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Trailblazing Japanese Trainer Mori Hoping France Go De Ina Is Next International Conquest

Yuji Inaida's France Go de Ina is unusually well traveled for a 3-year-old colt with a four-race career for a trainer who has never hesitated to venture away from Japan for major international stakes.

France Go de Ina, who arrived at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., on Saturday evening for a scheduled start in Saturday's 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1), will be the second horse saddled by trainer Hideyuki Mori for a start in a U.S. Triple Crown race. Sky Captain, who finished 14^th in the 1995 Kentucky Derby (G1), was the first of six horses that Mori has brought to the U.S. to compete in Grade 1 stakes.

The 62-year-old Mori, who most recently saddled Jasper Prince for a 14^th-place finish in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Keeneland, hasn't broken through with a Grade 1 victory in the U.S., but he has made history throughout the world.

“He's been traveling since he first launched his stable,” said Kate Hunter, the Preakness field representative for the Japan Racing Association, Sunday morning at Pimlico. “He was the first Japanese trainer to win a Hong Kong International race, and now [the Japanese horses] win that every year. He was the first to win an international Group 1 abroad, it was in France.”

Mori made history in France in 1998 when he saddled Seeking the Pearl for a victory in the Prix Maurice de Gheest (G1) at Deauville.

“He's quite the pioneer and continues to prove that year after year sending these horses abroad. He likes to travel and give his owners a unique experience,” said Hunter, who reported Mori will arrive at Pimlico Monday. “It's a great honor in Japan to say, 'I raced in Saudi Arabia, I raced in America, I raced in the Preakness.' It's something special and a unique opportunity to provide his clients.”

France Go de Ina, who won two of his first three races in Japan, shipped to Dubai, where he finished a troubled sixth in the UAE Derby (G2) March 27 before returning to Japan. The son of Will Take Charge shipped from Japan May 5 to Los Angeles, where he was in quarantine for two days before shipping to Newark, N.J. and vanning to Pimlico.

“You're looking at a horse who can deal with a lot. American horses in general are probably more used to traveling than most of the Japanese horses. They're pretty good at long van rides but they don't fly very much in Japan so to have a horse who can handle, not only flying to America, but flying to Dubai and back and then over here,” Hunter said. “If he can give us a solid performance, it will be pretty amazing because that's real tough on the horse.”

Hunter reported that France Go de Ina settled nicely in his stall at Pimlico. The Kentucky-bred colt, who was purchased for $100,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September sale, is scheduled to breeze at Pimlico Wednesday.

“He'll walk the opposite way around the track one lap, then gallop around two laps. We'll decide how far he'll breeze on how he shipped in and how far they want to push him, but he's traveled well,” said Hunter, noting that France Go de Ina will go to the track alone at 10:15 a.m. each day due to quarantine regulations. “He settled good and he's eating really well. Apparently, he remembers his American oats and is quite happy to have them back.”

France Go de Ina, who will be the first Japan-based horse to run in the Preakness since Lani (fifth in 2016), is likely to school in the starting gate at Pimlico in the hope that he will break more sharply in the Preakness under Joel Rosario than he did in the UAE Derby.

“He didn't break very well or quickly out of the gate. In Japan, it's not so much of a big thing because the racing is slower there over the dirt, so he's been good at regaining ground or taking the lead even in some of those races,” Hunter said. “We'll probably leave a lot of it up to Rosario at the end of the day, but getting him out of the gate quickly will be a priority. We're going to work him in the gate and make sure he gets used to having an assistant starter in there, because he's never had one and we didn't use one in Dubai and probably should have. But hindsight is 20-20.”

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‘Horse Whisperer’ Says All Systems Go For Willful Woman In Black-Eyed Susan

Alex and JoAnn Lieblong's Willful Woman, a 3-year-old daughter of champion Nyquist and half-sister to Grade 3 winner Ever So Clever, will make her return to stakes company in Friday's 97^th running of the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

Alex Lieblong said the filly, based in Kentucky with Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, is being pointed to the 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan for sophomore fillies that headlines a program of six stakes, four graded, worth $1 million in purses on the eve of the 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1).

“[Asmussen] says all systems go on her,” Lieblong said. “I usually get a vibe from him one way or the other and I think he's felt real good how she's trained. She worked the other morning and had a nice work. It was unlike an Asmussen work, although there were only 17 or 18 horses that worked, but she had a nice work there. So, knock on wood, it looks like she's headed that way.”

