Shinji Maeda

It's been quite a while since El Condor Pasa (Kingmambo), Deep Impact (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) and Orfevre (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) strutted their stuff around the Bois de Boulogne and Japan has a new globetrotter to laud after Shinji Maeda's Deep Bond (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) rolled back the years and made all to win Sunday's G2 Qatar Prix Foy at ParisLongchamp. Last year's G2 Kyoto Shimbun Hai and this year's G2 Hanshin Daishoten winner, who ran second in May's G1 Tenno Sho in his most recent start, was the sharpest...

5th-Sapporo, ¥13,400,000 ($121,612), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200mT, 1:09.5, gd. GRAN APLAUSO (c, 2, Gun Runner--Fiducia {SW & GSP-Jpn, $1,425,976}, by Medaglia d'Oro) became the fourth winner for his freshman sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}) and his first on the turf with a smooth success on career debut. Drawn widest in a field of 16, the homebred raced deep on the course, but tugged his way up into second entering the turn. Poised to strike at the quarter pole, he was roused to the front outside the 200-meter mark and kept on...

Kyoto played host to the 3000-metre G1 Kikuka Sho on Sunday, and Contrail (Jpn) put his name in the record books as the eighth Japanese Triple Crown Winner and only the third to take the Japanese equivalent of the St Leger while undefeated. Symboli Rudolf (Jpn) (Partholon {Ire}) first accomplished that feat in 1984 and Contrail's sire, the late Deep Impact (Jpn), was the second in 2005. In marked contrast to his earlier wins, Contrail was tested all the way to the line, with recent allowance winner, the SP Aristoteles...

Pounded down to 10 cents on the dollar, dual Classic hero Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) marked his return to the races with an easy-as-he-pleased victory in the 2200-metre G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai at Chukyo on Sunday. Away in good order, pilot Yuichi Fukunaga eased Contrail back to sit in midfield while well covered up in the early stages. Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) showed the way through a half in :47.40 and a mile in 1:36.30 with positions largely unchanged. Nearing the final bend the heavy favourite had a...

2019 Japanese Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) earned a Classic laurel while maintaining his unbeaten record in the 2020 G1 Satsuki Sho over 2000 metres at Nakayama on Sunday. He is the third Japanese 2000 Guineas winner for his late sire. Despite being drawn in the dreaded one hole, the 8-5 crowd's pick overcame that hurdle to win by a half-length over the previously undefeated third choice Salios (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}). It was 3 1/2 lengths back to Galore Creek (Jpn) (Kinshasa no Kiseki {Aus}) in...