Keeneland November

As has been well-documented, Japanese interests have--over the course of many years--accumulated some of the best bloodstock from all corners of the globe, and as evidenced in Riyadh and Dubai in the last couple of months, the Japanese are breeding horses that can compete anywhere at any level. Classics season in the island nation kicked off last weekend with the running of the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), with the colts' equivalent--the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas)--set for this weekend at Nakayama Racecourse. The 3-year-old offspring of some...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Hanshin Racecourse. Japanese Horse of the Year Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) kicks off his 4-year-old season in Sunday's G1 Osaka Hai, while mercurial American-bred Reframe (American Pharoah) returns to group competition in Saturday's G3 Lord Derby Challenge Trophy at Nakayama,...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Chukyo and Tokyo Racecourses: Saturday, January 29, 2022 4th-CKO, ¥11,400,000 ($99k), Newcomers, 3yo, 1400m CUTE VILLAIN (f, 3, Arrogate--She Be Wild, by Offlee Wild) is the latest foal out of the Eclipse Award-winning juvenile filly of 2009 and cost Katsumi...

The Magic Millions Gold Coast Sale, one of Australia's two premier yearling sales, was to kick off Tuesday (Australian time) in Queensland, with the cream of the crop of those foals born in 2020. Buyers will relish the opportunity to get not only into some of Australia's pre-eminent female families, but also into some American bloodlines that have been sourced by a variety of bloodstock professionals at auction houses in this country. In today's TDN, we look at horses selling in the first two sessions. Horses being offered Thursday and...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Sunday and Monday running at Chukyo and Nakayama Racecourses, with a pair of newly turned 3-year-old fillies taking a step up into Group 3 competition off maiden-breaking victories: Sunday, January 9, 2022 3rd-CKO, ¥9,900,000 ($86k), Maiden, 3yo, 1900m THE KING (JPN) (c, 3,...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. The first weekend of racing for the new year takes place at Chukyo and Nakayama, featuring a pair of Group 3 tests over a mile for newly turned 3-year-olds and each featuring one American-bred. Those horses will appear in Saturday's TDN, in the meantime, here are the runners of interest for...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for Wednesday's first JRA meetings of 2022 at Chukyo and Nakayama Racecourses: Wednesday, January 5, 2022 4th-NKY, ¥11,400,000 ($99k), Newcomers, 3yo, 1800m WONDERFUL HEAVEN (f, 3, Hard Spun--Couture Cat, by Storm Cat), a half-sister to SP High Fashion Diva (Girolamo), is out of a winning...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Hanshin and Nakayama Racecourses. Sunday's Boxing Day program at Nakayama features the world's biggest betting race annually, the G1 Arima Kinen, in which Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) will look close her career on a winning note in defense of...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Hanshin and Tokyo Racecourses. Click here for a preview of Sunday's G1 Longines Japan Cup at Tokyo, which has drawn four of the last six winners of the course-and-distance G1 Tokyo Yushun. Last year's Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) (Deep...

4th-Jebel Ali, AED60,000, Maiden, 2yo, 1000m, 1:00.21, ft. RAZEEN DUBAI (c, 2, Frosted--War Poppy, by Discreet Cat) opened his account in promising fashion at first asking Friday at Jebel Ali. Given a positive ride by Royston Ffrench, the Pennsylvania-bred stayed on strongly up the rise through the final stages to defeat Classic City (Constitution) by a convincing five lengths. The winner's dam, a daughter of the classy War Thief (Lord At War {Arg}), was purchased for $85,000 in foal to Animal Kingdom at Keeneland November in 2017. She is also...

Brian Hernandez, Jr. rode three races at Churchill Downs Wednesday. He made it to the winner's circle in race nine, but that wasn't the only excitement of the day for the jockey. Earlier that morning, he and his family posed alongside a bay mare named Unbridledexplosion (Eddington) outside of Barn 46 at Keeneland. Hernandez had ridden the mare in all but three of her 18 career starts. Now, he is her new owner. "This is the first mare my wife and I have purchased on our own," Hernandez said. "We...

The seasonal foliage was about the only thing falling at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which concluded a wildly successful run in Lexington Friday afternoon. Over the course of 10 days of trade, sales officials reported gross receipts of $203,585,500 for 2470 horses sold, good for an average of $82,423. Further demonstrating the strength of middle market, the median price of $37,000 established a new November record, eclipsing the previous mark of $35,000 set on five previous occasions, but most recently in 2014. The buyback rate closed at a...