Willful Woman breezed five furlongs in 59.80 seconds May 2 at Churchill Downs, fastest of 17 horses. It was her first timed work since rebounding from running last of seven in the March 6 Honeybee (G3) by winning an optional claiming allowance April 9, both going 1 1/16 miles at Oaklawn Park.

Purchased for $400,000 as a yearling in August 2019 at Saratoga, Willful Woman's sire was the champion male at 2 and won the 2016 Florida Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1) and was third in the Preakness at 3. Ever So Clever, also out of the Grade 3-placed mare Foxy Danseur, won the 2017 Fantasy (G3) for Asmussen.

“We think she's a really nice filly. She's just kind of kept growing into herself,” Lieblong said. “She was kind of a big, tall, scopey thing, so to speak, but now she's filling that scope out some so we're tickled pink with the way she's doing.”

Previously in the Black-Eyed Susan, the Lieblongs owned Marathon Lady, a 12-1 long shot who came up a neck short of Bob Baffert-trained winner Fiftyshadesofhay in 2013. They won the 2020 Miss Preakness (G3) with Wicked Whisper. Asmussen in seeking his first Black-Eyed Susan win.

The Lieblongs will be back to defend their title in the $150,000 Miss Preakness for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs with the Asmussen-trained Abrogate, most recently fifth in the seven-furlong Eight Belles (G2) April 30 on the Kentucky Oaks (G1) undercard. The 3-year-old Outwork filly has won three of five career starts including the six-furlong Purple Martin Stakes April 3 at Oaklawn.

“If the horse whisperer, Asmussen, says she's ready, then we'll give her a shot,” Lieblong said. “She was right there with the leaders last time, and they went quick. She might be just a six-furlong horse.”

Though Lieblong said they will likely miss Preakness weekend to attend the high school graduation of their granddaughter, they have enjoyed great hospitality in previous trips to Pimlico and always look forward to the racing.

“We always enjoy coming up there if we can, if we've got something that looks like it might fit. Everybody's so friendly up there,” Lieblong, an Arkansas native, resident and businessman who also serves as chairman of the Arkansas Racing Commission, said. “I'm looking forward to a year, like everybody is, without all the added drama and hard times.”

G2 Winner Fearless Bound for Pimlico Special (G3) After Saturday Work
WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s Grade 2 winner Fearless is headed to the historic $250,000 Pimlico Special (G3) on Friday following his half-mile breeze Saturday in New York.

In company with the 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1) contender Unbridled Honor for Hall of Fame-elect trainer Todd Pletcher, Fearless worked four furlongs over a Belmont Park training track rated fast. Both horses were timed in 49.75 seconds.

Pletcher, still seeking his first career Preakness triumph, won the Pimlico Special in back-to-back years with Revolutionary in 2014 and Commissioner in 2015.

“I thought he worked very well this morning,” Pletcher said, “so he is on target for the Pimlico Special.”

Fearless returned from eight months between races to capture the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) Feb. 27 in his 5-year-old debut. The gelded son of Hall of Famer Ghostzapper closed to be second, beaten a half-length, in the 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn Handicap (G2) April 17 at Oaklawn Park.

Irad Ortiz Jr., the three-time defending Eclipse Award winner, was aboard for both starts and retains the mount in the Pimlico Special.

Other horses pointing to the Pimlico Special for 3-year-olds and up, contested at the Preakness distance of 1 3/16 miles, include defending champion Harpers First Ride; Cordmaker, third each of the past two years; Alwaysmining, Last Judgment, Max Player, Modernist, Prioritize and Treasure Trove.

Proxy Breezes Saturday at Fair Hill, $100,000 Sir Barton Remains in Play
Godolphin homebred Proxy, most recently fourth in the Lexington (G3) April 10 at Keeneland, breezed Saturday at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. for his next start, which could come next weekend at Pimlico Race Course.

Proxy worked four furlongs in 49.20 seconds over the main dirt course at Fair Hill, third-fastest of 24 horses. The bay son of Tapit out of the Include mare Panty Raid – all Grade 1 winners – is nominated to the $100,000 Sir Barton for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the undercard of the 146^th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 15.

In his most recent race, Proxy ran fourth in the Lexington (G3) April 10 at Keeneland, his fourth race this year. Proxy made his first three starts at Fair Grounds, finishing second in the LeComte (G3) and Risen Star (G2) before a fourth-place finish behind Hot Rod Charlie in the Louisiana Derby (G2).

