mare--trained by Noriyuki Hori--returned from a 133-day absence to finish runner-up...

Prominent North American owner/breeder Charles Fipke was represented by his first winner in Japan when the newly turned 3-year-old filly Kana Tape (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) ran out an impressive three-length winner of a newcomers' event going 1800 meters on turf at Tokyo Racecourse Sunday afternoon. Sent off the narrow second favorite at odds of 3-2, the bay filly jumped well from gate two for top rider Takeshi Yokoyama and tracked pacesetting Mozu Cleopatra (Jpn) (American Pharoah) from close up in second. Felt for as the field entered the final...