Tag: Horse Racing

Sodashi Will Have To Be At Her ‘Schnell’-est In Mile Championship

All eyes will be on Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune)–aren't they always?–as she takes on an eclectic group in Sunday's G1 Mile Championship at Hanshin Racecourse, a race that looks something other than a one-horse affair.

Named the best of her generation at two and three, the immensely popular white filly owns three top-level victories over arguably her favorite trip, having annexed the 2020 G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and last year's G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) over course and distance and this year's sex-restricted G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo. Fifth to Jack d'Or (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) in defense of her title in the Aug. 21 G2 Sapporo Kinen, Sodashi exits a narrow defeat in the G2 Fuchu Himba S. at headquarters Oct. 15.

“Last week and this week, we pushed her pretty hard in her workouts,” explained trainer Naosuke Sugai. “The colder weather really brings out her best and you can see the improvement. With her last start, she was able to let off some steam and has now been calm and settled.”

 

 

 

Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}), runner-up to the magnificent Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in this event last fall, has had a fractionally disappointing season by his lofty standards and will be looking for his first victory from four starts. A lackluster eighth in the G1 Dubai Turf, he was unlucky in the G1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo in June, finishing a neck behind the victorious Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) and a head better than the reliable Salios (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}). In something of an experiment, Schnell (German for fast) Meister was ninth, but not beaten far, in the G1 Sprinters' S. over a 1200-metre trip that always threatened to be too sharp.

“He is always done well over the mile, but he's been up against one or two other very strong horses in previous races,” said trainer Takahisa Tezuka. “This year, with no one standout, I think it'll go well if things come together for him.”

 

 

 

Salios, also third to Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) in last year's G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile, has just one start since the Yasuda Kinen, a half-length defeat of Justin Cafe (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) and Danon the Kid (Jpn) (Just a Way {Jpn}) in the Oct. 9 G2 Mainichi Okan over nine furlongs.

Soul Rush (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) capped a three-race skein with a victory over Ho O Amazon (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in the G2 Yomiuri Milers' Cup at this venue and going this trip in April, but finished well down the field in the Yasuda Kinen. He prepped for this with a close second to 3-year-old Serifos (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) in Tokyo's G2 Fuji S. Oct. 22, with Danon Scorpion (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) not far away in third.

The post Sodashi Will Have To Be At Her ‘Schnell’-est In Mile Championship appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Expensive Into Mischief Breezer Kicks Off at HQ

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. With plenty of interest from an American-bred perspective this weekend, here are the runners for Saturday's programs at Tokyo and Hanshin Racecourses. A pair of juveniles will be features in this space in Sunday's TDN:

4th-TOK, ¥13,400,000 ($96k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400m
GREAT SAND SEA (c, 2, Into Mischief–Game for More, by More Than Ready), purchased for $385,000 at Keeneland September with an eye on the juvenile sales, was the recipient of a nice pedigree update a short time thereafter when his year-younger half-brother Giant Game (Giant's Causeway) finished third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. The Apr. 6 foal, also a half-brother to the versatile MGSW & GISP Isotherm (Lonhro {Aus}) and to GISP Gio Game (Gio Ponti), did his part to enhance his value by working a furlong in :10 flat ahead of this year's OBS April Sale and was hammered down for $825,000. Yuga Kawada takes the ride. B-H Allen Poindexter (KY)

5th-HSN, ¥13,400,000 ($96k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200mT
SMOKIN' BILLY (c, 2, Free Drop Billy–Buy for Less, by Bodemeister) made just $8,500 as a weanling at Keeneland November in 2020, but improved into a $40,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling and fetched a strong $230,000 at OBS April after he breezed in :10 flat. That price ranks as the highest of 17 juveniles (19 ring) reported as sold from the first crop of his sire (by Union Rags). Smokin' Billy is the first foal from a winning daughter of SW Ayla Bella (Touch Gold). B-Mullikin Thoroughbreds (KY)

6th-HSN, ¥13,400,000 ($96k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400m
JOVIAN (c, 2, Justify–Runway Doll, by Majestic Warrior) debuts in the yellow-and-red silks of Kazumi Yoshida, with the visiting Cristian Demuro set to take the reins aboard the $250,000 OBS March breezer (:9 4/5). A half-brother to an Uncle Mo colt that sold to Donegal Racing for $200,000 at the Fasig-Tipton July sale, the bay is out of a half-sister to SW Song Warrior (Songandaprayer), who was acquired by this breeder for $380,000 in foal to American Pharoh at KEENOV in 2018. B-DS Stable LLC (KY)

