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Gran Alegria Earns Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Berth With VIctoria Mile Score

Sunday Racing's 5-year-old mare Gran Alegria (JPN) dominated Sunday's 1-mile, US$2.1 million Victoria Mile (G1) on turf at Tokyo Racecourse, surging to the front in the final furlong to post a 4four-length win over longshot Rambling Alley (JPN). With this victory, Gran Alegria earned an automatic starting position into the US$2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series.

The Breeders' Cup Challenge is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California on Nov. 5-6.

Trained by Kazuo Fujisawa and ridden by Christophe Lemaire, Gran Alegria, a bay daughter of Deep Impact (JPN) out of the Tapit mare Tapitsfly, won her fifth career Group 1 race. The odds-on favorite in the 18-horse field, Gran Alegria completed the mile in 1:31 over a course listed as good to firm.

As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for Gran Alegria to start in the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Breeders' Cup also will provide a minimum travel allowance of US$40,000 for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships.

Tapitsfly, Gran Alegria's dam, won the 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita.

Breaking from stall six, Gran Alegria settled in mid-division around 10^th place from the front-runner Christie (JPN). Taking an outer route turning the corners, Gran Alegria made a bid from around the 400-meter pole and promptly took the lead over 7-1 second-choice Resistencia (JPN) 200 meters from the finish. Gran Alegria further accelerated with a powerful drive to the wire.

“She was very strong as we had all expected,” commented Lemaire, who won his 38^th JRA Group 1 race and his 1,400^th overall victory in Japan. “She's not a very good starter so we settled in mid-division, but she raced in good rhythm. After I took her to the outside entering the lane, she showed a remarkable response and geared up on her own. She showed that she's at a different level than her competitors and will probably win more G1 titles going forward.”

Tenth pick Rambling Alley hugged the rail in 11th eying Gran Alegria on the outside. The 5-year-old dark bay swung to the outside entering the lane and chased the race favorite persistently until the wire, nailing Magic Castle (JPN) in her last stride for a runner-up effort. Fifth choice Magic Castle saved ground, around ninth, inside Gran Alegria, met traffic at the top of the stretch but showed sustaining speed and passed the tenacious Resistencia 100 meters out. Although overtaken by fast-closing Rambling Alley just before the wire, Magic Castle held off the rest of the field to complete a 1-2-3 finish by filly and mares sired by Deep Impact.

Gran Alegria, the 2020 Best Sprinter or Miler in Japan, became the first horse to win all three of the JRA's G1 mile titles for 4-year-olds and up, which included her Yasuda Kinen and Mile Championship titles last year. Her other two G1 victories were the 2019 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, 1,600m) and last year's Sprinters Stakes (1,200m).

Now 8 of 12 lifetime, Gran Alegria, bred by Northern Farm, came into Sunday's race off a fourth-place finish in the 1 ¼-mile Osaka Ha (G1) at Hanshin on April 4 over a yielding course.

Lemaire won his third Victoria Mile. He captured the 2017 race on Admire Lead (JPN) and aboard the brilliant champion Almond Eye (JPN) last year.

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Gran Alegria Seeks Fourth Group 1 in Mile Championship

A diverse group of 17 runners Sunday in Hanshin’s G1 Mile Championship, the second leg of the Japan Autumn International Series. Headlining the 1,600-meter test,

Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) accounted for a pair of Goup 1 wins in her two latest starts–the Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo in June followed by Nakayama’s Sprinters S. Oct. 4. The daughter of Grade I-winning Tapitsfly (Tapit) won last season’s G1 Oka Sho over the same course and distance of this weekend’s Mile.

“She was in great condition for the Sprinters S., and although she didn’t start so quickly, the blistering turn of foot she showed at the end of the race was quite amazing,” said Daisuke Tsumagari, assistant to trainer Kazuo Fujisawa. “She had a break at Northern Farm Tenei after the race, and since returning to the stable she’s been relaxed and in good order.”

Attempting to repeat in this season’s Mile Championship, Indy Champ (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) proved best in the 1,600-meter G2 Yomiuri Milers Cup at Kyoto in April before finishing third to Gran Alegria and the star mare Almond Eye (Jpn) in the Yasuda Kinen, a race he won in 2019. The 5-year-old boasts an impressive 50% win strike rate at the 1,600-meter distance. Assistant trainer Kenichi Shono commented: “He had some pain in his right hindquarters, so we had to skip the Sprinters S. In recent training he’s been working on the woodchip course, as the going on the uphill training track hasn’t been so good. It’ll be his first race since finishing third in this year’s Yasuda Kinen, and his regular rider, Yuichi Fukunaga, is expected to be in the saddle once more.”

