Wilson Tesoro

Currently the reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year, Ka Ying Rising sits on the cusp of history. Tied with Hong Kong wunderkind Silent Witness on 17 consecutive wins by a Hong Kong-trained horse, the son of Shamexpress could set his own record in the 1400-metre G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday. A last out winner of the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup in January, he faces nine rivals. Trainer David Hayes said, "I'm very excited about the opportunity to try and break Silent Witness's record. His...

Sunday, Chukyo, Japan, post time: 15:40, CHAMPIONS CUP-G1, ¥232,860,000, 3yo/up, 1800m Field: William Barows (Jpn) (Mikki Isle {Jpn}), W Heart Bond (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Meisho Hario (Jpn) (Pyro), Seraphic Call (Jpn) (Henny Hughes), Helios (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), Hagino Alegrias (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Ramjet (Jpn) (Majestic Warrior), Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), Outrange (Jpn) (Regalo {Jpn}), Tenka Jo (Jpn) (Thunder Snow {Ire}), Sixpence (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Narukami (Jpn) (Thunder Snow {Ire}), Sunrise Zipangu (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Peptide Nile (Jpn) (King Kamehameham {Jpn}), Perriere (Jpn) (Henny Hughes), Luxor Café (American Pharoah)....

Sunday, Chukyo, Japan, post time: 15:40, CHAMPIONS CUP-G1, ¥232,860,000, 3yo/up, 1800m Field: William Barows (Jpn) (Mikki Isle {Jpn}), W Heart Bond (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Meisho Hario (Jpn) (Pyro), Seraphic Call (Jpn) (Henny Hughes), Helios (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), Hagino Alegrias (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Ramjet (Jpn) (Majestic Warrior), Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), Outrange (Jpn) (Regalo {Jpn}), Tenka Jo (Jpn) (Thunder Snow {Ire}), Sixpence (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Narukami (Jpn) (Thunder Snow {Ire}), Sunrise Zipangu (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Peptide Nile (Jpn) (King Kamehameham {Jpn}), Perriere (Jpn) (Henny Hughes), Luxor Café (American Pharoah)....

The Champions Cup on dirt has attracted a field of 16, and Narukami (Thunder Snow) holds pride of place in the advance markets on the back of his Listed Japan Dirt Classic victory in October. Chukyo's 1800-metre affair, a rare Japanese top-level event on dirt, is also the site of the favourite's only loss in six starts. Assistant trainer Hiroyuki Yamazaki said of the Godolphin homebred who is booked in post 12 with Keita Tosaki aboard, "Since the Kozukata Sho, he's been a bit tense when taking the bit and...

RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA -- There is almost no rainfall on an annual basis in the Saudi capital, but there was a flood of equine activity almost as soon as the clock struck seven on a cool Wednesday morning at King Abdulaziz. That is because a good many of the international raiders for Saturday's Saudi Cup meeting took to the main track almost as one, causing a real stir--in one case, a bit of a scare. The Noboru Takagi-trained Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) (inside) and Wilson Tesoro (Jpn)...

Twice a winner at group level on foreign soil and placed in two of America's greatest races in 2024, Susumu Fujita's Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) patched the one hole that existed in an already remarkable career, coming from just off the speed before proving comfortably best in a high-class renewal of the G1 Toyko Daishoten at Ohi Racecourse. In defeating the consistent Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) and fellow 3-year-old Ramjet (Jpn) (Majestic Warrior), the son of US Grade II winner Forever Darling (Congrats) was succeeding for...

Sunday's ¥170 million (US$1.08 million) Toyko Daishoten is the lone Group 1 race on the calendar staged on the tracks of the National Association of Racing, but the 2000-metre event has lured the top five or six dirt horses in Japan and given the depth of the field, the horse that proves victorious should be able to make a case for challenging the recently retired G1 Champions Cup repeated Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid) for champion dirt horse of 2024. The globetrotting Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) makes just...

For the first time in the relatively brief history of the races, the G3 OBS Korea Cup and G3 OBS Korea Sprint were welcomed into the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, offering the winners a free ride into the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, respectively. And for the first time, the races' defending champions each returned to Seoul to win for the second year in succession, stamping themselves as legitimate contenders at Del Mar, if connections indeed make the trip over. Teruya Yoshida's Crown Pride (Jpn)...

When Japanese horses take their show on the road to places like Australia, the Middle East, Hong Kong, the U.S. and even Europe to an extent, they are to be taken very seriously. It is also no wonder that when horses from the Land of the Rising Sun make the comparatively short trip over to Korea, they have more or less dominated the nation's two biggest and most important races--the G3 OBS Korea Cup (1800m) and OBS Korea Sprint (1200m). That trend looks set to continue this weekend at Seoul...

1st-Belmont The Big A, $87,300, Msw, 5-16, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f (off turf), 1:06.12, my, 9 lengths. DELIGHTFUL FLAME (f, 2, Flameaway--Delightful Mary {Ch. 2yo Filly & GSW-Can, MSW & GISP-US, $588,055}, by Limehouse) was smashed into 7-10 favoritism for her Gulfstream debut Apr. 12, but was off to an awkward beginning and never reached contention en route to a distant sixth-place finish. The 3-2 second choice--with $685 on her nose less than the well-meant Moonlight Promises (Promises Fulfilled)--the homebred hit the ground running in this rained-off contest and was...

Friday's G1 Tokyo Daishoten marked a first and much-anticipated battle between reigning G1 Dubai World Cup hero Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) and the upstart 3-year-old Mick Fire (Jpn) (Sinister Minister), perfect in his seven starts and winner of the unofficial Japan Dirt Triple Crown this past season. The showdown never really materialized, however, as the latter never reached contention after playing up in the stalls, and the odds-on Ushba Tesoro ran down his commonly owner front-runner Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) to successfully defend his title in the...

While the final of the roughly two dozen Group 1 races on the Japan Racing Association was scheduled for Thursday, the Tokyo Daishoten--the only recognized international Group 1 event and pattern race of any variety on the National Association of Racing circuit--takes place Friday afternoon at Ohi Racecourse in the Japanese capital. Under normal circumstances, the discussion of the 2000-metre dirt affair would begin and end with Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}), whose victory here 12 months ago catapulted him to future success on the world stage in the G1...