Heart's Cry

The Japanese colts' Classics kick off this weekend at Nakayama Raceourse, where champion Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Salios (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn})--each perfect in their three starts last season--square off in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) over the 2000 metres. Racing in the colours of Shinji Maeda and bred by the family's North Hills Co. Ltd., the dark bay colt graduated at first asking going nine furlongs last September and followed up with a dominating five-length victory in the G3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai S. Nov....

While the European Classics look likely to suffer some reshuffling, Japanese racing is continuing behind closed doors and the country is set to stage its first Classic on Sunday, the G1 Oka Sho (1000 Guineas). Final declarations for the Hanshin contest will be made on Thursday, but the 18 likely runners at this stage include no fewer than six daughters of Deep Impact (Jpn), who died last August. At this early stage of the year, it is no surprise to see the late Shadai resident out in front on the...

A top-class racehorse on the track, Yoshida (Jpn) was as durable as he was successful, winning $2.5 million, split almost equally between dirt and turf. In the last two years of his career, he ran 10 times-nine in Grade I races, and once in a Grade II. A TDN Rising Star out of his first start at Keeneland, he went on to win the GI Woodward in his first start on the dirt, and the GI Old Forester Turf Classic S., earning a 106 Beyer. Kelsey Riley stopped by WinStar...

Five months after his death at the age of 17, Deep Impact (Jpn) lodged his ninth consecutive sires' championship in Japan in 2019, with his 244 winners contributing to progeny earnings of ¥7,773,484,000 (£54.5m/€64.3m). It will be no surprise to see his name in the top spot for a number of years to come, closing in on the record of his sire Sunday Silence, who was champion sire in Japan 14 times, from 1995 to 2008. Deep Impact's similar dominance is all the more profound considering that his position in...