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Notable US-Bred & -Sired Runners in Japan: Dec. 12 & 13, 2020

In this continuing series, we take 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 and Hanshin Racecourses:

2nd-HSN, ¥9,680,000 ($93k), Maiden, 2yo, 1800m
AMERICAN PEACE (c, 2, Tapit–La Cloche, by Ghostzapper) is one of at least four runners by this sire entered this weekend for owner Katsumi Yoshizawa of Master Fencer (Jpn) fame and is the early 1-2 favorite off a strong runner-up effort when trying the dirt for the first time at Chukyo Oct. 4 (video, gate 10). The $325K Keeneland September yearling, a full-brother to GSW Bellevais, is out of a Grade III-winning daughter of MGISW Memories of Silver (Silver Hawk), herself the dam of MGISW Winter Memories (El Prado {Ire}) and granddam of MSW & MGSP ‘TDN Rising Star’ Winter Sunset (Tapit). This is also the female family of ‘Rising Star’ Hawkish (Artie Schiller). Don Alberto Corp. acquired La Cloche for $2.4m in foal to Tapit at Fasig-Tipton November in 2014. B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY)

5th-HSN, ¥13,400,000 ($129k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m
MOZU LADY MO (f, 2, Uncle Mo–Czarina, by Bernardini) cost $375K at KEESEP in 2019 and is out of a full-sister to MGISW To Honor and Serve and GISW Angela Renee; and a half to SW & GISP Elnaawi (Street Sense). The filly’s third dam was responsible for MGSW India (Hennessy), whose MG1SW son Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) was recently retired to stand the 2021 breeding season at Arrow Stud. The March foal is bred on the same cross responsible for GISW Mo Town and GSW Modernist. B-Rigney Racing LLC (KY)

Sunday, December 13, 2020
4th-HSN, ¥13,400,000 ($129k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m
YORIKUN ROAD (JPN) (c, 2, Quality Road–Hymnotic, by War Front) is the first produce for his dam, a full-sister to SW & G1SP Whitecliffsofdover, who was purchased for $240K with this foal in utero at KEENOV in 2017. The colt’s second dam Orate (A.P. Indy) also produced SW & GISP Endless Chatter (First Samurai) and is a full-sister to the late, influential sire Pulpit. Since her export to Japan, Hymnotic has foaled colts by Horse of the Year Kitasan Black (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}) each of the last two years. B-Yanagawa Bokujo

10th-CKO, ¥19,110,000 ($184k), Allowance, 2yo, 1400mT
MOON BEAD (JPN) (f, 2, American Pharoah–Evening Jewel, by Northern Afleet) overcame a wide trip from the 18 hole to graduate by a half-length going this distance on Niigata debut Oct. 17 (see below) and should enjoy a softer run in this more compact field. Shadai Farm acquired this MGISW dam for $950K at KEENOV in 2016 and the mare foaled a Pioneerof the Nile colt the following spring. She was bred to American Pharoah and was exported before producing this filly in March 2018. Evening Jewel is the dam of a yearling Deep Impact (Jpn) colt and was covered this past season by Duramente (Jpn). B-Shadai Farm

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TVG’s Weekend Coverage Highlighted By Gulfstream Stakes, Louisiana Champions Day

Graded stakes races from Gulfstream Park, Louisiana Champions Day from Fair Grounds as well as stakes races from Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs and more highlight this weekend's coverage on TVG, America's horse racing network.

Gulfstream Park has four graded stakes races on the docket for Saturday – the $100,000 Rampart Stakes (G3), the $100,000 Sugar Swirl Stakes (G3), the $100,000 Harlan's Holiday Stakes (G3) and the $200,000 Ft. Lauderdale Stakes (G2). The Ft. Lauderdale Stakes, the featured tenth race on the eleven-race card, will be contested at a mile and an eighth on the turf and has drawn a field of ten colts and geldings. Grade 1 winner Halladay, one of two horses in the race for Todd Pletcher, has drawn the outside post under jockey Luis Saez and will be making his first start since a sixth-place finish in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile.

The $100,000 Harlan's Holiday Stakes will serve as a prep race for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) while the $200,000 Ft. Lauderdale Stakes will be a prep race for the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1), both of which are scheduled for Jan. 23, 2021 at Gulfstream Park.

The Louisiana breeding program will take center stage on Saturday with a thirteen-race card restricted to accredited Louisiana-bred horses. The first three races will feature Quarter Horse racing including the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day QH Classic. There are seven stakes races for Louisiana-bred Thoroughbreds on the card highlighted by the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic which has drawn a field of eight including Shang, a multiple stakes winner for trainer Steve Asmussen.

Christina Blacker and Britney Eurton will be live on-site at Los Alamitos this weekend with insights and expert analysis as the afternoon Thoroughbred meet continues. The action will shift to Quarter Horses on Saturday and Sunday night. TVG's Caleb Keller, Nick Hines and Jose Contreras will be live covering the $600,000 Champion of Champions (G1) on Saturday and the Los Alamitos $2 Million Futurity (G1) on Sunday,

Fans of international racing can tune in on Saturday night into Sunday morning for world-class racing from Sha Tin. International expert Candice Hare will anchor the coverage featuring the Hong Kong International Races including the Longines Hong Kong Cup (G1) and the Longines Hong Kong Vase (G1). Aiden O'Brien is sending a trio of contenders – Magical, Mogul and 2020 Breeders' Cup Mile upset winner Order of Australia. The Hong Kong International Races begin at 11:25 p.m. ET/8:25 p.m. PT on Saturday night.

In addition to racing from Fair Grounds and Gulfstream Park, TVG will also be featuring Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs, Laurel Park and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

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Hong Kong Cup: Japan’s Win Bright Eyes History With One Last Run For Glory

Japan's Win Bright will aim to become the second horse in history to snare back-to-back G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup victories this Sunday at Sha Tin – and he'll do so looking to uphold an unblemished record over 2000m (1 1/4 miles) at the big track.

California Memory did it in 2011 and 2012, and this weekend the dazzling grey will look to shine for a second time in the feature before impending retirement.

“I hope so – this is his main target this year and also his final race of his career – I just want to win this race,” regular jockey Masami Matsuoka said.

The son of Stay Gold is two for two over 2000m at Sha Tin, he nailed a record-setting win over a pair of prolific G1 winners and Horse of the Year – Exultant and Lys Gracieux in the 2019 FWD QEII Cup, before staving off an unlucky Magic Wand in this race last year.

His 2000m course record at Sha Tin still stands at 1:58.81, and Matsuoka, who partnered him to both of his headline making exploits in Hong Kong, will take the reins again for Sunday's test.

“There is no problem with him (Win Bright), he's feeling himself,” Matsuoka said.

The grey's most recent two runs at Nakayama and Tokyo haven't exactly caught the eye, although, his two runs prior to last year's Hong Kong Cup win revealed similar performances.

He finished seventh two starts ago in the G2 Nakayama Kinen (1800m) on March 1, before grabbing a less than competitive 10th in the Tenno Sho Autumn (2000m) on Nov. 1.

“Sha Tin Racecourse and the climate in Hong Kong is very suitable for him, it's a similar season, a cold season in December so it is easy to train him in Japan as well,” Matsuoka said.

Matsuoka has had a lengthy relationship with the classy grey, since his first race as a two-year-old over 1800m in a newcomer's race at Tokyo in June, 2016.

“I have been on his back since he was a two-year-old until now and he continued his career and the main reason I continued my career as a jockey is because of Win Bright – it is a precious and memorable memory of my life,” Matsuoka said.

Matsuoka was sidelined for eight months in February, 2020 with a bone fracture in a race fall. He has 830 wins to his name across a 17-year career in the saddle.

Win Bright's triumph in this race last year saw him join Jim And Tonic (1999), Vengeance Of Rain (2005) and Designs On Rome (2014) as only the fourth horse to have the QEII Cup and Hong Kong Cup in the same year.

The grey faces seven others including Skalleti, Danon Premium, Furore, Time Warp, Dances With Dragon, Normcore and Magical, who is looking to become Aidan O'Brien's most prolific G1 winner with eight top-level successes.

The Japanese have had a long and successful history in Sunday's feature with six wins in Hong Kong's biggest race: Fujiyama Kenzan (1995), Midnight Bet (1998), Agnes Digital (2001), A Shin Hikari (2015), Maurice (2016) and Win Bright (2019).

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Hong Kong Mile: On 10-Race Win Streak, Trainer Lui Feeling Quietly ‘Confident’ In Golden Sixty

Wary and respectful of world-class opposition, trainer Francis Lui carries a characteristically understated sense of confidence into the Grade 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile with Golden Sixty at Sha Tin on Sunday, hopeful his flagbearer can continue an extraordinary winning streak.

Only the fourth horse to win 10 consecutive races in Hong Kong's professional era – a feat achieved by Silent Witness, Co-Tack and Sunday's adversary Beauty Generation – Golden Sixty faces his biggest challenge at the weekend against a line-up packed with quality.

Lui, bidding for his first LONGINES Hong Kong International Races triumph, believes Golden Sixty is ideally placed to continue his streak against last year's winner Admire Mars and Aidan O'Brien's Order Of Australia.

“I'm confident on the horse but the overseas horses – their form is good. The Japanese horse (Admire Mars) won it last year. The Irish horse (Order Of Australia) won the Breeders' Cup, he has strong form,” he said.

“To me and my stable team, it's another record if he can win.

“I'm very happy with his trackwork because he was quite relaxed. He's more relaxed with another horse. If he goes by himself, he's keen in the early part but today he followed the other horse.

“Everything is ready.”

Lui confirmed he would not burden jockey Vincent Ho with instructions.

“I'll leave it to him because, from first day he has ridden this horse and he knows him, and I don't want to give him pressure,” he said.

“Anything can happen in a race and, if he listens to me, it's another story. So, I will leave it to him.”

While concentrating on nothing other than Sunday, Lui indicated the BMW Hong Kong Derby winner could return to 2000-metre contests.

“Next month, he might have another mile but after that I think about the step up to 2000 metres,” Lui said.

Opening the options for a G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) tilt on Feb. 21, 2021 should Lui opt to head there.

“Last season, he ran in the Derby, 2000 metres.

“I don't have many choices. If I go to the big races, I have to think about it.”

Ho is similarly upbeat about the horse who has helped catapult the former Hong Kong champion apprentice to international prominence.

“He's a super horse. He's got a great mentality, just wants to chase whatever is in front of him in the straight,” Ho said.

“He just jumps out the gate and settles really well, wherever I want him to be, he's OK.

“Some horses can ran 20 seconds or 21 seconds for 400 metres, but he can produce that sprint in 1200m or 2000m races.

“Every jockey dreams of a horse like this. When you're on him, it's just so special. He not just makes you a better jockey, but he can win big races for you.”

Ho will also partner Caspar Fownes' Classique Legend in the HK$22 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) on what looms as a landmark day for the jockey.

“Classique Legend has trialed well and galloped well on Tuesday morning,” Ho said.

“He is a superstar in Australia, hopefully he can bring that form on Sunday. I'm extremely grateful to be on two great horses.

“The support I have received is great. I've been working very hard for years and I appreciate the trust they have in me to put me on their horses.

Karis Teetan, who will oppose Ho and Golden Sixty aboard Southern Legend in the Mile, is fatalistic about his chances in the HK$25 million feature.

“Well, after watching Golden Sixty gallop on Tuesday morning, I'm in trouble,” he said.

“Vincent, of course, has some history with Southern Legend (riding him three times for a win, a second and fifth placing). I'm lucky enough this time to ride him again.

“Of course, we all have respect for Golden Sixty but, when we're out there, the only thing in our mind is trying to win the race.”

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