Month: February 2024

Kizuna’s Queen’s Walk Rallies To Victory At Tokyo

Sunday Racing's Queen's Walk (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) rallied to victory in the 1600-metre G3 Daily Hai Queen Cup in Tokyo on Saturday. She was just a neck to the good of Epiphaneia (Jpn)'s Arsenaal (Jpn).

Stranded widest of all when breaking from gate 13, the filly soon perched well off the inside third from the rear as Morino Red Star (Jpn) (Declaration Of War) set a solid pace on the front end through an opening quarter in :23.80 and a half-mile in :47.10. Sweeping out into the centre of the course for the stretch drive, Queen's Walk unleashed a sustained closing move to reel in Morino Red Star. Rouge Suerte (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), located dead last for the majority of the contest, also produced a strong closing kick even wider on the course, and, at one point, appeared to be the eventual winner's main danger. Arsenaal, much nearer the front end with a stalking trip, also had plenty left in the lane and her finishing burst carried her just a neck short of Queen's Walk at the line. Rouge Suerte's bid flattened out in the final 50 metres and she made do with third, another 1 1/4 lengths behind the top pair.

Second on debut versus Kyoto newcombers over 1800 metres in November, the dark bay won going that trip at Hanshin on Dec. 23. Saturday was her 3-year-old bow.

Pedigree Notes

The Japanese Champion 3-Year-Old Colt when he won the G1 Japanese Derby in 2013, Kizuna has now sired 26 stakes winners. His best runners to date have been the dual champion Songline (Jpn) and G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup winner Akai Ito (Jpn). His total group winners have increased to 14 with Queen's Walk's victory.

Queen's Walk is a half-sister to G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. hero Grenadier Guards (Jpn) (Frankel {GB}) (click here for Emma Berry's piece on Frankel's growing influence in Japan), who won the G2 Hanshin Cup and was also third in the G1 NHK Mile Cup. Their dam, the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint heroine Wavell Avenue (Harlington), is also the dam of the winning Astrophyllite (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), 3-year-old filly Sopers Lane (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), and a juvenile filly by the late Duramente (Jpn). She was bred to Lord Kanaloa's champion 3-year-old colt and G1 Japanese 2000 Guineas winner Saturnalia (Jpn) last spring.

 

Saturday, Tokyo, Japan
DAILY HAI QUEEN CUP-G3, ¥72,660,000, Tokyo, 2-10, 3yo, f, 1600mT, 1:33.10, fm.
1–QUEEN'S WALK (JPN), 121, f, 3, by Kizuna (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Wavell Avenue (GISW-US, $1,190,008),
                                by Harlington
                2nd Dam: Lucas Street, by Silver Deputy
                3rd Dam: Ruby Park, by Bold Ruckus
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Sunday Racing;
B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Mitsumasa Nakauchida; J-Yuga
Kawada; ¥38,462,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, ¥46,862,000.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Arsenaal (Jpn), 121, f, 3, Epiphaneia (Jpn)–Sambre et Meuse
(Jpn), by Daiwa Major (Jpn). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP
   BLACK TYPE. O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn);
¥15,132,000.
3–Rouge Suerte (Jpn), 121, f, 3, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–Ryzhkina (Ire),
by Storm Cat. 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE.
O-Tokyo Horse Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥9,566,000.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, 1. Odds: 2.10, 3.30, 4.20.
Also Ran: Success Calla (Jpn), Morino Red Star (Jpn), Sunset View (Jpn), Teleos Sarah (Jpn), Cosmo Dinner (Jpn), Safira (Jpn), Karenna Otome (Jpn), Rouge Salinas (Jpn), Bright Again, Gabby's Sister (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video.

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City of Troy Full-Brother A First Hong Kong Starter For Justify

Unbelievable (Justify), a full-brother to the undefeated Cartier champion 2-year-old colt City of Troy and a veteran of five European starts when racing as Bertinelli for Coolmore and Aidan O'Brien, will become his boom sire's first starter in Hong Kong in the Class 3 Red Packet H. (1600m) at Monday's Chinese New Year meeting at Sha Tin Racecourse.

A son of G1 Fillies' Mile winner Together Forever (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), also the dam of Group 3 winner Military Style (War Front) as well as the latter's full-brothers–the Group 2-placed Absolute Ruler and the listed-placed King of Athens–Unbelievable won his maiden over the Dundalk all-weather in the second of two juvenile appearances last November. A first-up second over a mile and two furlongs at Cork last April, the colt validated 9-2 second favoritism in the London Gold Cup H. at Newbury the following month and was last seen finishing third to subsequent Group 3 winner and G1 St Leger third Desert Hero (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the King George V. S. (Hcp.) at Royal Ascot June 22.

Unbelievable is under the care of trainer Frankie Lor, a former assistant to top conditioners John Moore and John Size and Hong Kong's champion trainer during the 2021/2022 season. He has had a pair of barrier trials, including a running-on fifth Jan. 30 (video) going 1200 meters over the 'all-weather' track, but Lor told the HKJC's Nick Child that preparations have not been entirely straight-forward.

“I wanted to trial him in early December, but he had a temperature, so I had to wait a little bit,” Lor said. “Of course, the trial was a bit short for him, so that's why we start him over 1600 meters, but more ground later on.”

Unbelievable will race in the colors of the Frankie Lor Fu Chuen Trainer Syndicate and would have been imported with the hopes of making the gate for Hong Kong's richest domestic prize, the HK$26-million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) Mar. 24. Monday's race is clearly a jumping-off point, but Lor is hopeful that Unbelievable will do enough between now and then to earn a berth in the field.

“You can see his form is over 200 meters and further, but he's rated 80, so if he can pick up a few points, hopefully he can get into the Derby,” he said.

Unbelievable has drawn gate one in a field of 14 in the ninth race of the program at 4:40 p.m. local time. Derek Leung has the riding assignment.

Unbelievable is one of four sons of Justify currently registered in Hong Kong. The others are Pray For Mir (Aus) (ex Javaja), an A$950,000 Inglis Easter yearling who was perfect in two starts at the Sunshine Coast in Australia prior to his import; Call Me Supreme (Aus); and Miles Away (Aus), a son of SW & GISP Stopshoppingmaria (More Than Ready), who has also produced SW/GSP Mo Shopping (Uncle Mo) and MGSW Always Shopping (Awesome Again).

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