Grand Prix Boss came with a late rush to win Japan’s premier juvenile contest, the $1.6 million Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes at Nakayama on Sunday, as he ran down a pair highly regarded colts from the first crop of Deep Impact.
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DRF Past Performances
The road from Hong Kong apparently leads directly to Dubai. Two of Sunday’s big winners on Hong Kong International Raceday at Sha Tin, Snow Fairy and Mastery, are under serious consideration for races on the $26 million Dubai World Cup card at Meydan on March 26.
Snow Fairy, who won her fourth Group 1 race of the year in four different countries when taking the 1 1/4-mile Hong Kong Cup, is looking at the Dubai World Cup, while Godolphin is taking dead aim at the Dubai Sheema Classic with their 1 1/2-mile Hong Kong Vase winner Mastery.
Snow Fairy was dubbed the “Queen of the Orient” as she scored her second Group 1 triumph in the Far East at Sha Tin on Sunday when her bold run in traffic resulted in victory in the $2.5 million Hong Kong Cup.
Meanwhile, Mastery gave British-trained horses a second triumph on Hong Kong International Raceday as he landed the $2 million Hong Kong Vase in which the Christophe Clement-trained Winchester backed up to finish 11th of 13.
Winchester faces a power-packed lineup in the $1.8 million Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin on Sunday. The 1 1/2-mile turf contest will be the first of four Group 1 races on Hong Kong International Raceday, an event that has attracted 24 international Group or Grade 1 winners.
Ryan Moore, the two-time Breeders’ Cup-winning British rider, got the better of local champion Doug Whyte in a thrilling finish to the final race to land the 13th Cathay Pacific International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley, Hong Kong, on Wednesday evening.
Julien Leparoux, the American representative in a field of 12 of the world’s top pilots, made little impact on the four-race competition. His best result was aboard Travel Guide, who finished fifth, just under two lengths behind the Whyte-partnered My Goal, in the third leg.
Julien Leparoux makes his Hong Kong debut Wednesday night in the hothouse atmosphere of Happy Valley Racecourse in the heart of the bustling island city where he will represent the United States in the Cathay Pacific International Jockeys’ Championship. Leparoux will be one of three French-born riders in the four-race competition, joining compatriots Olivier Peslier and Christophe Lemaire as well as big-name jockeys from around the world like Johnny Murtagh, Ryan Moore and perennial Hong Kong champion Doug Whyte.
Transcend led them from start to finish as the 5-2 favorite in the $3 million Japan Cup Dirt at Hanshin on Sunday, holding on for a neck victory over Glorious Noah in the 1 1/8-mile Grade 1 contest.
Given a perfect ride by Shinji Fujita, the Japanese-bred 4-year-old son of Wild Rush covered the distance around the two-turn course in 1:48.90 on a track labeled good. The winner had previously taken the Grade 3 Miyako Stakes over the same distance at Kyoto on Nov. 7 from King’s Emblem who, at 4.30-1, could only manage a seventh-place finish Sunday.
Transcend, capitalizing on the absence of several of Japan’s leading dirt horses, held off Glorious Noah by a neck to win Sunday’s $3 million, Grade 1 Japan Cup Dirt at Hanshin Racecourse.
A 4-year-old son of Wild Rush, the winner of the 1998 Metropolitan Handicap and Carter Handicap, Transcend covered about 1 1/8 miles over a track rated good in 1:48.90 as the favorite in a field of 16 runners. He prepped for the race by winning the Grade 3 Miyako Stakes at 1 1/8 miles.
Shinji Fujita rode the winner for trainer Takayuki Yasuda, 57, who earned his first Grade 1 triumph.
Transcend can take advantage of the absence of many of Japan’s best dirt horses to win the $3 million Japan Cup Dirt at Hanshin on Sunday when the 1 1/8-mile, Grade 1 test will have its 11th running minus defending title-holder Epsoir City as well as Furioso, Smart Falcon, and the recently retired Kane Hekili.
A 4-year-old son of 1998 Metropolitan Handicap and Carter Handicap winner, Wild Rush, Transcend comes into the race off a victory in Kyoto’s 1 1/8-mile, Grade 3 Miyako Stakes. Trained by Takayuki Yasuda, he will be ridden by Shinji Fujita.