Victorious in Tokyo’s G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup last fall, Salios (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) recorded a career-high victory in the

G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. over this course and distance in December. Runner-up behind Contrail (Jpn) in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas) and Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) earlier this spring, the 3-year-old took the 1,800-meter G2 Mainichi Okan at Tokyo Oct. 11. The colt has never finished worse than second in six career starts.

“He won well in the Mainichi Okan after being off for a while, and it just took him a bit longer to recover after that race,” said trainer Noriyuki Hori. “We’re just being careful with him and checking his condition as this race approaches.”

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Gran Alegria Adds New Dimension To Deep Impact Legacy

Deep Impact (Jpn) added another feather to his cap posthumously on Sunday when, for the first time, one of his progeny won a Group 1 race over 1200 metres. Gran Alegria (Jpn) had shown enough pace at two to win her first two starts over a mile before finishing third against the colts in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity. She earned her first Group 1 rosette going that same mile trip in the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) on seasonal debut the following April. Connections clearly knew what they had and thereafter kept her to a mile or below. A fourth-place finish (demoted to fifth) in the G1 NHK Mile followed Gran Alegria’s Classic score and, when dropped below that trip for the first time following a lengthy holiday last December, the filly bounced back to win the seven-furlong G2 Hanshin Cup by five lengths on Dec. 21. Gran Alegria was bested a short head by Mozu Superflare (Jpn) (Speightstown) in the six furlong G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen on Mar. 29, and her talents were fully exposed on June 7 when she upset Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) when back up to a mile in the G1 Yasuda Kinen.

Chasing her third Group 1 score on Sunday, Gran Alegria was slow from the gate and briefly in last and under a ride from Christophe Lemaire as Mozu Superflare rocketed away to set the pace. Turning for home Gran Alegria had just one rival beaten and a good 15 lengths between she and Mozu Superflare, but she unleashed a scintillating turn of foot inside the final 200 metres to cut down the deficit and score by two lengths under a handride.

Lemaire-who along with trainer Kazuo Fujisawa was winning his second consecutive Sprinters S. following Tower Of London (Jpn) (Raven’s Pass)-said, “I can’t believe how strong she is. She was a little slow to get into the rhythm and we were much further back than expected but we did not panic if not a little worried that we may not be in time as the pace was fast—in a normal situation we may not have made it. But she certainly showed what she is made of and she just carried on while some of the front runners started to weaken.”

Pedigree Notes

Gran Alegria’s dam Tapitsfly (Tapit) can likely take a significant share of credit for her daughter’s brilliance, that Dale Romans trainee having won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf to cap a six-race juvenile campaign. Tapitsfly was off the scene at three and won just once at allowance level in 11 tries at four, but completed her resurgence in a major way at five when winning the GI Just A Game S., GI First Lady S. and GII Honey Fox S. all going a mile on the grass before being bought by Katsumi Yoshida for $1.85-million at Fasig-Tipton November in 2012. Gran Alegria is her first foal.

Sunday, Nakayama, Japan
SPRINTERS S.-G1, ¥252,860,000, Nakayama, 9-29, 3yo/up, 1200mT, 1:08.30, fm.
1–GRAN ALEGRIA (JPN), 121, f, 4, by Deep Impact (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Tapitsfly (MGISW-US, $1,495,503), by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Flying Marlin, by Marlin
                3rd Dam: Morning Dove, by Fortunate Prospect
O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm; T-Kazuo Fujisawa;
J-Kenichi Ikezoe; ¥133,402,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 3yo Filly-
Jpn, 9-6-1-1. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus* Click for
   the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Danon Smash (Jpn), 126, h, 5, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) Spinning
Wildcat, by Hard Spun. O-Danox Inc; B-K.I. Farm; ¥52,972,000.
3–A Will a Way (Jpn), 121, f, 4, Just a Way (Jpn)–Will Power
(Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). O-Katsumi Yoshida;
B-Northern Farm; ¥ 28,492,000.
Margins: 2, HF, HF. Odds: 1.20, 4.10, 59.90.
Also Ran: Mr Melody, Kurino Gaudi (Jpn), Red en Ciel (Jpn), Meisho Glocke (Jpn), Daimei Princess (Jpn), Right on Cue (Jpn), Mozu Superflare, Eighteen Girl (Jpn), King Heart (Jpn), Diatonic (Jpn), Daimei Fuji (Jpn), Love Kampf (Jpn), Bien Fait (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart and video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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Bloodlines: Halladay Clears The Path For Tapit’s High-End Broodmare Sire Career

A front-running victory in the Grade 1 Fourstardave Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 22 made Halladay the 51st group or graded stakes winner for his sire War Front (by Danzig), as well as the sire's 22nd Grade 1 winner; Halladay also became the first North American Grade 1 winner for broodmare sire Tapit, who has been the leading general sire in North America three times.

