Kitasan Black will be favored to win the Japan Cup on Nov. 26 after winning a key prep in Sunday’s Grade 1 Tenno Sho Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse.
Kitasan Black won the 2016 Japan Cup and has won 11 of 18 starts in his career.
Sunday’s win gave Kitasan Black a sweep of the Tenno Sho series this year. He won the spring running of the Tenno Sho at two miles at Kyoto Racecourse in April in course-record time. Sunday’s autumn running was run at a distance of 1 1/4 miles.
In her latest moment of Australian racing history, Winx became the second horse to win three consecutive runnings of the Group 1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne on Saturday.
Winx edged Humidor to win the $2.3 million Cox Plate by a half-length for her 22nd consecutive win.
Ridden by Hugh Bowman, Winx (2-11) challenged for the lead with more than a quarter-mile remaining before taking the lead with more than a furlong remaining. Humidor (30-1) rallied from the back of the field of eight to pose a threat in the final furlong but could not close the gap.
Saxon Warrior stamped himself as a major contender for the 2018 classics and put trainer Aidan O’Brien’s name in the record books by winning the Racing Post Trophy Stakes on Saturday at Doncaster Racecourse in England.
Weekend racing in Hong Kong nearly always is the province of Sha Tin Racecourse, but this Sunday’s 10-race card comes at the normal weekday venue, Happy Valley.
A pair of Class 2 handicaps highlights the 10-race card, which has a first post of 1:00 a.m. Eastern. Race 10, the nominal feature, is the Yip Fat Handicap over 1200 meters, while race 9 is the Wong Chuk Hang, contested at 1,650 meters, one circuit around Happy Valley’s irregularly shaped course. The races will be streamed live and are open for wagering at DRF Bets.
The last two Group 1 stakes of the European flat-racing season have something in common with many of the other Group 1's run this year – trainer Aidan O’Brien features prominently.
O’Brien on Saturday had a great chance to win his 26th Group 1 or Grade 1 race of 2017 with a three-horse entry in the Racing Post Trophy. With 25 such winners so far this year, O’Brien has tied the calendar-year record for Group 1's or Grade 1's set by Bobby Frankel.
Kitasan Black, the winner of the 2016 Japan Cup, will be favored in Sunday’s Grade 1 Tenno Sho Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse, a key prep to this year’s Japan Cup on Nov. 26.
Kitasan Black, a 5-year-old horse who has won 10 of 17 starts, won the spring running of the Grade 1 Tenno Sho at two miles at Kyoto Racecourse in April in course record time, but finished ninth as the favorite in the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse on June 25 in his last start.
HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Sunday, October 29, 2017)
RACE 1: #2 Telephatia, #8 Loyal Craftsman, #3 Sweet Bean, #1 Le Panache
RACE 2: #7 Sacred Ibis, #1 Love Chunghwa, #5 None Other, #8 Sichuan Chief
RACE 3: #2 Regency Honey, #3 Raichu, #8 Rocket Let Win, #12 King's Steed
RACE 4: #1 Merrygowin, #2 Hero Look, #11 Sharpmind, #12 Show Mission
RACE 5: #1 Quick Return, #3 Good For You, #11 Megatron, #4 Sichuan Boss
Aidan O’Brien saddles three of the 12 expected runners in the last Group 1 of the English flat season, the Racing Post Trophy on Saturday at Doncaster.
If one of the O’Brien three wins, he will break Bobby Frankel’s record of 25 Group 1 or Grade 1 winners in a calendar year. If he strikes out Saturday, he has runners in a pair of French Group 1’s for 2-year-olds next weekend, and as many as 14 horses for Grade 1 races during the two-day Breeders’ Cup meeting at Del Mar.
The odds convey her level of popularity.
When Winx won the 2015 Cox Plate for her fifth consecutive victory, she was the 15-8 favorite. Last year, she won the Cox Plate at 4-5 in her 13th straight win.
The streak is now at 21 races. Earlier this week, Winx was 1-6 in future-book betting for Saturday’s Group 1 Cox Plate at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Moonee Valley in Melbourne, Australia.
HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, October 25, 2017)
Brett Davis
Race 1: 3-7-5-4
Race 2: 3-5-11-10
Race 3: 4-3-2-6
Race 4: 4-3-9-12
Race 5: 6-2-8-10
Race 6: 9-11-12-3
Race 7: 4-10-2-6
Race 8: 10-1-4-12
Best Bet - Race 1: #3 Ensuring
Longshot - Race 6: #9 Unique Joyous
Best Play - Race 6: Q/QP 9,11,12
