#Tokyo Yushun

Cheval Grand, shown winning the 2017 Japan Cup, returns seeking a repeat victory in Sunday's renewal. Photo courtesy of Japan Racing Association Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Weekend horse racing action stretches from Tokyo to Bahrain with a stop in England and a quick look at Hong Kong's preparations for its big weekend two weeks down the calendar. The Grade 1…

Colonel Liam, shown after winning the 2021 Fort Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park, returns to try for a repeat win Saturday. Photo by Lauren King, courtesy of Gulfstream Park Dec. 30 (UPI) - Eight horses celebrate their third birthday Sunday by lining up for the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park - the holiday weekend's way station on the "Road…

Breeders' Cup Classic hero Knicks Go has been named the Longines World's Best Racehorse at an online ceremony hosted from the National Racing Museum in Newmarket. The International Federation of Horseracing Authority's panel of handicappers awarded Knicks Go an end-of-season rating of 129, 2lb clear of a three-way tie featuring European Horse of…

Desert Encounter, winner of the 2018 and 2019 Pattison Canadian International, is back trying for a "three-peat" in Saturday's renewal at Woodbine. Photo courtesy of Woodbine Sept. 17 (UPI) -- Belmont Park returns to action this weekend with Irish and English horses, including Bolshoi Ballet, chasing the third leg of New York's rich turf…

The ball drops at Times Square, fireworks explode around the globe and North American Thoroughbreds celebrate their birthdays at midnight on Jan. 1. A few of the newly turned 3-year-olds waste no time starting their once-in-a-lifetime quest for the Kentucky Derby starting gate as Aqueduct rings in 2018 with the $150000 Jerome Stakes. On New Year's…

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…

Derma Sotogake (4) wins the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun on Wednesday -- the second leg of the "Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby." Photo courtesy of Katsumi Saito Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Candidates for next year's Kentucky Derby take center stage again in a weekend horse racing schedule that also includes the first "Win and You're In" race for the 2023…

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…

Flightline wins his third straight race in style in Sunday's Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita. Benoit photo, courtesy of Santa Anita Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Epicenter entered the Kentucky Derby picture with a handy win Sunday at Fair Grounds while a sparkling Opening Day program at Santa Anita featured a dazzling performance by budding superstar…

A combination of historic amounts of money and high quality horses quickly made the Dubai World Cup a staple on the international horse racing calendar. The world's richest day of racing will take place Saturday at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates, and it has once again attracted some of the most talented runners from around the…

Sconsin, shown winning the 2021 Winning Colors Stakes at Churchill Downs, tries for a repeat in the Memorial Day renewal. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs May 27 (UPI) -- The long Memorial Day weekend is not short on racing action with two "Win and You're In" events, one in California amid a flurry on Grade I races and the other in Chile. The…

With Japan's top international race taking place at the weekend, Nicholas Godfrey looks at the task facing overseas runners in Tokyo - and traces the nation's emergence as a racing superpower One of the world's foremost international races takes place on Sunday [Nov 27] with the 42nd edition of the Japan Cup at Tokyo racecourse, the Japan Racing…

Almond Eye (Christophe Lemaire) adds the Yushun Himba to her Oka Sho success Report: Japan, Sunday Tokyo: Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) (Grade 1) 1m4f | 3yo fillies Hours after Justify moved one race away from claiming America's historic Triple Crown, Almond Eye (Sakae Kunieda/Christophe Lemaire) moved herself into prime position for Japan's…

Contrail looked a monster at two and could become one of the stars of the Japanese spring Unlike many other major northern hemisphere racing and breeding nations, Japan has thus far been able to keep its Graded race programme intact in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. With the sport continuing minus its passionate on-course chorus of fans,…

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…

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'…

Yutaka Take and Do Deuce after winning the Tokyo Yushun, Japan's Derby Titleholder may be the Japanese contender to have attracted most market support for Sunday's Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe but legendary jockey Yutaka Take has warned his compatriot Do Deuce should not be overlooked. Take will be riding in his tenth Arc on Sunday and will be…