Mirco Demuro

It's no surprise that Italian-born jockeys are doing well at the current meet at Del Mar. They have been making their mark in Southern California for some time now. Antonio Fresu is second in the standings and Umberto Rispoli is third. But who is the leading rider? The answer might surprise you. The 46-year-old veteran Mirco Demuro, who left Japan earlier this year to try the Southern California circuit, went into the weekend at Del Mar on top of the jockey standings with 10 winners. He has had just 22...

Spendthrift Farm homebred Brave Deb (Authentic) completed a big weekend for the historic farm--while adding a second graded win in two days for her sire--with an authoritative victory in the GIII Surfer Girl Stakes at Santa Anita Sunday. Spendthrift's colors were carried to victory at Keeneland by Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) in the GI Darley Alicibiades Stakes Friday and by Ted Noffey (Into Mischief) in the GI Claiborne Futurity Saturday. The farm's homebred Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), a daughter of champion Beholder, returned with a victory of her own in the...

Gruner Green (Jpn), by Japanese champion and G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn)/G1 Takarazuka Kinen victor Lovely Day (Jpn), turned in a pillar-to-post effort to win the G3 Radio Nikkei Hai Kyoto Nisai S. by a head at Hanshin on Saturday. He is his sire's first stakes winner from three crops to race. Fifth choice on the board at 13-1, the Ikuo Aizawa trainee strode out to an early lead and covered a first quarter in :24 flat, while hard-pressed by Bikini Boy (Jpn) (Beach Patrol {Jpn}). That pair raced in tandem...

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 Sunday running at Kokura, Niigata and Sapporo Racecourses. Sunday's G3 Kitakyushu Kinen at Kokura, one of a couple of steppingstones to October's G1 Sprinters' S., has attracted US-bred GISW Mozu Superflare (Speightstown) and GSW/G1SP Gendarme (Kitten's Joy) going the metric six furlongs: Sunday, August...

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 Niigata and Hakodate Racecourses: Saturday, August 7, 2021 6th-NII, ¥13,400,000 ($122k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m BEYOND THE FATHER (JPN) (c, 2, Curlin--Galileo's Song {Jpn}, by Galileo {Ire}), twice graded-placed on the grass for Dell Ridge Farm and Chad Brown, sold for...

Sunday Racing's Lucky Lilac (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) looks to become the first horse since the talented Snow Fairy (GB) (Intikhab) in 2010-2011 to register back-to-back victories in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2200m), to be staged this year and next at Hanshin Racecourse while Kyoto Racecourse undergoes major renovations. The daughter of American Grade I winner Lilacs and Lace (Flower Alley) led home a female one-two in the G1 Osaka Hai (2000m) at this track in early April, besting the talented Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}), before finishing sixth...

Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}), winner on turf of the G1 Yasuda Kinen in 2018, returns to the dirt for the first time since winning the G1 February S. in Tuesday's ¥102 million (US$955k) Kashiwa Kinen (1600m) at Funabashi Racecourse. Bred by Summer Wind Farm, the 6-year-old son of MGSW India (Hennessy) was winless in eight starts following the Yasuda Kinen, but put pay to that streak when defeating the smart Copano Kicking (Spring At Last) at odds of 8-1 in the G3 Negishi S. (1400m) at Tokyo Feb. 2. The...

Making his first start since a towering 10-length graduation over nine furlongs on his Dec. 14 debut at Nakayama, Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah), one of six winners from seven Japanese runners for his Triple Crown-winning stallion, bombed the start of Sunday's Listed Hyacinth S. at Tokyo, but gradually worked his way into contention and sprinted hard in the final furlong to score by 1 1/4 lengths. He is the sixth first-crop stakes winner for American Pharoah. Favored at just over even money, the $475,000 OBS March acquisition by Emmanuel de...

Though it is missing its would-be favorite Dieu du Vin (Jpn) (Declaration of War), Sunday's Listed Hyacinth S. at Tokyo--the third of four races on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby--has attracted a solid group of 3-year-old dirt runners, including two of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah's six Japanese winners. Cafe Pharoah, a $475,000 acquisition out of last year's OBS March Sale, attracted the services of the visiting Ryan Moore for his nine-furlong unveiling at Nakayama Dec. 14 and the son of Paul Pompa, Jr.'s talented MGSW Mary's Follies...

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 Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourses, featuring the 4-year-old debut of the extremely talented Mont Perdu (Cairo Prince) Saturday, February 22, 2020 1st-KYO, ¥9,680,000 ($87k), Maiden, 3yo, 1800m ABUL HAUL (c, 3, American Pharoah--Kitten's Dumplings, by Kitten's Joy), the first foal from...