Star Anise

It seems hard to believe now that the form of the Ballydoyle stable was being questioned prior to the 2,000 Guineas, before Gstaad (Starspangledbanner) acted as the pivot to a major upturn and sequence of wins in key races in early May. That he slammed Godolphin's genuine Group 1 performer Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder) and the rest by upwards of eight lengths in that Newmarket Classic and still managed to be convincingly beaten is the remarkable story of this year's renewal and he gets the chance to excel in...

A course-and-distance winner in December's G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, Star Anise (Drefong) picked up where she left off after a four-month absence to overpower her 17 rivals in Sunday's G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas), the first leg of the fillies' Triple Crown in Japan. Heading the betting for this Classic ahead of the G3 Queen Cup heroine Dream Core (Kizuna) and the unbeaten Lily Joie (Silver State), Star Anise raced enthusiastically from the outset in the hands of Kohei Matsuyama, soon finding cover in mid-division as longshot Longing Celine...

Sunday, Leopardstown, post time: 15:55, BALLYLINCH STUD RED ROCKS STAKES-G3, €42,000, 3yo, c/g, 7f 42yT Field: Power Blue (Ire) (Space Blues {Ire}), Dorset (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Flushing Meadows (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Geryon (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), Iron Lily (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Mumhan (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), Redemption Road (GB) (Without Parole {GB}), The PUblican's Son (Beau Liam), Thesecretadversary (Ire) (St Mark's Basilica {Fr}), Trojan Warrior (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Warsaw (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). TDN Analysis: With both Gewan and Publish out of the 2,000 Guineas picture with different degrees...

Although it is only April, the Classic season starts with a bang, as Hanshin hosts the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) over 1600 metres on Sunday. The highlight of the race is the 2025 Japanese Champion Juvenile Filly Star Anise (Drefong). She defeated Garavogue (Lord Kanaloa) in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies en route to 2025 Japanese Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honours. However, the champ has yet to grace a racecourse in 2026 and makes her seasonal bow in the first Classic of the year from stall 15 in the...

Sunday, Hanshin, Japan, post time: 15:30, OKA SHO (JAPANESE 1000 GUINEAS)-G1, ¥266,000,000, 3yo, f, 1600mT Field: Festival Hill (Jpn) (Saturnalia {Jpn}), Saint Antoine (Jpn) (Drefong), Dear Diamond (Jpn) (Saturnalia {Jpn}), Elegance Ask (Jpn) (Poetic Flare {Ire}), Garavogue (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), I Need You (Jpn) (Fine Needle {Jpn}), Alankar (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), Longing Celine (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), Rule The Wave (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), Namura Cosmos (Jpn) (Danon Premium {Jpn}), Zippy Tune (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), Sweet Happiness (Jpn) ({Jpn}), Lily Joie (Jpn) (Silver State {Jpn}), Dream Core (Jpn) (Kizuna...

International superstar Forever Young has been named the Japanese Horse of the Year after the selection committee for the 2025 Japan Racing Association (JRA) Awards met on Tuesday. The son of Real Steel is the first dirt horse to be honoured with the Horse of the Year award. Racing in the silks of Susumu Fujita, he was also honoured as the Japanese Best Older Male and Japanese Best Dirt Horse. During 2025, Forever Young prevailed in an epic showdown with Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) in the...

Star Anise emulated illustrious names such as Vodka (2006), Buena Vista (2010) and Liberty Island (2022) with a stylish success in Sunday's G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, matching the race-record time of 1:32.60 for the end-of-season championship. Eighteen of Japan's leading two-year-old fillies went to post for the 1,600-metre contest, with His Masterpiece (Screen Hero) taking them along in the early stages ahead of the longshots From Raven (Tower of London) and Rose Charis (California Chrome). Race favourite Alankar (Epiphaneia), on the other hand, was anchored at the rear of the...

Sunday's G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies brings together a maximum field of 18 over the 1,600-metre trip, with the undefeated pair of Alankar and Margot Love Me featuring among those who will be trying to etch their name alongside the likes of Vodka (2006), Buena Vista (2008) and Liberty Island (2022) on a glittering roll of honour. Trained by Takashi Saito, Alankar followed her debut victory at Fukushima with another dominant performance to win September's Nojigiku Stakes over this course and distance. The Epiphaneia filly is out of the G1 Yushun...