Naosuke Sugai

Fresh off an Aug. 20 newcomers' victory going 1500 metres at Sapporo, Dolce More (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) subdued longtime leader Granite (Jpn) (Danon Ballad {Jpn}) to take the G3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup at Tokyo on Saturday. Sent off as the 5-1 second choice, the colt settled in an ideal perch, as 39-1 longshot Granite ran off and hid from the field, spotting them at least 10 lengths. However, his lead began to look shaky with 400 metres remaining, and Dolce More was gaining on his erstwhile rival with every...

White wonder Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) became the first of her colour to score at the highest level in Japan with a narrow win in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies on Sunday. Deep Impact (Jpn)'s Satono Reinas (Jpn) was only a nose behind in third with Uberleben (Jpn) (Gold Ship {Jpn}) a neck back in third. The crowd's pick at 2-1, the undefeated filly balked a bit prior to entering the stalls, but soon settled in fifth as Yoka Yoka (Jpn) (Squirtle Squirt) cut out moderate fractions of :23.20 and :46.80,...

Undefeated Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) will try to extend her winning streak in Sunday's G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and in the process, the likely favorite will also try to become the white-colored horse to win a Group 1 race in Japan. "The white really stands out on grass," said trainer Naosuke Sugai. "I think she's turning into a real star." The flashy filly triumphed in her career debut at Hakodate in July before scoring over 1,800-meters in the G3 Sapporo Nisai S. Sept. 5. In her latest start, she took the...