Tag: Japan

The Crown Fits: Liberty Island Eases Home In the Shuka Sho

Given a Yuga Kawada ride befitting a $1.10 (1-10) mortal, Sunday Racing Co. Ltd.'s Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) became the seventh filly to win the Japanese Triple Tiara with a deceptively easy one-length victory in Sunday's G1 Shuka Sho before a packed grandstand of better than 45,000 onlookers at Kyoto Racecourse. Masked Diva (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}), the 12-1 third favourite, flashed home for second ahead of narrow second pick Harper (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}).

Making her first start since smashing her rivals by six lengths in the 2400-metre G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Oaks) some 147 days ago, Liberty Island bounced away nicely from stall six and took up a position in and amongst rivals as the commonly owned Kona Coast (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) took them along over ground officially rated good, but perhaps riding softer given the clods of turf being kicked up. Leaving little to chance, Kawada had Liberty Island in about seventh position and in the clear four or five off the inside passing halfway and the duo was committed to an overland run around the second bend. Asked to circle her rivals with 600 metres standing between her and history, Liberty Island quickly went to the leaders five or six deep on the swing for home, accelerated sharply to put a gap on them at the entrance to the final furlong and reported home a comfortable winner. Masked Diva closed off her final three furlongs in a race-fastest :33.5–Liberty Island was home in :33.6–while Harper just got the better of a photo with Dura (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) to earn a second Classic placing, having finished the distant runner-up in the Oaks.

“I'm grateful that we were able to achieve the Triple Crown,” said Kawada, riding a 25th Group 1 winner on the JRA. “She is a horse with great ability, so I placed top priority on letting her run comfortably and finding a good path for her. I was confident of her victory when we had an open space at the third corner. She has great potential, and her dreams for the future are wide open, but first of all, I would like to praise her for achieving the Triple Crown.”

Named champion of her generation after winning the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies last December, Liberty Island returned in the Apr. 9 G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and looked to have it all to do in the straight, but rattled home to score a touch cosily. There were no such worries when last seen in the Oaks, as she was waited with until the final 200 metres before blowing the race apart at Tokyo.

Should she have another run this season, options include the sex-restricted G1 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup going 11 furlongs at Kyoto Nov. 12 or a potential clash of the titans with Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) in the G1 Japan Cup two weeks late.

Pedigree Notes:

The sadly departed Duramente joins Almond Eye (Jpn)'s sire Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) as sons of the late King Kamehameha (Jpn) to account for a Triple Tiara winner, while King Kamehameha was himself responsible for 2010 Triple Tiara heroine Apapane (Jpn). Duramente's daughter Stars On Earth (Jpn) was on a Triple Tiara bid of her own 12 months ago, but fell just short in third behind Sunday Racing's Stunning Rose (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}).

Yankee Rose, who cost just A$10,000 at the 2015 Inglis Sydney Classic Yearling Sale before going on to become a two-time champion and dual Group 1 winner, was acquired privately by the Yoshida family and her progeny have excelled in the sales ring and at the races. Her first foal, the filly Romneya (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), fetched ¥210 million (US$1.9m) from the latter's owner Makoto Kaneko as a foal at the 2019 JRHA Select Sale and her now 2-year-old colt by Lord Kanaloa was the second-dearest offering at the same event in 2021, selling to Danox Co. Ltd for ¥370 million ($2.6m).

Yankee Rose is also responsible for a yearling Kizuna (Jpn) filly and a weanling filly from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn). Each has been retained by their breeder.

 

 

 

Sunday, Kyoto, Japan
SHUKA SHO-G1, ¥215,520,000, Kyoto, 10-15, 3yo, f, 2000mT, 2:01.10, gd.
1–LIBERTY ISLAND (JPN), 121, f, 3, by Duramente (Jpn)
1st Dam: Yankee Rose (Aus) (Ch. 2yo & 3yo Filly & MG1SW-Aus, $1,627,487), by All American (Aus)
2nd Dam: Condesaar (Aus), by Xaar (GB)
3rd Dam: Condescendance, by El Gran Senor
O-Sunday Racing Co Ltd; B-Northern Farm; T-Mitsumasa Nakauchida; J-Yuga Kawada; ¥113,864,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Filly-Jpn, 6-5-1-0, ¥543,336,000. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
2–Masked Diva (Jpn), 121, f, 3, by Rulership (Jpn)
1st Dam: Mask Off (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Behind The Mask (Jpn), by White Muzzle (GB)
3rd Dam: Vain Gold, by Mr. Prospector
1ST G1 BLACK-TYPE. O-Shadai Race Horse; B- Shadai Farm; T-Ysauyuki Tsujino; J-Mirai Iwata; ¥45,104,000.
3–Harper (Jpn), 121, f, 3, by Heart's Cry (Jpn)
1st Dam: Seresta (Arg), by Jump Start
2nd Dam: Serata, by Carson City
3rd Dam: Maliziosa, by Dynaformer
(¥86,000,000 Wlg '20 JRHAJUL). O-M's Racing; B-Northern Farm; T-Yasuo Tomomichi; J-Christophe Lemaire; ¥28,552,000.
Margins: 1, 2HF, NO. Odds: 0.10, 12.00, 11.90.
Also Ran: Dura (Jpn), Moryana (Jpn), Malaki Naia (Jpn), Emu (Jpn), Kona Coast (Jpn), Hip Hop Soul (Jpn), Doe Eyes (Jpn), Ravel (Jpn), Kita Wing (Jpn), Mississippi Tesoro (Jpn), Pipiola (Jpn), Grand Bernadette (Jpn), Festes Band (Jpn), Soleil Vita (Jpn), Conch Shell (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart.

