Red Belle Aube Rates Slight Edge in Asahi Hai Futurity

Red Belle Aube (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) looks to give his legendary late sire a fourth winner of the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. in the last seven years as he takes on 15 other rivals in the 1600-metre event that will go some way towards determining year-end honors.

Bred from an Unbridled's Song mare just like Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Red Belle Aube has won two in a row since dropping his career debut, including the G2 Daily Hai Nisai S. over this course and distance Nov. 14 in which he just outgamed Ho O Amazon (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in the final furlong. Red Belle Aube's full-brother Red Bel Jour (Jpn) won last year's Daily Hai Nisai S. before finishing 10th in this test.

“He's not so different than he was for his last race, but he is getting bigger,” said his jockey Yuichi Fukunaga. “He's got speed which should see him do well here over a mile, although like his brother, there is a slightly difficult side to him.”

Shock Action (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), a 65,000gns purchase by Paca Paca Farm on behalf of Godolphin's Japanese arm at the 2018 Tattersalls December foal sale, broke his maiden at second asking and became his young sire's first local group winner when taking out the G3 Niigata Nisai S. by a handy 1 3/4 lengths Aug. 30.

Mondreise (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}), whose sire was responsible for the recently retired 2018 Asahi Hai winner Admire Mars (Jpn), looms an interesting longshot price with Christophe Lemaire at the controls. No worse than second in his four starts to date, the bay colt steps up in class off a neck defeat of Lord Max (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G2 Keio Hai Nisai S. (1400m) at Tokyo Nov. 7.

Dura Mondo (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}), whose sire is in the thick of the battle for leading Japanese freshman sire, is undefeated from two runs and faces a stiff class test Sunday, but is well backed to negotiate the jump.

Stella Veloce (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) is well in the markets off a convincing three-length success in the G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup at headquarters Oct. 10 when he seemed to relish soft underfoot conditions.