Japan: Star Anise takes on older males in Sprinters Stakes
On Sunday at Nakayama Racecourse, Star Anise starts against males and against older horses for the first time in the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes at six furlongs.
Steve AndersenSep 25, 2026
On Sunday at Nakayama Racecourse, Star Anise starts against males and against older horses for the first time in the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes at six furlongs.
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After losing two of her first three starts, the 2-year-old Sun Goddess has won four consecutive races in Britain and Ireland leading to an appearance in Saturday’s Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes for fillies at Newmarket Racecourse in Britain.
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The winners of all three Breeders’ Cup Challenge races on Sunday at The Curragh in Ireland could actually have the Breeders’ Cup marked on their calendar this fall. And two of them, Sun Goddess and Folsom Blues, would be favored if the Breeders’ Cup were held next weekend.
Saturday afternoon produced two massive upsets in Group 1 races in England and Ireland, and two very formful results in other races at the highest level.
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Yes, it was a restricted sales stakes, but what the 2-year-old filly Sun Goddess did Aug. 20 at York in the Harry's Half Million still was remarkable. And it is not just that single performance that makes Sun Goddess the heavy favorite to win the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes on Sunday at The Curragh.
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Constitution River, winner of the Group 1 French Derby in May, and Blue Bolt, unbeaten in four starts this year, will start favored in Group 1 races at Leopardstown Racecourse in Ireland on Saturday that have ramifications for Breeders' Cup races on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
Daryz extended his winning streak at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris to four races, all in stakes, with a tidy win against three rivals in Sunday’s Group 2 Prix Foy at 1 1/2 miles.
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Two shippers from Japan – the 8-year-old gelding Diktaean and the Kentucky-bred Dragon Welds – won lucrative stakes in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday, earning berths to Breeders’ Cup races at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
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Daryz is the future-book favorite to win the Arc on Oct. 4 as well as a heavy favorite to win his final prep race in Sunday’s Group 2 Prix Foy at 1 1/2 miles at Longchamp, one of six group stakes on Sunday's Longchamp card.
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There are familiar names among the contenders in two seven-figure dirt stakes in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday that offer berths for the winners to Breeders’ Cup races at Keeneland on Oct. 31.