Mr Melody

HOKKAIDO, Japan--Things are hotting up in the Northern Horse Park, literally and figuratively. As the mercury nudged 30 degrees on Saturday, the English and Irish in town for the JRHA Select Sale swooned and wilted while the many attendants showing the horses, mostly clad in jackets, went manfully and womanfully about their hot and tiring work without so much as a whimper. Both they and the young horses in their care are well prepared for the two inspection days ahead, despite having only arrived on the sales ground that morning....

There will be an infusion of new American blood into the Japanese stallion ranks in 2021 with retirements to stud of Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) and Mr Melody (Scat Daddy). Each is the first of their respective sires' progeny to take up stud duty in the island nation. Bred in Kentucky by Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm, Mozu Ascot was led out unsold on a bid of $275,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September sale before being acquired privately by Capital System Co. Ltd. A maiden winner at third asking under...

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 Nakayama Racecourses:  Sunday, September 13, 2020 5th-NKY, ¥13,400,000 ($126k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1600mT AMERICAN PEACE (c, 2 Tapit--La Cloche, by Ghostzapper), a $325K Keeneland September acquisition, is the latest produce from his Grade III-winning dam, a $2.4m Fasig-Tipton purchase...

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, the latter of which hosts the best race on the planet this weekend, Sunday's G1 Yasuda Kinen, featuring 2018 Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) as well as US-bred G1SW Mr Melody...