The 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan on Friday has played havoc with the Japanese racing schedule this weekend, with damage to at least two racetracks in northeastern part of the country. The epicenter of the earthquake was located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu.
The center of Japan’s Thoroughbred breeding industry - home to such American-bred champions as Azeri, Silver Charm, and Charismatic - appears to have escaped the nation’s largest-ever earthquake with relatively little damage, according to French bloodstock agent Patrick Barbe.
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Rileyskeepingfaith gave Godolphin a victory in the Group 2, $250,000 Zabeel Mile at Meydan on Thursday night. The last of six local preps for the $5 million Dubai Duty Free went to the gelded British-bred son of Hunting Lion by 2 1/4 lengths over Fareer, with Fanunalter a late closing third, 1 1/4 lengths further back.
The Group 2, $250,000 Zabeel Mile at Meydan in Dubai on Thursday night will be the last of six local preps for the $5 million Dubai Duty Free on March 26.
Beauty Flash added his name to an already crowded Dubai Duty Free field when he won the Group 1, $770,000 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Zoom, a locally based 6-year-old, was elevated to first in Saturday's Sandy Lane Gold Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados, after fellow local Show Me the Money was disqualified.
Japanese juvenile filly champion Reve d’Essor makes her 3-year-old debut at Hanshin on Saturday in the Group 3, $862,000 Tulip Sho, a one-mile prep for the Oka Sho, or Japanese 1000 Guineas, on April 10.
Twice Over was the decisive winner of Round 3 of the Maktoum Challenge at Meydan in Dubai on Thursday night. Trained by Henry Cecil for Juddmonte Farms, the 5-year-old son of Observatory probably established himself as the favorite for the Dubai World Cup on March 26.
Safety Zone will attempt to give owner Eugene Melynk his third victory in the Sandy Lane Gold Cup on Saturday in Barbados.
