Victoire Pisa, the winner of the $10 million Dubai World Cup in March and two major stakes in Japan, has been retired after two disappointing races in the last five weeks.
A 4-year-old Japanese-bred colt by Neo Universe, Victoire Pisa will stand at stud in 2012 in Japan.
Owned by Yoshimi Ichikawa, Victoire Pisa won 8 of 15 starts in a three-year career.
Orfevre, the winner of the Japanese Triple Crown earlier this year, ended a remarkable 2011 season with a victory in his first start against older horses in Sunday’s $5.3 million Arima Kinen at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan.
The race marked the final start for Japan Cup winner Buena Vista, who could only manage a seventh in the field of 13.
Orfevre is expected to have an international campaign in 2012, with a race on the Dubai World Cup card in March and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris in October under consideration, according to trainer Yasutoshi Ikee.
A first-ever matchup between Buena Vista, the winner of the Japan Cup last month, and Orfevre, the winner of the 2011 Japanese Triple Crown, will be the focus of Sunday’s Grade 1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama Racecourse.
The Arima Kinen is worth approximately $4.9 million and is run over about 1 9/16 miles on a right-handed track.
Buena Vista, a 5-year-old mare, will be favored on the strength of her hard-fought win in the Japan Cup on Nov. 27, when she edged Tosen Jordan by a neck. Tosen Jordan is also part of the 14-runner Arima Kinen field.
Alfredo remained unbeaten in three starts and became the colt to follow for the Japanese classics of 2012 with a victory in Sunday’s Group 1 Asahi Hai Futurity at Nakayama Racecourse.
Ridden by Craig Williams for trainer Takahisa Tezuka, Alfredo won the $1.7 million Asahi Hai Futurity as the 2-1 favorite by two lengths over 8-1 Meiner Robusto. Leo Active, the winner of the Group 2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes at Tokyo on Nov. 12, finished third in the field of 16, closing well through the final three furlongs.
Leo Active and Sudden Storm, the first two finishers of the Group 2 Keio Hai Nisai Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse on Nov. 12, are leading contenders for Sunday's Group 1 Asahi Hai Futurity at Nakayama.
The Asahi Hai Futurity is run over about a mile on a right-handed track and is the championship race for 2-year-olds in Japan. The race is worth approximately $1,717,948.
A series of canceled flights earlier this week kept Perfect Shirl from traveling to Argentina for Saturday's Group 1 Gran Premio International Carlos Pellegrini.
Trainer Roger Attfield said on Thursday that he was unable to secure transport for Perfect Shirl, the winner of the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Churchill Downs on Nov. 4, and that she will remain in North America and be prepared for a 2012 campaign as a 5-year-old.
Joie de Vivre, a half-sister to Japan Cup winner Buena Vista, won Sunday’s Group 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in Japan to remain unbeaten and clinch the 2-year-old filly championship.
Ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga for trainer Hiroyoshi Matsuda, Joie de Vivre, a 5-1 shot, closed from the middle of the 18-filly field to win by 2 1/2 lengths over I’m Yours. Sound of Heart, the 7-2 favorite, finished third, a nose behind I’m Yours. The race was worth approximately $1.73 million and was run over about a mile on a right-handed track.
California Memory typically is the deepest of deep closers, sitting at the back of the pack until the stretch, when he comes with a big slingshot run. But a change in tactics Sunday probably won California Memory the $2.57 million Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Horses from all over the world have descended on Sha Tin Racecourse for the Hong Kong Cup meeting on Sunday. Well, not quite all over the world: Not a single North American runner has ventured to the Far East for any of the four Group 1 races worth a total of about $8.75 million.
The Group 1 stakes sequence gets under way with race 4 from Sha Tin, the $1.8 million Hong Kong Vase, with post time scheduled for 1 a.m. Eastern. Race 5 is the $1.8 million Sprint, race 7 the $2.57 million Mile, and race 8 - the nominal feature - the $2.57 Hong Kong Cup.
I’m Yours, a Falbrav filly who won the Fantasy Stakes last month, is expected to be favored in Sunday’s Group 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan, the season’s main race for 2-year-old fillies in that country.
I’m Yours has won two of four starts, all for trainer Takahisa Tezuka, with the Group 3 Fantasy Stakes over about seven furlongs her most prestigious win. The Hanshin Juvenile Fillies is run over about a mile on a right-handed track, and will be I’m Yours’s first start at Hanshin. The race has an estimated purse of $1.73 million.
