Tag: Will Take Charge

France Go De Ina ‘Fine’ After Eventful Morning At Pimlico

There were some anxious moments for Yuji Inaida's France Go de Ina at Pimlico Race Course Wednesday morning. The colt from Japan had just completed his four-furlong breeze when exercise rider Masaki Takano suddenly fell off the son of Will Take Charge just after he passed the finish line.

There were no other horses on the track. France Go de Ina prepares for Saturday's Preakness Stakes (G1) each day following regular training hours due to quarantine regulations.

Takano slowly got to his feet as France Go de Ina continued on before being apprehended by Pimlico outriders. Both Takano and the horse are fine, according to Kate Hunter, the Preakness field representative for the Japan Racing Association.

“[Takano] slipped a bit from the stirrup on the left side and lost his balance,” Hunter said. “The horse is fine.”

Trainer Hideyuki Mori was trackside and bolted towards the winner's circle, where Takano stood and waited for France Go de Ina to be retrieved and brought back. Takano then got back on board and was led into the Pimlico paddock, where he took several laps in a schooling session.

After watching video of the incident, Mori was relieved that France Go de Ina did not stumble or take a bad step.

“It had nothing to do with the horse,” Mori said through Hunter, who serves as his interpreter. “He breezed well. Luckily, or unluckily, the rider fell off after the goal, just after the finish line, after he finished his workout.”

France Go de Ina, who finished sixth in the March UAE Derby (G2) in Dubai after winning two of three starts in Japan, was timed in 49.40 seconds. Having a workout three days before a major race is not common in the United States, but Hunter said it's quite common in Japan.

She also said that after an exercise rider falls or is thrown from a horse in Japan, things are different.

“In Japan, there are no outriders,” Hunter said, “So, they kind of let the horse stop and the guy who fell off has to go catch it.”

Mori said this incident will not affect Preakness preparations for the rest of the week. France Go de Ina is scheduled to school in the Preakness starting gate on Friday.

After he walked back to the barn with Takano on his back, France Go de Ina did his normal hour of walking at the isolation barn following his visit to the track.

“We are just very happy that the horse is OK,” Mori said.

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Japan’s France Go De Ina Takes First Tour Of Pimlico Course

Yuji Inaida's France Go de Ina had Pimlico Race Course all to himself Monday morning. After arriving on Saturday night, the Japanese invader got his first look at the racetrack at 10:15 a.m.

The expected longshot in Saturday's 146th Preakness Stakes (G1), got his first look at the track when he and exercise rider Masaki Takano came on the track after regular training hours in accordance with quarantine regulations. They walked a lap around the track the opposite way and then jogged around the right way another time. Then it was back to the quarantine barn, which is a few barns away from the stakes barn.

“He just stretched his legs,” said Kate Hunter. the Preakness field representative for the Japan Racing Association. “It was pretty easy because there were no other horses around. He was able to relax, check everything out and see everything really well because it was nice and sunny. He seemed very relaxed.”

France Go de Ina, who was bred in Kentucky, is a son of Will Take Charge.

According to Hunter, trainer Hideyuki Mori flew into Dulles International Airport Monday morning and was due to be at the barn to check on his horse Monday afternoon.

France Go de Ina has two wins in four career starts. In his last race, he finished sixth, beaten 10 ½ lengths, in the UAE Derby (G2) in Dubai. Jockey Joel Rosario, who rode him in that race, will be on board in the Preakness.

“I would assume so,” Hunter said when asked if she thought France Go de Ina would be a long price on Preakness Day. “Our dirt horses are not as good as our turf horses, but (Mori) would not be here if he didn't think he had a shot at it.”

Original hopes were that France Go de Ina might run in the Kentucky Derby (G1), but he lost any chance of getting qualifying points when he missed the break and finished sixth in the UAE Derby.

“The moment that race broke, I said, 'Hey, if you want to try the other two legs of the Triple Crown, you're nominated, so we can go for it if you want to,'” Hunter said. “When the horse came out of the UAE Derby OK, that's what (Mori) decided to do.”

Hunter has lived outside of Tokyo for the last 13 years and is a Triple Crown recruiting agent. She said she also works for the Breeders' Cup and Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

She said she also works “a little” on a contract basis with The Stronach Group and the New York Racing Association. She is originally from Nashville, Tenn.

Hunter said France Go de Ina's entourage also includes a photographer in addition to Mori and Takano, who also serves as assistant trainer and groom.

“We want to make sure he is fit and sound and ready to go,” Hunter said, “and, hopefully, kick a little American-trained butt.”

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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 146th 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 14th 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 14th-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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Japan’s France Go De Ina Heading Stateside For Preakness

For the first time since 2016, the Preakness Stakes will have a contender from Japan in the starting gate, according to Kate Hunter on Twitter. The 3-year-old France Go de Ina, trained by Hideyuki Mori, is planning a trip to the United States to contest the middle leg of the Triple Crown.

The Kentucky-bred son of Will Take Charge out of the Curlin mare Dreamy Blues was a $100,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September sale. He broke his maiden at second asking in Japan, and won a weight-for-age contest before traveling to Dubai for the UAE Derby.

France Go de Ina finished sixth that day after breaking poorly. The colt will enter quarantine on April 27, and fly to the U.S. on May 5.

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