By Alan Carasso
Reigning Japanese Horse of the Year Maurice (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) stretches out past nine furlongs for the first time in two years as he kicks off the second half of the season in Sunday's G2 Sapporo Kinen (2000m).
The 5-year-old, only seventh when tried over 11 furlongs in the G2 Kyoto Shimbun Hai in 2014, raced predominantly at a mile in 2015, winning the G1 Yasuda Kinen in June, the G1 Mile Championship in November and, with Ryan Moore on board, the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile the following month to secure his year-end championships. Originally penciled in for a start in the G1 Dubai Turf in March, Maurice was ultimately not ready to make the trip and was trained towards a return trip to Sha Tin for the G1 Champions Mile. With Moore in England for Guineas weekend, Joao Moreira was at the controls and made light work of a good field, defeating Contentment (Aus) (Hussonet) by two lengths as the 11-10 chalk (video). In his only start since, Maurice just failed in defence of his Yasuda Kinen title June 5. He has post 15 to overcome, but he should be able to slot in with about a 500-metre run into the first turn.
Nuovo Record (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) also made an appearance at Sha Tin for the International Races, running on late to round out a Japanese 1-2 behind A Shin Hikari (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup (2000m). The 2014 G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) winner has two runs under her belt this term, including a sixth behind Werther (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) in a yielding-turf renewal of the G1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup Apr. 24.
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