Bellagio Opera (Jpn)

Runner-up to T O Royal (Jpn) (Leontes {Jpn}) when tackling 3,200 metres in April's G1 Tenno Sho (Spring), Blow The Horn (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) made full use of his staying power as he ran out an impressive winner of Sunday's G1 Takarazuka Kinen at Kyoto Racecourse, a 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. With the victory, he defeated Sol Oriens (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) by two lengths to gain the first Group 1 success of his career. Blow The Horn was dropping back fully 1,000...

Looking for his first Group 1 tally following a productive second-place effort in the Feb. 11 G2 Kyoto Kinen, Bellagio Opera (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) got up in time to land Sunday's G1 Osaka Hai at Hanshin. A winner in last season's 1800-meter Spring S., he was a well beaten 10th in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) prior to finishing fourth in the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) over 2400 meters. He concluded his 3-year-old season with a victory in Hanshin's G3 Challenge Cup in December. Breaking sharply...

Despite an ever-growing Japanese presence at the Dubai World Cup meeting in the UAE, Sunday's 2000-metre G1 Osaka Hai at Hanshin still boasts five Group 1 winners, four of them Classic scorers and several other progressive types hunting for their first Group 1 ring. One of the top picks in the 16-strong field is last year's G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) winner, Tastiera (Jpn) (Satono Crown {Jpn}), who ran second in both the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas)--to Sol Oriens (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn})--and the G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese...