In her brief career, Soul Choice has thrived in marathon races on the Australian island of Tasmania.
After finishing a game second in the Launceston Guineas at 1 5/16 miles at Launceston Racecourse on Jan. 27 in her stakes debut, Soul Choice won the Strutt Stakes for 3-year-old Southern Hemisphere fillies at the same distance by 2 1/2 lengths at Hobart Racecourse on Feb. 10.
Nations Pride, fifth as the 5-2 favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland last November, won his 4-year-old debut in Friday’s Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates.
The win leaves Nations Pride on schedule for an expected start in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic, a $6 million race at 1 1/2 miles on turf on March 25 on the same program as the $12 million Dubai World Cup on dirt.
A game second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland in November showed that Shirl’s Speight can be competitive in an international race.
Owner Charles Fipke is out to prove that point in a spectacular manner this weekend.
Shirl’s Speight will start outside of North America for the first time in Sunday’s Grade 1 February Stakes at a mile on dirt at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan. Shirl’s Speight, a 6-year-old horse trained by Roger Attfield, is the only foreign runner in a field of 16 in the $1.73 million February Stakes.
Nature Strip, the two-time Australian Horse of the Year, won the ninth Group 1 of his fabulous career in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in Britain last June.
A potential 10th win at the highest level could occur Friday evening in the $690,000 Lightning Stakes at five furlongs on the straightaway course at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne.
The Lightning Stakes is a familiar stop on Nature Strip’s schedule.
The 2022 season was a bust for Reward Seeker. He was winless in seven starts, never finishing better than fourth.
Reward Seeker, 8, had a brighter start to his 2023 campaign, finishing a good third at 19-1 in a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Dubbo Racecourse on Jan. 30. Reward Seeker closed from fifth in a field of 10 to miss by 1 3/4 lengths in his first start since September.
Reward Seeker is among the leading candidates for the Quirindi Showcase Cup at a mile at Quirindi Racecourse on Thursday evening.
Ami Please was winless in three starts in one-mile turf stakes at California tracks in the final months of 2022, finishing second, fourth, and third.
The 3-year-old filly will have her 2023 debut under greatly different circumstances. Ami Please is the lone American-trained runner in Friday’s Group 3 United Arab Emirates Oaks at 1 3/16 miles on dirt at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.
The Seven Seas was an odds-on favorite when she won a maiden race at Bathurst Racecourse in Australia in her seventh career start on Jan. 24.
She can play the role of spoiler for Atmospheric Rock, a gelding held in high regard, in a six-furlong handicap at Goulburn Racecourse on Wednesday evening.
Atmospheric Rock was the 4-5 favorite in early betting on Tuesday, while The Seven Seas was the 3-1 second choice. A 1-2 finish from the pair is possible, depending on whether Atmospheric Rock can be effective from off the pace in his first start mid-November.
The 4-year-old Australian gelding Journalism may provide a scoop for bettors in a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs on the Kensington course at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Tuesday evening.
A winner of 3 of 9 starts for trainers Adrian Bott and Gai Waterhouse, Journalism is one of three leading contenders in a field of eight, along with Bon Vivant and Atlantic Ocean. They were all 2-1 in early betting as of Monday.
