By Alan Carasso
A two-time winner of the G1 Sprinters' S., Red Falx (Jpn) (Swept Overboard) will look to add Japan's other top short-track event when he jumps as the favourite for Sunday's G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at Chukyo Racecourse in Nagoya.
A close third to Seiun Kosei (Jpn) (Admire Moon {Jpn}) and the mare Let's Go Donki (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) as the $2.60 (8-5) chalk 12 months ago, the popular gray defeated the latter to win the Sprinters' for the second consecutive season last October. Eighth in the G1 Mile Championship S. the following month, Red Falx exits a fast-closing third to Diana Halo (Jpn) (King Halo {Jpn}) in the G3 Hankyu Hai (1400mT) at Hanshin Feb. 25.
“It's too bad he didn't win, but it was a good race, a good sharpener and should stand him well for races to come,” trainer Tomohito Ozeki commented.
Fine Needle (Jpn) (Admire Moon {Jpn}) bested Rhein Meteor (Jpn) (Meisho Bowler {Jpn}) to win last year's G2 Centaur S., but was no match for Red Falx in the Sprinters', finishing 12th in that Oct. 1 affair. The 5-year-old rediscovered his winning ways last time, finding the line two lengths better than Seiun Kosei in the G3 Silk Road S. Jan. 28.
Aerovelocity (NZ) (Pins {Aus}) raided from Hong Kong to win the 2015 running of the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the jurisdiction is represented by the hard-knocking Blizzard (Aus) (Starcraft {NZ}) this time around. A solid fifth in last year's Sprinters', the chestnut was an excellent third in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint two back and a close fifth in the G1 Centenary Sprint Cup Jan. 28.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
