Japan: Pixie Knight comes back from long layoff in Takamatsunomiya Kinen
Pixie Knight won the biggest race of his career in the Grade 1 Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan in November 2021 in what turned out to be his final completed race that year.
Pixie Knight started a month later in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong, but did not finish after being involved in a four-horse spill.
Pixie Knight, who missed all of 2022, returns to racing in Sunday’s Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at six furlongs on turf at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan, the country’s first Grade 1 race on grass of the year.
Pixie Knight, a winner of 3 of 9 starts, is part of an open field of 18 in the $2.52 million Takamatsunomiya Kinen. Post time is 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
With such a lengthy layoff, there are understandably questions of how Pixie Knight will perform in a high-class race in his comeback.
Runners such as the filly Namura Clair and the mare Meikei Yell may dominate the betting in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. Naran Huleg, a 7-year-old horse, won the 2022 Takamatsunomiya Kinen in a 27-1 upset, but is winless in his last four starts and is not rated as a top contender.
Namura Clair has won 4 of 11 starts, including her latest appearance in the Grade 3 Silk Road Stakes at six furlongs at Chukyo Racecourse on Jan. 29. Namura Clair closed from off the pace to win her 2023 debut in the Silk Road.
Namura Clair was fifth behind Gendarme in the Sprinters Stakes last November. Gendarme is now at stud.
Meikei Yell was 14th of 16 in the Sprinters Stakes in November, and fifth in the Hong Kong Sprint in December. She won consecutive Grade 2 races at six and seven furlongs last year and was fifth in the 2022 Takamatsunomiya Kinen as the 5-1 second choice. She tends to run closer to the front than Namura Clair.
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