Stopshoppingdebbie

There is no truth to the rumor that T O Elvis (Volatile) stepped onto the Churchill Downs main track last Saturday to the Theme from 2001 Space Odyssey, the instrumental to which the horse's namesake took to the stage for wildly popular concerts in the 1970s. But when Elvis--T O, that is--'left the building' following a defeat of no fewer than seven last-out graded winners in a renewal of the GI Churchill Downs Stakes that was widely heralded as one of the best races of the year, there will have...

8th-Chukyo, ¥29,890,000 ($202,594), Allowance, 8-2, 3yo/up, 1200m, 1:11.2, ft. T O ELVIS (c, 3, Volatile--Stopshoppingdebbie {MSW, $294,728}, by Curlin) savaged the line to win for the third time in six starts while stamping himself as one to watch as a potential overseas candidate in 2026. Third to the talented and once-beaten Natural Rise (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) in the Cattleya Stakes (allowance), a 1600-meter contest that serves as the first leg of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, the dark bay was having his first start since thrashing a one-win...

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes 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 Chukyo Racecourse: Saturday, September 7, 2024 4th-CKO, ¥13,720,000 ($95k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m AMERICAN STAGE (c, 2, Into Mischief--Bonita Mia, by Warrior's Reward), a half-brother to three-time Grade III-winning sprinter Super Chow (Lord Nelson) and SW Princess Indy (Lord Nelson),...