By Alan Carasso
In this ongoing series, TDN Managing Editor and foreign contributing editor Alan Carasso takes 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 Chukyo and Hanshin Racecourses:
Saturday, March 25, 2017
9th-CKO, ¥14,250,000 (US$128k), Alw, 4yo/up, 1200m
A $425K KEESEP yearling purchase, G BLAZE (c, 4, Tapit–Miss Mambo, by Kingmambo) seems to have turned a corner with a switch to the dirt during his sophomore season, with a win and a pair of runner-up efforts in three tries. The gray is a son of Miss Mambo (Kingmambo), a stakes winner in Ireland and the 2004 G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches third. Her stakes-winning daughter Race to Urga (Bernstein) is the dam of GISW and current top U.S. 3-year-old Gormley (Malibu Moon). G Blaze's third dam is Eclipse Award winner Estrapade, herself a half-sister to Horse of the Year Criminal Type. G Blaze makes her first appearance since last June.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
4th-CKO, ¥9,550,000 (US$128k), Maiden, 3yo, 1400mT
HONEY JADE (f, 3, Harlan's Holiday–Hard Hat, by Hard Spun) shaped with all sorts of promise in her Dec. 17 bow at Hanshin, finishing a close third over 1200 meters, but ballooned to 14th when stretched out to the mile at Kyoto Jan. 8. A $130K FTKJUL yearling turned $300K FTFFEB breezer, the dark bay is out of a half-sister to GISW Albert the Great (Go For Gin), SW Watch The Bird (Rahy) and MSW Sheer Bliss (Relaunch). She'll cut back to the metric seven furlongs for this try.
5th-HSN, ¥9,550,000 (US$128k), Maiden, 3yo, 1200m
MOZU KIN MEDALIST (f, 3, Bernardini–Indulgence, by Macho Uno) is certainly bred to excel over further, but gets her career underway at this abbreviated trip. Her dam won her maiden at second asking over 4 1/2 furlongs and went on to be a good third to Sassy Image (Broken Vow) in the GI Princess Rooney H. in 2012. Indulgence was purchased by Borges Torrealba Holdings carrying this filly–her first foal–for $400K at KEENOV in 2013, and Mozu Kin Medalist repaid part of that bill when selling for $150K at KEESEP in 2015.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