Tapit mares have already produced Group 1 winners in Japan and Australia. In June of 2020, Gran Alegria won the G1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo to pair with her victory last year in the G1 Oka Sho (Japan 1,000 Guineas). Overall, the bay daughter of the great sire Deep Impact has won five of eight starts and $4.1 million. Gran Alegria's dam, Tapitsfly, also won a pair of Group 1 races, the First Lady at Keeneland and the Just a Game Stakes at Belmont, as well as the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Filly Turf when it was instituted as a listed race (now G1). At the 2012 Fasig-Tipton November sale, Tapitsfly sold as a broodmare prospect for $1.85 million to Katsumi Yoshida.

Tapitsfly came from Tapit's second crop of foals, and Hightap, the dam of Halladay, came from the gray sire's first crop. Now they lead the stallion's producers of quality.

Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd. and Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, Halladay went to the 2017 Keeneland September sale, was led out of the ring unsold at $225,000, changed hands privately thereafter through Steve Young, agent, and races for Harrell Ventures LLC.

Hightap's first four foals had brought about $1 million for the breeders, and Halladay was the broodmare's fifth foal. The handsome gray did not show his stakes quality immediately, not getting his first black type until a third-place finish in the English Channel Stakes at Belmont on Oct. 26 last year.

Just a few days later, his dam, Grade 3 winner Hightap, went through the ring at the 2019 Keeneland November sale in foal to Union Rags (Dixie Union) and sold for $85,000 to Hidden Brook, agent. The mare produced a chestnut filly on Feb. 11 for owners John Gardner and Frank McEntee. Hightap was initially bred back to the Danzig stallion Hard Spun but would not get in foal and was sent to champion Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) shortly before that champion's unexpected death, and she is in foal on a May 11 cover.

Sergio de Sousa, managing partner at Hidden Brook, said that Hightap is a “really good-looking mare, and she produced a pretty foal. Both the mare and foal have been entered in the Keeneland November sale” later this fall, but whether they go to the sale or not may depend on other factors, such as the status of sales during the pandemic and the economics of the September yearling market.

Hightap's new owners take an active interest in selecting mares for their breeding program, and Hidden Brook partner Dan Hall said, “The current owners went through the November catalog and picked out the ones that interested them. They like mares with a little age that look like they would be discounted in the marketplace, then we look at the physicals for them. This was a nice mare in foal on an early cover to a top sire, and there looked like a lot of upside. John is involved in our racing partnerships, but they seem to be a little more interested in the breeding side of the game.”

For the breeders of Halladay, Hightap has a gray yearling filly by Horse of the Year Gun Runner (Candy Ride) who is entered in the 2020 Keeneland September sale as Hip 1396, which is in Book 3 of the lengthy auction. Depending on the filly's looks, vet report, and what Halladay accomplishes between now and then, the Gun Runner filly has the potential to be one of the breakout lots of the day.

So there's a silver lining for all those associated with Hightap because, as Dan Hall noted about buying the dam of a newly minted Grade 1 winner, “You'd like to say you're smart, but in this game, you have to be lucky.”

And surely the luckiest participant in the Hightap saga is Jay Goodwin, who bought the Empire Maker half-sister to Halladay for himself and partner Cloyce Clark for $5,500 at the 2019 Keeneland January sale.

Goodwin said, “She'd just turned two, didn't have the greatest x-rays, and the mare hadn't produced any black type at that point. But I love Empire Maker; I love Tapit. With that pedigree, I knew I couldn't go wrong, and I knew if any of the other runners got black type in that family, it would go hot.

“From the first, my intention was to go on with her a broodmare, not try her as a racehorse,” Goodwin said. “So, I turned her out and never brought her up, except to trim her feet, and put her under lights at the end of 2019.”

Named Highschool, the gray is in foal to Mitole (Eskendereya), the 2019 Eclipse Award winner as champion sprinter whose successes included the Metropolitan Handicap and Breeders' Cup Sprint, on a March 15 cover and is entered in the November sale at Keeneland.

Goodwin said, “It's better to be lucky than good.”

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