Niigata Racecourse

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...

A pair of immaculately bred 2-year-old fillies by the late Deep Impact (Jpn) and produced by two mares of considerable importance in the U.S. broke their maidens about 30 minutes apart at Japan's Niigata Racecourse Sunday, Aug. 11. Sunday Racing Co. Ltd's Catulus Felis (Jpn), the first foal out of 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Stephanie's Kitten (Kitten's Joy), validated 3-10 favoritism to graduate over 1800 meters. Drawn gate 12 in the field of 14, the February foal was off a beat slowly then settled about...