Japan: Red Falx earns Breeders' Cup Sprint berth
Red Falx won his third consecutive race, and first in a Grade 1, in Sunday’s $1,890,292 Sprinters’ Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan.
The Sprinters’ Stakes is part of the Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In program, offering a fees paid berth for the winner to the BC Turf Sprint at Santa Anita on Nov. 5. There is no immediate indication that Red Falx will be sent to California.
Ridden by Mirco Demuro, Red Falx (8-1) closed from the back of the field of 16. Red Falx caught pacesetter Mikki Isle (7-1) in the final strides to win the six-furlong race on turf by a head. Solveig, a 26-1 outsider, finished third.
Big Arthur, the 4-5 favorite who won consecutive graded stakes for sprinters in Japan earlier this year, finished 12th.
Red Falx, a 5-year-old by Swept Overboard, has won 8 of 18 starts. The current winning streak began with a win in a minor race at Tokyo Racecourse at seven furlongs on dirt on May 28. Red Falx won his first stakes in the Grade 3 CBC Sho at six furlongs on turf at Chukyo Racecourse on July 3.
Red Falx is owned by Tokyo Horse Racing Co., Ltd, and is trained by Tomohito Ozeki.