Aerovelocity won his second major stakes in the last five months in Sunday’s $1,658,831 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at about six furlongs at Chukyo, Japan.
Aerovelocity, sent off at 11-2, finished a half-length in front of the 15-1 Hakusan Moon in the field of 18. Straight Girl, the 4-1 favorite, finished 13th.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- California Chrome will ship from Dubai to England this week in a bold bid to carry his Kentucky Derby-winning and Horse of the Year form to the European turf.
The second-place finisher Saturday night in the $10 million Dubai World Cup, California Chrome had been booked on a flight back to the U.S. on Tuesday but will instead fly to England and be based at Newmarket, trainer Art Sherman said.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Prince Bishop ran in the 2011 World Cup, the edition won by Victoire Pisa, and finished 10th. He ran in the 2012 World Cup, with Monterosso leading a local sweep in the synthetic-surface race, and finished seventh. The next year on World Cup Night, he ran up the track in the Sheema Classic, and last year, in his third crack at the World Cup, Prince Bishop finished ninth, beaten more than 11 lengths.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Treve is not the only elite filly in France.
Dolniya, getting a dream trip under Christophe Soumillon, who scored a seven-figure-stakes double Saturday night, led a one-two French finish in the Group 1, $6 million Dubai Sheema Classic, winning by 2 1/4 lengths over Flintshire in a powerful performance.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Freddie Head called his shot.
Solow, the 5-year-old gelding Head trains for owners and breeders Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, never had run in a Group 1 race before Saturday night. Yet this week, as Solow readied for the Group 1, $6 million Dubai Turf, Head called him one of the best horses he ever had trained, and even called him great.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Bob Baffert won his first Dubai Golden Shaheen when Secret Circle broke a six-race losing streak dating to November 2013, holding off longshot Super Jockey to win the Group 1, $2 million dirt sprint by a head.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Mubtaahij cruised to an eight-length victory in the $2 million UAE Derby and ran his way into a start in the Kentucky Derby.
A Kentucky Derby start would be a first for South African trainer Mike de Kock, who has long wintered in Dubai, but this was hardly de Kock’s first taste of success in the UAE Derby. He won the race for the sixth time, though Mubtaahij’s performance was the best from a de Kock horse since Asiatic Boy won in 2007.
Aerovelocity and Straight Girl, the first- and third-place finishers of the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin last December, are the leading contenders in Sunday’s $1,658,831 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at about six furlongs at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan.
The Takamatsunomiya Kinen is the first Grade 1 of the year on turf on the Japan Racing Association calendar.
The race drew a field of 18, including Copana Richard, the winner of the 2014 race, and Daiwa Maggiore, Mikki Isle and Robe Tissage, the first three finishers of the Grade 3 Hankyu Hai at Hanshin Racecourse on March 1.
Fields were drawn and post positions assigned late Monday for the Godolphin Mile, Dubai Gold Cup, and U.A.E. Derby.
The Godolphin Mile drew a field of 16, with likely favorite Tamarkuz stuck on the rail and another major local hope, Surfer, marooned in post 16.
“You don’t want to lose hope, but it will have to be kind of a miracle situation,” said Surfer’s trainer, Sateesh Seemar.
