Masquerade Ball (Jpn)

The Sunday Racing silks were carried to a famous one-two at Nakayama on Sunday, but not in the order expected as Museum Mile (Jpn) (Leontes {Jpn}) toppled the unbeaten Croix du Nord (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) to claim the first leg of the Japanese Triple Crown, the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas). It was a blistering performance from Museum Mile as he lowered the course record for the 2,000-metre distance at Nakayama in a time of 1:57.00, passing the post with a length and a half to spare over...

To the surprise of no one, pride of place in Sunday's G1 Satsuki Sho belongs to the Sunday Silence sire line with eight representatives spread throughout the 18-strong field. The late Shadai Stallion Station luminary's first foals arrived in Japan in 1992, and from that first crop was 1995 Satsuki Sho winner Genuine (Jpn). Six others followed (Ishino Sunday {Jpn}, 1996, Air Shakur {Jpn}, 2000, Agnes Tachyon {Jpn}, 2001, Nishino Sunday {Jpn}, 2003, Daiwa Major {Jpn}, 2004, and Deep Impact {Jpn}, 2005). Sunday Silence saved the best for last, with...