Silk Racing Co. Ltd.'s Amante Bianco kicked off the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby by defeating 15 rivals in Saturday's Cattleya Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse.
Trained by Keisuke Miyata and ridden by Christophe Lemaire, Amante Bianco rallied from just off the pace in the far turn and gamely dug in down the stretch to get by George Tesoro just before the wire, winning by three-quarters of a length while covering 1,600 meters (about one mile) in 1:37.5 on dirt rated as fine.
Unquenchable rallied on the outside to finish third followed by Star Turn in fourth and filly More Than Once in fifth. Favorite Rata Forest was seventh.
The top five finishers in the Cattleya eared 10-5-3-2-1 points in the stand-alone series on the Road to Kentucky Derby 150.
Amante Bianco is a rare white Thoroughbred who was bred by Northern Farm. The talented 2-year-old is by Henny Hughes out of the Japan-bred white mare Yukichan, by Kurofune. Second dam Shirayukihime, by Sunday Silence, also is registered as white.
The Cattleya was Amante Bianco's second victory from three career starts, all at Toyko
The Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby will continue Dec. 13 for the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at Kawasaki Racecourse. For more information about the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, visit www.kentuckyderby.com.
The post Japan Road To KY Derby: Striking White Colt Amante Bianco Wins Cattleya Stakes At Tokyo appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
