Equinox Must Defy Outside Barrier in Satsuki Sho

Highly impressive in winning a pair of juvenile starts last season, Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) makes Sunday's G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) his 3-year-old debut, but must overcome the widest draw in the field of 18 if he is to stretch his unbeaten mark to three.

Receiving the always important endorsement of Christophe Lemaire for his career debut in an 1800-metre newcomers' event at Niigata at the end of August, the Silk Racing colorbearer settled handy to the pace and stormed clear to graduate by six powerful lengths. He faced the starter just once more, getting further back in the run before closing his final three furlongs in a smart :32.9 to take out the G2 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai S. Nov. 20, becoming the second group winner of the year for his Group 3-winning dam Chateau Blanche (Jpn) (King Halo {Jpn}). Equinox's half-sister Weiss Meteor (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) won the G2 Radio Nikkei Sho last July.

“I have confidence in him, and with his two wins from two starts, there seems to be plenty more to come from him,” said Lemaire. “I am not worried about it being the first time at the track, or the fact that he hasn't run in a while. I think he can run from any position in a race, and he showed a really good turn of foot at Tokyo last time. I haven't won a big race in Japan this year, but my confidence is up after riding overseas, and I'd like to be successful here with this good horse.”

 

 

 

Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) ran the table in three starts last term, winning the Listed Ivy S. ahead of a championship-clinching success in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. going a mile in December. The bay has the benefit of a tightener, and a bit of troubled one at that, as he was shuffled back at a key stage in the G2 Deep Impact Kinen over track and distance Mar. 6 and couldn't quite reel in Ask Victor More (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who sat a soft trip just off the speed.

Danon Beluga (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) is also a veteran of just two runs to date, a debut success going 10 furlongs at Tokyo Nov. 21 and a comebacking defeat of favoured Geoglyph (Jpn) (Drefong) in the G2 Kyodo News Hai at headquarters Feb. 13. While the former had a clear run down the centre of the track on that occasion, Geoglyph brushed with a rival and took a long time to fully let down before finishing with good energy.

Killer Graces (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) stamped himself a Classics contender in the G1 Hopeful S. at the end of the season, besting a fractionally unlucky Justin Palace (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) by 1 1/2 lengths.

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More Than Ready Colt All The Way in New Zealand Trophy

Given a perfectly rationed ride from the front by the evergreen Yutaka Take, Jean Gros (More Than Ready) became the first winner at group level in Japan for his legendary sire in Saturday's $841,637 G2 New Zealand Trophy at Nakayama, a steppingstone to next month's G1 NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo Racecourse.

The 6-1 third favourite off a stalk-and-pounce success in listed company over 1200 metres Feb. 27, the full-brother to MGSW & GISP Tom's Ready was kicked straight into the lead from gate six and led through reasonable fractions of :23.5 for the opening quarter-mile and :46.8 for the first 800 metres. Going comfortably on the single right-handed turn, Jean Gros turned for home after six furlongs in 1:10.5 and finished strongly to cross the line a head better than favoured Matenro Orion (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}). The latter, drawn gate one, was maneuvered to the outside past halfway and was forced to take the overland route on the bend. He kicked hard in the stretch, but could not quite overhaul the leader in the dying strides. Lubeck (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}), a full-brother to the globetrotting Deirdre (Jpn), was third. Take was riding his first winner of the race since landing the 2004 renewal–also for trainer Hideyuki Mori–atop fellow American-bred Seeking the Dia (Storm Cat). The 2021 winner was Bathrat Leon (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), upset winner of the G2 Godolphin Mile Mar. 26.

Pedigree Notes:

Jean Gros is the 98th worldwide graded/group winner for WinStar's More Than Ready, still going strong at the age of 25.

Blackstone Farm acquired Goodbye Stranger carrying the foal that would become Tom's Ready for $40,000 at Keeneland January in 2013 and also bred the stakes-placed Wrong Color (Gemologist) from the mare before selling her to Nursery Place for $120,000 with Jean Gros in utero at KEEJAN in 2019.

