Tokyo Racecourse

A 16-strong field sporting several Group 1 horses will fill the stalls at Tokyo on Sunday for the ¥233,160,000 G1 February S. over the metric mile on dirt. The race is a Breeders' Cup "Win And You're In" qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar in November. One of the leading fancies is Wilson Tesoro (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}), winless on turf, but a seven-time scorer on the main track from 1500m to 2100m. The three-time listed winner lines up for his 5-year-old bow off of back-to-back...

The blaze-faced Strauss (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) attained his first stakes victory under Joao Moreira in the G2 Tokyo Hai Nisai S. at Tokyo on Saturday. A winner on debut over 1600 metres locally in June and a solid third in the G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup on Oct. 7, he was sent off at 4-1 in this return to group company. Content to track Teleos Lulu (Jpn) (Al Ain {Jpn}) from a wide third down the backstretch, he was eager to improve his position through the first half-mile in :47.30....

Last year after earning a spot in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile via her win in June's G1 Yasuda Kinen over this course--a Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifying event--Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna) was headed to America before a throat issue found after a fifth-place finish in September's G2 Centaur S. sent her to the sidelines for five months. Back in action on the G1 Saudi Cup undercard in February, she was a distant 10th in the G3 1351 Turf Sprint at King Abdulaziz Racetrack, a race she won in 2022, and sent...

The G1 NHK Mile Cup has attracted a field of 18 3-year-old milers, none better credentialed than morning line favourite Dolce More (Jpn). Racing for Three H Racing Company, the Rulership (Jpn) colt was undefeated at two, where he parlayed his G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup victory into a sparkling win in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. at Hanshin in December. Named the Japanese Champion 2-Year-Old Colt, he is on a retrieval mission, as he lost his unbeaten tag to Eeyan (Jpn) (Silver State {Jpn}) in the G2 New...

Tokyo Racecourse plays host to the first of 24 Group 1s on the JRA circuit, Sunday's February S. going a one-turn mile on the dirt track, and with the race's two-time defending champion Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah) preparing for next Saturday's G1 Saudi Cup and with would-be favourite Gilded Mirror (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) having recently been retired due to injury, the race is there for the taking for the wonderfully consistent US-bred Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid). The 5-year-old, purchased for $70,000 as a weanling at the 2018 Keeneland November...

Sunday Racing Co. Ltd.'s 4-year-old filly Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) bested Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}), also owned by Sunday Racing, by a neck to win the G1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse Sunday. With this victory, Songline earned an automatic berth, including fees paid, to the $2-million GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile. In an 18-horse field, Songline settled behind Salios (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and in front of Schnell Meister in midpack as the field cruised down the backstretch at a leisurely pace. Making headway while shifting to the...

Chances for a 2022 Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown are alive and well after G1 Japanese 1000 Guineas heroine Stars On Earth (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) delivered the Classic double in the G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) for Shadai Race Horse and trainer Mizuki Takayanagi at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday. Sent off as the 5-1 third choice, the bay broke well from the widest gate in 18, but was stuck wide as the field strung out in the wake of Nishino Love Wink (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}). Sitting in eighth, Christophe Lemaire had...

Consistent as the day is long, with just three finishes outside the top three from 19 career starts, Red le Zele (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) looks to give his outstanding sire a first top-level scorer on the dirt in Sunday's G1 February S. at Tokyo Racecourse. Victorious in the 1400-meter G3 Negishi S. at headquarters last January, Red le Zele ran on to finish fourth behind Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah) in this event, then shipped to Dubai, where he was an excellent runner-up beneath Ryan Moore in the G1 Dubai...

Generational leader and 2020 Japanese Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was bet down to heavy favouritism for his swansong in Sunday's G1 Japan Cup despite having met with defeat in his last three outings, and he justified the betting public's faith with a straightforward score on his way to the stallion barn at Shadai Stallion Station. After losing his unbeaten record in this race last year when he found only the champion filly Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) too tough, Contrail was third over yielding ground...

By Alan Carasso With the possible exceptions of Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), currently training in America towards the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, and the G1 Japan Cup-bound Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), this year's G1 Tokyo Yushun hero, Sunday's G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) at Tokyo has attracted the creme of the crop in Japan, including Classic winners from each of the last three seasons. Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) commences a two-race farewell tour back where he celebrated one of his finest hours in...

Sent off the $2.30 (13-10) favorite to make the necessary improvement off a debut third at Hanshin in late June, Aguri (Jpn) (Caravaggio) became the first Japanese winner and 22nd winner overall for leading freshman sire (by Scat Daddy) with a facile victory in a one-mile maiden over the turf at Tokyo Racecourse Saturday afternoon. Drawn the middle of the gate in a field of 13, the gray colt took up a forward position beneath jockey Yuga Kawada, settling just off the pacesetter behind modest early sectionals. Maintaining that stalking...

Café Pharoah delivered a first win at the highest level on dirt for his sire, U.S. Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, in the G1 February S. going a mile over the Tokyo dirt on Sunday. His three-quarter length victory guaranteed him a spot in the starting gate in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic this fall. Favoured at 2-1, the 4-year-old entire settled in a tracking fifth, as Wide Pharoah (Jpn) (Henny Hughes) and Air Almas (Majestic Warrior) slugged it out on the front end....