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Beautifully Bred War Front Filly Gets Going at Headquarters

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 Tokyo Racecourse. The headline event of the weekend is the G1 Shuka Sho, where Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) goes for a sweep of the Triple Tiara. Click here for our preview:

Saturday, October 14, 2023
3rd-TOK, ¥13,720,000 ($92k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400mT
ERIKA MARGHERITA (f, 2, War Front–Deceptive Vision, by A.P. Indy), whose dam was a Grade III winner on dirt, a Grade II victress and Grade I-placed on the turf and sold for $900,000 with this filly in utero from the Sam-Son dispersal at the 2021 Keeneland January sale, is a full-sister to Ancient Piece, runner-up in this year's GII Summertime Oaks and third in the GIII Remington Oaks after being purchased for $650,000 at KEEJAN this past winter. Erika Margherita, a $400,000 Keeneland September acquisition, is out of a daughter of Sovereign Award-winning 3-year-old filly Eye of the Sphynx (Smart Strike), whose other produce include champion and Queen's Plate winner Eye of the Leopard (A.P. Indy) MSW/MGSP Hotep (A.P. Indy) and SW Desert Isle (Bernardini). This is also the family of Canadian Horse of the Year Quiet Resolve (Affirmed). B-Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings Inc & Spry Family Farm LP (KY)

ECORO EIGHT (c, 2, Take Charge Indy–Lighthouse Bay, by Speightstown) is the latest to the races for his dam, the 2013 GI Prioress S. winner, who was purchased by Newgate Farm for $1.2 million in foal to Tapit at Fasig-Tipton November in 2014 and was RNAd for $850,000 at Keeneland November the next year. Lighthouse Bay was acquired by this breeder in 2017, and her first foal Easy Fact (The Factor)–bred in the name of Teruya Yoshida–was an allowance winner at Funabashi in August. B-Shadai Farm (KY)

Sunday, October 15, 2023
4th-TOK, ¥13,720,000 ($92k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1600m
AMERICAN TICKET (c, 2, Justify–A Z Warrior, by Bernardini), a $350,000 Keeneland September grad, is out of the 2010 GI Frizette S. winner and is a full-brother to Justa Warrior, winner of last year's Ellis Park Debutante S., and a half to Irish listed winner Key to My Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and to Japanese track-record setter Conch Pearl (American Pharoah). The MSP second dam Carson Jen (Carson City) produced two-time graded winner Jojo Warrior (Pioneerof the Nile) and fellow 'TDN Rising Stars' GSW/GISP E Z Warrior (Exploit) and MSW/GSP J Z Warrior (Harlan's Holiday). B-Triemore Stud (KY)

GOLDEN ROOKIE (c, 2, Catholic Boy–Gold N Shaft, by Mineshaft) is a half-brother to two-time graded winner My Boy Jack (Creative Cause) and fetched $35,000 at KEESEP last fall before selling for $60,000 at OBS this past April. The Feb. 12 foal is out of a daughter of John Franks's GSW & GISP Gold N Delicious (Gold Alert). B-SF Bloodstock (KY)

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Breeders’ Cup Option For Lemon Pop Following Comeback Win

The GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is one of three options for Godolphin's Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid) following a barnstorming gate-to-wire victory in Monday's $823,000 Listed Mile Championship Nambu Hai at Morioka Racecourse on the National Association of Racing circuit in Japan.

Having already secured a Breeders' Cup berth courtesy of his biggest win to date in the G1 February S. at Tokyo this past February, the 5-year-old was having his first run since finishing an outpaced 10th, beaten six lengths, in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen over six furlongs in late March.