ESSENTIAL ONE (f, 2, Bernardini–Indelible, by Tiznow) was acquired in utero for $130,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale about 12 months before her dam's 'TDN Rising Star' half-brother Essential Quality (Tapit) closed a championship season with a victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. On the heels of that success, Indelible was put through the 2020 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, where she realized a final bid of $1.6 million from Japan's Nobutaka Tada. This is the family of champion Folklore (Tiznow), whose daughter Rhodochrosite (Unbridled's Song) is the dam of Japanese Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). B-Ocala Stud, J Michael O'Farrell Jr & William J Terrill (FL)

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‘Pinehurst Flash Sale’ Begins Thursday on Fasig-Tipton Digital

Pinehurst (Twirling Candy–Giant Win, by Giant's Causeway), winner of last year's GI Del Mar Futurity and this year's G3 Saudi Derby, will be offered on Fasig-Tipton Digital in a one-horse auction beginning Thursday, Nov. 17 at 12 p.m. ET and concluding Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. ET. Pinehurst is being offered by ELiTE, agent, as a racing or stallion prospect.

The bay, bred on a similar cross to Gun Runner, was a debut winner at Del Mar last August and followed up with a 4 1/2-length victory in the Futurity. Making his sophomore debut in the GII San Vicente S., Pinehurst was a sound second to the talented Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) and made virtually all the running over the testing one-turn mile at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudia Arabia, defeating the well-regarded Japanese raider Sekifu (Jpn) (Henny Hughes).

Pinehurst has three wins from seven trips to the post for earnings of $1,213,500.

Produced by a daughter of MSW Win's Fair Lady (Dehere)–herself a full-sister to MGSW/GISP Graeme Hall–Pinehurst is out of a full-sister to GSW First Passage, the dam of GSW Berned (Bernardini) and First to Act (Curlin), second to Nest (Curlin) in the GII Beldame S. last month. Pinehurst's third dam also includes GISW Harmony Lodge (Hennessy).

“Pinehurst's credentials make him a highly attractive offering,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. “He's a Grade I winner at two, an international graded stakes winner at three and impeccably bred. He should have a broad appeal to racing and stallion operations the world over.”

The post ‘Pinehurst Flash Sale’ Begins Thursday on Fasig-Tipton Digital appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Doyle, Kah Among Headline Acts For Longines IJC

Nine of the finest jockeys representing six of the world's most important racing jurisdictions will take part in the Longines International Jockeys' Championship (IJC) to be held at iconic Happy Valley Racecourse on Hong Kong Island Wednesday, Dec. 7.

Making her third appearance in the IJC, having finished second in last year's event, is England's Hollie Doyle, who set a new record for wins by a female jockey in a British calendar year in last term. The 26-year-old has put together another fine season in 2022 and earned her first victory in a European Classic when Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) won the G1 Prix de Diane Longines before adding the G1 Qatar Nassau S. for John and Thady Gosden. Doyle's husband, Tom Marquand, also jets in for the third time for the IJC.

Kah, also just 26, is the most successful female jockey in Australian history, with eight Group 1 wins to her credit and better than 1,100 victories overall. During the 2020/2021 season, Kah became the first to ride over 100 winners in a single Victorian metropolitan season, besting the record of Brett Prebble.

New Zealander James McDonald has gone close in the IJC previously, finishing second on two occasions and once third from six previous appearances. It's been another cracking season for McDonald in Australia, where his 14 Group 1 successes includes the G1 Cox Plate aboard Anamoe (Aus) (Street Boss). McDonald currently sits first in the Longines World's Best Jockey Award standings.

Zac Purton, the tearaway leader on the Hong Kong jockeys' premiership, is already a three-time winner of the IJC and its two-time defending champion. Ryan Moore has a pair of IJC trophies to his name and takes part in the world's richest event of its kind for a 16th time.

Completing the foreign-based contingent are IJC debuter Jye McNeil, currently riding on a short-term contract in Hong Kong; France's Mickael Barzalona; and Japan's Yuga Kawada, who piloted Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) to a memorable victory in last year's G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup. The three remaining spots in the field of 12 will be filled by locally based jockeys, including the second and third on the jockeys's table and the leading 'homegrown' rider as of the conclusion of racing at Happy Valley Nov. 23.

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