Proxy won back-to-back starts at Fair Grounds in November and December after being beaten a neck on debut last October in an off-the-turf maiden event at Monmouth Park.

“He came out of the Lexington in great shape. He ran hard all winter. He ran five times down at the Fair Grounds and then we ran him right back kind of close in the Lexington. We're just giving him a little chance to catch up with himself and freshen him just slightly and look for a summer program for him,” trainer Michael Stidham said.

“We've got him nominated to multiple spots and we haven't really decided on which one,” he added. “Iowa Derby, Ohio Derby, all those different races, and we're not sure which one we're going to go for.”

The fastest half-mile breeze Saturday at Fair Hill was turned in by Proxy's stablemate Micheline, who completed the distance in 48.40 seconds. Godolphin's 4-year-old daughter of champion Bernardini win the 1 1/8-mile Hillsborough (G2) March 6 at Tampa Bay Downs and exits a sixth in the 1 1/16-mile Jenny Wiley (G1) April 10 at Keeneland.

Micheline is nominated to the $150,000 Gallorette (G3) for fillies and mares 3 and up at 1 1/16 miles on turf, also part of the Preakness undercard.

“Both horses worked very well at Fair Hill. They're training well and doing well,” Stidham said. “We're looking at some different spots with them but nothing is set in stone yet.”

Stidham said Godolphin's Pixelate, caught in deep stretch and beaten a nose by Corelli in the 1 1/16-mile Henry S. Clark April 24 at Pimlico, was unlikely to come back in the $250,000 Dinner Party (G2) May 15.

“We're nominated to the Dinner Party but we're most likely not going to run just because it's a little close back,” he said.

Entries for the May 14 Black-Eyed Susan Day program will be taken Sunday, while entries for the May 15 Preakness Day program are due Monday.

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Stronach 5 Rewards 46 Winning Ticket-Holders With $1,800

There were 46 winning tickets in Friday's Stronach 5 with each worth $1,800.80.

Friday's wager featured races from Pimlico Race Course, Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park and Golden Gate Fields along with an industry-low 12-percent takeout.

Friday's first two races of the Stronach 5 began at Pimlico and both races produced prices, with Judi Blue Eyes ($10.80) winning the eighth race, an allowance event at 1 1/16 miles on the turf, and American Patrol ($19.80) winning the ninth race, a $40,000 maiden special weight event for 3-year-olds.

The third leg of the Stronach 5, Gulfstream's ninth race at five furlongs on the turf, was won by 9-5 favorite Missing Link ($5.60). The Stronach 5 headed west for the last two legs of its popular Friday program. Santa Anita's third race was won by the 1-2 favorite Zabava ($3), who registered her eighth career victory and second in her last three starts. The Stronach 5 concluded with Golden Gate's second race and another heavy favorite in Arouse N Go ($4.80) getting a trip to the winner's circle.

Friday's races and sequence

Leg One – Pimlico Race 8: Judi Blue Eyes $10.80
Leg Two – Pimlico Race 9: American Patrol $19.80
Leg Three –Gulfstream Park Race 9: Missing Link $5.60
Leg Four –Santa Anita Park Race 3: Zabava $3
Leg Five –Golden Gate Fields Race 2: Arouse N Go $4.80

Fans can watch and wager on the action at 1/ST.COM/BET as well as stream all the action in English and Spanish at LaurelPark.com, SantaAnita.com, GulfstreamPark.com, and GoldenGateFields.com.

The Stronach 5 In the Money podcast, hosted by Jonathan Kinchen and Peter Thomas Fornatale, will be posted by 2 p.m. Thursday at InTheMoneyPodcast.com and will be available on iTunes and other major podcast distributors

The minimum wager on the multi-race, multi-track Stronach 5 is $1. If there are no tickets with five winners, the entire pool will be carried over to the next Friday.

If a change in racing surface is made after the wagering closes, each selection on any ticket will be considered a winning selection. If a betting interest is scratched, that selection will be substituted with the favorite in the win pool when wagering closes.

The Maryland Jockey Club serves as host of the Stronach 5.

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Four MATCH Series Races At Pimlico Draw 130 Nominations

The four stakes at Pimlico Race Course that kick off the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Championships Series (MATCH) attracted 130 nominations, among them many local runners that regularly compete in Maryland and other tracks in the region throughout the year.

