Killer Graces

5th-GP, $60k, Msw, 3yo, f, 1mT, 3:15p.m. ET Going to post carrying the legendary Claiborne colors is STRIFE (War Front), a homebred for the storied operation under the tutelage of Christophe Clement. Out of Black Dynamite (More Than Ready), a winning half-sister to MGSW Chocolate Ride (Candy Ride {Arg})--himself a course-record setter in the GII Melvin H. Muniz Jr. H., Strife is the first to the races for that mare. Her dam is also a half-sister to GISW Killer Graces (Congaree), who made a name in Japan as the dam...

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...