Thu, 12/06/2012 - 17:00

Hong Kong: Vase tops card with four Group 1 races

The four Group 1 stakes Sunday at Sha Tin on Hong Kong’s biggest day of racing will have to do without the best-known horse on the program as French invader Cirrus des Aigles has been withdrawn from the Hong Kong Cup after injuring a leg during training Thursday.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 16:15

Hanshin Juvenile Fillies matches Collector Item vs. Sound Rihanna

The November stakes winners Collector Item and Sound Rihanna are the leading contenders for Sunday’s Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in Japan, the nation’s top race for 2-year-old fillies.

Run over about a mile on turf and worth approximately $1.68 million, the Juvenile Fillies is considered the division’s championship race.

Both Collector Item and Sound Rihanna approach the race in top form.

Wed, 12/05/2012 - 13:18

Dettori banned six months

Former British champion jockey Frankie Dettori has been suspended six months by French racing authorities after failing a drug test at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris in September.

The suspension, announced on Wednesday, is retroactive to Nov. 20 and will run until May 19, 2013.

Dettori, 41, will miss the Dubai Racing Carnival in the United Arab Emirates, and the early-season classics in England – the 1000 and 2000 Guineas. He will be eligible to return in time to ride major events in June such as the English Derby and Royal Ascot meeting.

Sun, 12/02/2012 - 13:44

Japan: Nihonpiro Ours sets track record winning Japan Cup Dirt

Nihonpiro Ours, an 18-1 outsider, won the biggest race of his career, and first Grade 1, in Sunday’s $3.3 million Japan Cup Dirt at Hanshin Racecourse.

Ridden by Manabu Sakai for trainer Yuki Ohashi, Nihonpiro Ours closed  from fourth in a field of 16 to win by 3 1/2 lengths over Wonder Acute.

Nihonpiro Ours ran 1,800 meters, or about 1 1/8 miles, in a track- record time of 1:48.8.

Fri, 11/30/2012 - 15:43

Snow Fairy disqualified from Group 1 for positive test

The purse of the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville, France, in August has been ordered redistributed after race winner Snow Fairy was disqualified for testing positive for a banned anti-inflammatory, according to French racing officials.

The Prix Jean Romanet was Snow Fairy’s first start of 2012, and first start since returning from a tendon injury. As a result of the positive test, runner-up Izzi Top has been promoted to first. The race was worth approximately $333,320.

Thu, 11/29/2012 - 16:38

Japan Cup Dirt draws familiar cast to Hanshin

The field for Sunday’s $3.3 million Japan Cup Dirt at Hanshin Racecourse has a familiar look.

The 16 runners include Transcend and Wonder Acute, who were first and second in the 2011 running, and Espoir City, the winner of the 2009 Japan Cup Dirt and third last year.

The Japan Cup Dirt is run over about 1 1/8 miles on a right-handed track.

Transcend, a 6-year-old horse by Wild Rush, is winless in three starts this year, including a third in the JBC Classic at Kawasaki Racecourse on Nov. 5. Wonder Acute won the JBC Classic in his first start since May.

Tue, 11/27/2012 - 13:36

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Solemia retired

Solemia, winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris in an upset last month, has been retired following her 13th place finish in Sunday’s Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse.

Owned by Alain and Gerard Wertheimer, Solemia won 5 of 14 starts and four stakes. She won the minor Prix Joubert in 2011 and two stakes earlier this year prior to the Arc – the minor Prix Lord Seymour and the Group2 Prix Corrida.

In the Arc against 17 rivals on heavy turf, Solemia beat Orfevre, the Japanese 2011 Triple Crown winner, by a neck in a 33-1 upset.

Sun, 11/25/2012 - 14:14

Gentildonna becomes first 3-year-old filly to win Japan Cup

Gentildonna, the winner of the Japanese Triple Crown earlier this year, became the first 3-year-old filly to win the $6.5 million Japan Cup on Sunday, holding off Orfevre, the winner of the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown, by a nose.

Gentildonna had to survive a lengthy inquiry into the stretch run before the order of finish was left unchanged by track stewards.

Orfevre, second in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October, finished 2 1/2 lengths clear of the Japanese older horse Rulership in the field of 17. The first three finishers are owned by Sunday Racing Co.

Thu, 11/22/2012 - 14:33

Japan Cup to see Arc de Triomphe rematch

APRH Photo
Solemia, an upset winner of the Arc at 33-1, is making her last career start.

The French filly Solemia and the Japanese colt Orfevre, first and second in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Oct. 7, meet again in Sunday’s $6.5 million Japan Cup at Toyko Racecourse.

This time, the advantage may be in favor of Orfevre.

The winner of the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown, Orfevre will be favored to win the Grade 1 Japan Cup, which is run over about 1 1/2 miles on turf.

Solemia, an upset winner of the Arc at 33-1, is making her last career start.

Wed, 11/21/2012 - 13:12

Dettori suspended after positive test at Longchamp

Former champion jockey Frankie Dettori has been temporarily suspended for testing positive for a banned substance at Longchamp Racecourse on Sept. 16, according to a statement released Wednesday by France-Galop, the country’s regulatory body.

The statement did not reveal the length of the suspension, but said the decision was “based on medical grounds.” Details of the September test have not been announced.