This year's series begins May 15-16, and each of the six divisional legs—there are four divisions, all on dirt this year—will be held in Maryland with the exception of one stop at Colonial Downs in Virginia in late August. The MATCH Series concludes Dec. 26 at Laurel Park.

Note that entries for the Friday, May 15 card will be taken Sunday, May 9. Entries for May 16 will be taken Monday, May 10.

The May 15 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes program will include two MATCH events: the $250,000, Grade 3 Pimlico Special (3-Year-Olds and Up—Long Dirt division) and the $150,000, Grade 3 Allaire DuPont Stakes (Filly and Mare Long—Dirt division). On May 15, Preakness Stakes day, the $100,000 Runhappy Skipat Stakes (Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division) and $150,000, Grade 3 Maryland Sprint Stakes (3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt division) are scheduled.

The Pimlico Special, at 1 3/16 miles, attracted 39 nominees including last year's winner, Harper's First Ride, who at the time was trained by Maryland-based Claudio Gonzalez but was sold before his start in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational in January of this year. Cordmaker, who is based at Laurel with trainer Rodney Jenkins, was third in the 2020 Pimlico Special and is coming off a victory in the Harrison Johnson Memorial Stakes in March at Laurel. Runnymoore Racing's Alwaysmining, a multiple stakes winner in Maryland based at Fair Hill Training Center, finished second in an open allowance race at Parx Racing for trainer A. Lands Trites in late March.

Among the locals nominated to the Allaire DuPont at 1 1/8 miles is BB Horses' Landing Zone, who is trained by Gonzalez. The 4-year-old Morning Line mare won four in a row last summer and fall, progressed to the stakes level and came away with a second and third at Laurel. Sonata Stable's Lucky Stride, trained by Maryland-based Mike Trombetta, won the Nellie Morse Stakes at Laurel in February and last November finished second in the Thirty Eight Go Go Stakes at Laurel.

Multiple stakes winner Anna's Bandit, who has been away since July 2020, is nominated to the six-furlong Runhappy Skipat. Owned by No Guts No Glory Farm and trained by John Robb, the 7-year-old Great Notion mare has won 17 of 36 starts and was third in the Grade III Barbara Fritchie Stakes at Laurel in the winter of 2020. Five Hellions Farm's Dontletsweetfoolya, who won her last five races, two of them stakes at Laurel, in 2020 for trainer Lacey Gaudet, has been away since her seventh-place finish in the Barbara Fritchie earlier this year. Parx-based Chub Wagon, owned by Daniel Lopez and George Chestnut and trained by Guadalupe Preciado, is five-for-five in her career and last out at Parx won the Unique Bella Stakes for Pennsylvania-breds by 7 1/2 lengths; her winning margins total more than 31 lengths.

The Filly and Mare Sprint—Dirt division has produced the overall MATCH Series champion since the series returned after 16 years on the shelf: Jessica Krupnick in 2018 and Bronx Beauty in 2019. MATCH wasn't held last year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Hillside Equestrian Meadows' Laki, trained by Damon Dilodovico, was the MATCH Series champion in the 3-Year-Olds and Up Sprint—Dirt division in 2018 and 2019 and is among those nominated to the six-furlong Maryland Sprint. The 8-year-old Cuba gelding won the Grade III Frank J. De Francis Memorial Stakes at Pimlico in October 2020 and in April captured the Frank Whiteley Stakes at Laurel. Maryland-based Whereshetoldmetogo, trained by Brittany Russell for Madaket Stables, Ten Strike Racing, Michael Kisber and Black Cloud Racing, won three consecutive stakes at Laurel from November 2020 through March 13 of this year. The 6-year-old El Padrino gelding encountered trouble and was eased in the Frank Whiteley but had previously defeated Laki at Laurel.

The MATCH Series, the only one of its kind in racing, will feature 24 stakes—20 of them in Maryland and four at Colonial Downs—valued at $2.75 million. Bonus money will be $282,000 for 2021. Owners and trainers will compete for $63,000 in divisional bonuses and the overall MATCH Series champion will net $30,000 in bonuses for its owner and trainer.

In addition, the Maryland Horse Breeders Association will pay a $3,000 bonus to the breeder of the top points-earning Maryland-bred and $3,000 for the top points-earning Maryland-sired horse. If the top points-earner is both Maryland-bred and -sired, the breeder would get $6,000.

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