#Kikuka Sho

Just days after his son Equinox (Jpn) was named both champion of his generation and Horse of the Year in Japan, Kitasan Black (Jpn) could well have another player on this year's Classics trail in the form of Sol Oriens (Jpn), who took his record to two-from-two with a convincing victory in Sunday's G3 Keisei Hai at Nakayama. The slight second…

May 3 (UPI) -- Just hours before Medina Spirit wired the Kentucky Derby, Poetic Flair won a nip-and-tuck victory in the first of the British Classics, highlighting a big weekend of international horse racing action. That Qipco 2000 Guineas showdown keyed a meeting at Newmarket that also included an upset in the Qipco 1000 Guineas, an impressive…

Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Trainer Bob Baffert celebrated Christmas a day late with five winners on Santa Anita's Opening Day program Monday, likely boosting one of those horses to an Eclipse Award and perhaps setting up another for a repeat raid on the rich races in the Middle East. It was a star-studded day in front of a big crowd at Santa Anita, as Juan…

Six runners from the fans' top choices, including Titleholder, Efforia and Equinox, plus Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1) winner Geraldina are expected to also be the most popular betting options Sunday in the Grade 1, $6.5 million Arima Kinen, the 67th annual Grand Prix of Japan. Staged at Nakayama, the 1 9/16-mile race boasts Japan's top purse, which…

Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Practical Move upset three of trainer Bob Baffert's 2-year-olds in the weekend's feature race, the Grade II Los Alamitos Futurity, adding his name into the mix of candidates for the 2023 Kentucky Derby. Things went a bit more to expectations among the Japanese 2-year-olds as the three favorites reported 1-2-3 in Sunday's Grade 1…

Lys Gracieux cruises to victory in Sunday's Grade 1 Arima Kinen in Japan. Photo courtesy of Kasumi Saito Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Lys Gracieux roared to victory over a loaded field in the Arima Kinen in Japan in the marquee event of weekend horse racing while Diamond Oops upset the apple cart in a key Florida sprint with international implications. Firenze…

It was an amazing finish to an extraordinary career. A storybook finish, a finish that seemed predestined to happen as the year marched on. And when the favorite Almond Eye, guided with supreme confidence by the brilliant Gallic equine conductor Christophe Lemaire, stormed past a field of 14 other horses in the 40th Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse on…

For the second time in as many weeks, Kyoto Racecourse staged a race in which the final leg of a Triple Crown triumph was accomplished. Contrail, ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga, won the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) by a neck on Sunday, October 25, edging jockey Christophe Lemaire and Aristoteles, while Satono Flag, also a son of Deep Impact, placed…

Titleholder wins the Tenno Sho Spring by clear water under Kazuo Yokoyama Japanese St Leger hero Titleholder made it a second Group 1 success - and a first for rider Kazuo Yokoyama - when displaying his dominance on a quality field in the Tenno Sho Spring at Hanshin on Sunday. A son of Duramente and out of the winning Motivator mare Mowen, the Toru…

The Yokoyama family's success in high-profile races was also in the spotlight just a few months ago. At last year's Tenno Sho (Autumn), Takeshi Yokoyama, Kazuo's younger brother, won the October 31 race by a length over Contrail at Tokyo Racecourse. Bursting out of the 16 gate aboard second favorite 4-year-old bay colt Titleholder, Yokoyama led…

This Sunday, Nov. 28, Tokyo Racecourse hosts the Grade 1 Japan Cup, the iconic invitational gala that has been instrumental in boosting Japan's horses and horsemen to the heights of international competitiveness they now enjoy. Some JPY 648 million, over USD 6 million, is up for grabs. Japan's horses have monopolized the winner's circle for the…

Yibir, shown winning the 2022 Breeders' Cup Turf, preps for another American invasion with a start Friday at Newmarket in England. Photo by Carolyn Simancik/Eclipsesportswire, courtesy of Breeders' Cup April 29 (UPI) -- With a week to go before the Kentucky Derby, there's plenty of racing action to keep fan interest alive with Breeders' Cup runners…

Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty in morning trackwork Oct. 11, preparing for his return to action. Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Two-year-olds are on display this weekend at tracks from France to England and on to California, while much of the globe girds for the Breeders' Cup World Championships in two weeks'…

For Tanabe, 38, Sunday's triumph was his first in a G1 race since piloting Logotype to a win in the 2016 Yasuda Kinen. It was his third career G1 victory. (Watch the race here.) Tanabe and trainer Yasuhito Tamura teamed up for their first G1 win together. For the trainer, it was his third G1 victory and his first since Major Emblem won the 2016 NHK…

Better than this time last year when he was an unconsidered and largely unknown 72/1 outsider. The son of Adlerflug had just won a Group One at Baden-Baden, but a near three-length defeat to Alpinista at Hoppergarten seemed to put his claims against the cream of Britain and Ireland into perspective, only for him to wear down the form horses;…