Favored at 1-2, the $70,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase hit the ground running from gate three and was soon at the head of affairs for jockey Ryusei Sakai. Always traveling strongly on the front end, Lemon Pop began to get away from his rivals approaching the 400-meter marker and turned it into a one-horse show in the final stages. He had a margin of two full seconds, or approximately a dozen lengths, on Igniter (Jpn) (Espoir City {Jpn}) at the wire, with the mare Ladybug (Jpn) (Hokko Tarumae {Jpn}) third. Two-time February S. hero Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah) was fifth, while 2022 G1 Satsuki Sho winner Geoglyph (Jpn) (Drefong) finished ninth.

“It's impossible to be anything other than thrilled with a performance like that,” said Godolphin Japan President Harry Sweeney. “Lemon Pop was outstanding today. We hadn't really expected him to make the running and there was a very audible murmur from the crowd as he took the lead, somewhat in disbelief. The jockey rode a brilliant race and pulled away easily to win very, very comfortably at the finish.

“It's not easy to win a Jpn G1 race by a distance, so credit to the horse and the trainer. A special thanks must go to our own team in Castle Park, where Lemon Pop has been for about five months since he came back from Dubai.”

Sweeney said that instead of the Dirt Mile, Lemon Pop could remain at home for the valuable Listed JBC Sprint (1200m) Nov. 3 and/or the G1 Champions Cup in December, which would mark his first start past a mile.

“Lemon Pop's trainer was never really in favour of running him over a mile, even though he has now won two top competitions over the distance, and he certainly showed today that he has no problem with the trip,” said Sweeney. “Certainly, we will be looking at the Champions Cup, with one run beforehand. We will be discussing it intently over the next few days.”

 

 

MILE CHAMPIONSHIP NAMBU HAI-Listed, ¥122,500,000, Morioka, 10-9, 3yo/up, 1600m, 1:33.80, yl.
1–LEMON POP, 128, h, 5, Lemon Drop Kid–Unreachable, by Giant's Causeway. ($70,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV). O-Godolphin; B-Mr & Mrs Oliver S Tait (KY); T-Hiroyasu Tanaka; J-Ryusei Sakai; ¥ 70,000,000. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Jpn, 13-9-3-0, $2,704,452.
2–Igniter (Jpn), 126, h, 5, Espoir City (Jpn)–Bianco (Jpn), by Warning (GB). (¥7,020,000 Ylg '19 HOKSUM). O-Yoshiki Noda; B-Haruki Farm; ¥24,500,000.
3–Ladybug (Jpn), 121, m, 5, Hokko Tarumae (Jpn)–Favorite Girl (Jpn), by Dance in the Dark (Jpn). O/B-Gold Up Company; ¥14,000,000
Margins: 12, HF, 3/4. Odds : 0.50, 20.70, 82.40.
Click for the goracing.jp chart.

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International Bloodlines on Offer at Northern Farm Mixed Sale

Sales action returns to Hokkaido's Northern Horse Park on Tuesday, October 24 with the second edition of the Northern Farm Mixed Sale. The auction features a selection of 44 weanlings which is followed by 76 broodmares and fillies out of training.

The country's most recent Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) was the star of the foal section of the JRHA Select Sale in July, and the Shadai stallion is represented by two of his first-crop weanlings in the Mixed Sale. Lot 6 is a Contrail filly out of the American Grade I winner Mirth (Colonel John), while lot 11 is a half-brother to the GI Kentucky Oaks winner Cathryn Sophia (Street Boss). Contrail's sire Kitasan Black (Jpn) also has a youngster in the sale, lot 8, a filly out of the Argentinean champion race mare Elvas (Arg) (Catcher In The Rye).

A Kingman (GB) colt out of the well-related Deep Impact (Jpn) mare Ikat (Jpn) features as lot 9, while the sale opens with a son of Japanese champion sire-elect Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) out of the G2 Kilboy Estates S. winner Red Tea (GB) (Sakhee).

An international array of bloodlines can be found in the filly and broodmare section. Three daughters of Deep Impact are included, with two of them being the offspring of Argentinean Grade I winners. Of those, Culminate (Jpn), out of the champion three-year-old Cursora (Arg) (Candy Stripes), is offered as lot 111 in foal to Jim Bolger's 2,000 Guineas winner Poetic Flare (Ire).

The Heart's Cry (Jpn) mare Premiere Score (Jpn) is catalogued as lot 103 and is a winning daughter of the G2 Oaks d'Italia and G1 Premio Lydia Tesio victrix Final Score (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) from the family of Irish Oaks winner Sea Of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). She has been covered by the Japanese Derby winner Rey De Oro (Jpn).

Another daughter of Heart's Cry catalogued as lot 151 is the three-year-old filly Lebens Beruf (Jpn), whose claims to being a future enticing broodmare prospect are backed up by her strong page. She is a three-parts-sister to the Japanese champion juvenile filly Danon Fantasy (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and out of the dual Grade 1 winner Life For Sale (Arg) (Not For Sale {Arg}).

 

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