HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, December 21, 2022)

The Punisher (21-1) caught El Musical (7-2) in the final strides to win Saturday’s Group 1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini at San Isidro Racecourse in Argentina and earn a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar on Nov. 4.

Owned and bred by Haras El Angel De Venecia, The Punisher won the Pellegrini at 1 1/2 miles by three-quarters of a length. El Cid Campeador (11-1) finished third in a field of 15, beaten 4 3/4 lengths.

Dolce More clinched the title of champion 2-year-old male in Japan with a narrow win in Sunday’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity at a mile at Hanshin Racecourse.

Sent as the second choice in American pools in a field of 17, Dolce More ($6.80) closed from third to finish a neck in front of 2-1 favorite Danon Touchdown, who finished a neck in front of 5-1 Labeling.

Dolce More took the lead with a furlong remaining and was tested to the wire by Danon Touchdown.

The first two races in the career of the Australian gelding Tifosi were tales of extremes.

Tifosi won his debut in a maiden race on July 10, but finished last of nine in his first start against winners in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Sandown Racecourse in Melbourne on July 27.

Tifosi was rested after the loss and returns to action in a six-furlong handicap at Terang Racecourse on Monday evening across American time zones.

Eva’s Deel ran out of ground in pursuit of a rival in a handicap at 1 1/8 miles at Bathurst Racecourse in Australia on Dec. 6, finishing second by slightly more than three-quarters of a length.

A start in a longer handicap at 1 3/8 miles at Dubbo Racecourse on Sunday evening across American time zones may help the 6-year-old Eva’s Deel end a 20-race losing streak since December 2020.

A fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar next November is available to the winner of Saturday’s Group 1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini-International at San Isidro Racecourse in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Pellegrini, run at 1 1/2 miles on turf, is considered the leading race in South America, and is the first race to offer a berth to a 2023 Breeders’ Cup race. The Breeders’ Cup will be held on Nov. 3 and 4 next year at Santa Anita.

The Pellegrini drew 15 entrants, including three prominent Group 1 winners - Durazzo, El Musical, and Miranque.

The speed that led to Shamedy winning and finishing second in his first two starts in Australia may well serve the Southern Hemisphere 2-year-old in a five-furlong handicap at Sunshine Coast on Saturday evening across American time zones.

Shamedy has set the pace in his first two starts and has drawn the outside post in a field of eight. At Sunshine Coast, five-furlong races began from a chute that joins the final turn before a stretch run of approximately a quarter-mile.

The Japanese trainer Hideyuki Mori was one of the most prominent buyers at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale auction of 2-year-olds in-training in March.

Among his acquisitions, Mori bought colts for $1.1 million, $900,000, and $700,000. The $900,000 colt is by Bolt d’Oro and named From Dusk. On Sunday, the Kentucky-bred From Dusk starts in Sunday’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity at a mile at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan.

Owned by Susumu Fujita, From Dusk is part of a field of 18 in Japan’s leading race for 2-year-olds. From Dusk is the only American-bred in the field.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Sunday, December 18, 2022)

The rapidly improving Kovalica will get a class test in his stakes debut in the Group 3 Ascot Green Grand Prix at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane, Australia, on Friday evening across American time zones.

It’s a race Kovalica is expected to dominate.

Trained by Chris Waller, Kovalica has won the last three starts of his four-race career, rising through the handicap rankings. In the $167,000 Ascot Green Grand Prix for southern hemisphere 3-year-olds, Kovalica will carry equal weight of 125.6 pounds with his seven rivals.