Japan: No Equinox, but other top older horses vie for Osaka Hai Stakes
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Several of Japan’s leading older horses, with the notable exception of 2022 Horse of the Year Equinox, are among 16 runners in Sunday’s Grade 1 Osaka Hai at Hanshin Racecourse.
The $2.98 million Osaka Hai is run at 1 1/4 miles and is the first Grade 1 of the year on turf for distance runners in Japan.
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Jack d’Or, fourth behind Equinox in the Grade 1 autumn running of the Tenno Sho last October, and the 2022 champions Geraldina and Stars on Earth, are the three leading runners in the Osaka Hai.
Jack d’Or, a winner of 7 of 13 starts, will attempt to win his first Grade 1 in his fifth attempt in a race at the highest level. Jack d’Or was seventh in the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong in his last start in December.
Stars on Earth, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2022 in Japan, has not raced since a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Shuka Sho for 3-year-old fillies last October. Stars on Earth won the Grade 1 Japanese 1000 Guineas at a mile and the Grade 1 Japanese Oaks at 1 1/2 miles last April and May. The Osaka Hai is her first start against older horses.
Geraldina, the champion older female of 2022 in Japan, was third behind Equinox in the Grade 1 Arima Kinen at 1 9/16 miles in December in her most recent start. She won the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at 1 3/8 miles for fillies and mares in November.
Equinox was the easy winner of the Group 1 Sheema Classic on the Dubai World Cup undercard on March 25 in his first start of 2023.
Potager, who won the 2022 Osaka Hai and paid $147 in American pools, is part of the Osaka Hai field. The 6-year-old horse is winless in five starts since the 2022 Osaki Hai and will be an outsider again this year.
The Osaka Hai has a post time of 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
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