Entered for but withdrawn from the Keeneland November Sale  eight months after his foaling date of Mar. 2, Jean Gros was bought back by John Mayer's operation on a bid of $130,000 at Keeneland September the following fall. Turned over to consignor Al Pike, the bay was knocked down to Mori for $265,000 at last year's OBS March Sale after breezing an eighth of a mile in :10 flat.

Mori, whose success with traveling American-bred gallopers is well-documented, signed for eight horses for over $2.2 million at OBS last March, including the $750,000 topper now named Clos de Mesnil (Practical Joke). She is a maiden winner from four starts to date. Six of the eight have won at least one race.

Barren to Arrogate for 2020, Goodbye Stranger is the dam of a yearling filly by Audible and is due to Horse of the Year Authentic this season.

 

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Notable US-Breds in Japan: Apr. 9-10, 2022

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 Nakayama and Hanshin Racecourses, the latter of which plays host to the first of this year's Japanese Classics–the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) over 1600 meters:

Saturday, April 9, 2022
11th-NKY, New Zealand Trophy-G2, ¥103.5m ($835k), 3yo, 1mT
JEAN GROS (c, 3, More Than Ready–Goodbye Stranger, by Broad Brush), a $130K Keeneland September buyback turned $265K OBS March breezer, has won three of his seven trips to the post, his last two over the metric six furlongs, including record-setting success at Chukyo in December and an impressive victory in the Listed Marguerite S. at this venue Feb. 27. (see below, SC 7). Blackstone Farm acquired Goodbye Stranger carrying the foal that would become MGSW & GISP Tom's Ready for $40K at Keeneland January in 2013. The mare was resold to Nursery Place for $120 with this foal in utero at KEEJAN in 2019. Jean Gros stretches back out to a mile for this first attempt at group level. B-Nursery Place & Partners (KY)

 

 

Sunday, April 10, 2022
4th-HSN, ¥9,900,000 ($80k), Maiden, 3yo, 1400mT
MOZU BONHEUR (f, 3, Street Sense–Endless Chatter, by First Samurai) was well-beaten on debut over the dirt at Chukyo last Decembeer, but showed some improvement when tried over a nine-furlong trip on the grass at this track 17 days later. A $200K KEESEP yearling, the Apr. 7 foal is out of Endless Chatter, who carried the silks of this breeder to a victory in the Summer Colony S. at Saratoga and a third placing in the GI Beldame S. in 2014. Endless Chatter, who drops back to seven furlongs here, is a daughter of Ornate (A.P. Indy), a full-sister to Claiborne's outstanding late sire Pulpit who is also the dam of SW & G1SP Whitecliffsofdover (War Front). B-Alpha Delta Stables LLC (KY)

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Delicada Beats The Boys in Final Derby Points Race

Delicada (Jpn) (Pyro) went for a gap from between horses in the dying strides and it proved a decisive move, as she was along for a neck victory in Saturday's Fukuryu S. (allowance) at Nakayama Racecourse. Facing no other rivals that had previously accumulated points on the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, Delicada has the right of first refusal for a berth in the race, having earned 40 points to shoot to the head of the class. She was not an original nominee to the Triple Crown series.

Perfect in two starts at Hanshin last term, each over the same 1800-meter distance, Delicada–the only filly in a field of eight– lined up here as the 7-1 third choice to fellow previously unbeaten Ho O Roulette (Jpn) (Roses In May). Away cleanly from gate four, the gray filly settled three wide and not far from the speed as the rail-drawn 3-10 favorite showed the way. Traveling without cover throughout, Delicada was scrubbed on three deep at the quarter pole, but appeared flat-footed in upper stretch. Ho O Roulette backed out of it abruptly with 150 meters to race, but Delicada responded to jockey Ryuji Wada's urgings and was up in the final few strides (see below). Notturno (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}–Sheikh's Serenade) was second ahead of 241-1 outsider Peisha Es (Jpn) (Espoir City {Jpn}).

The winner, a daughter of Bronx Silver (Jpn) (Kurofune), is unlikely to take up the Derby assignment. The series leader, with 38 points, is Godolphin's Combustion (Jpn) (Discreet Cat), who was to run in Saturday's G2 UAE Derby at Meydan. The homebred was not an original nominee to the Triple Crown and would need to be supplemented for $6,000 at the upcoming second closing stage.

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