Sunday Racing

Four-time Japanese Group 1 winner Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) will be pointed to this year's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, owners Sunday Racing have confirmed, with jockey Oisin Murphy set to take the ride. The 5-year-old mare's regular pilot, Yuichi Kitamura, is currently on the sidelines with an injury. Third in both the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) at three before taking the G1 Shuka Sho, the third leg of the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown, Chrono Genesis bested the Classic-winning colt...

Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) justified 4-5 favouritism and took her second consecutive G1 Takarazuka Kinen title at Hanshin on Sunday. The 2200-metre contest is a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar in November, as well as the Oct. 23 G1 Cox Plate at Moonee Valley Down Under. Unicorn Lion (Ire) (No Nay Never) led the charge into the first turn while shadowed by Lei Papale (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Chrono Genesis sat third a few lengths back. A touch keen, pilot...

Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) denied heavy 3-5 favourite and G1 Japanese 2000 Guineas hero Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) by the narrowest of margins to take the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) at Tokyo on Sunday. It was the record-setting seventh win in that Classic for a son of Deep Impact, whose earlier successes include Deep Brillante (Jpn) (2012), Kizuna (Jpn) (2013), Makahiki (Jpn) (2016), Wagnerian (Jpn) (2018), Roger Barows (Jpn) (2019) and Triple Crown victor Contrail (Jpn) last term. Sent off at 10-1, Shahryar was rank and tugging for...

Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) put her stamp on the G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo on Sunday, a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The 2020 Japanese Champion Sprinter/Miler was winning her fifth Group 1 race when drawing off to win by four lengths over the good to firm ground. Bet down to 30 cents on the dollar, Gran Alegria perched in midfield as Christie (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) set a demanding tempo. Beginning to make inroads toward the front inside the final...

Sunday Racing's Schnell Meister (Ger) (Kingman {GB}) closed late to take the G1 NHK Mile Cup in a bobbing finish on Sunday, his first black-type victory. Second choice in the wagering at 5-2 behind Group 1 winner Grenadier Guards (Jpn) (Frankel {GB}), the Sunday Racing colourbearer broke well from one of the widest draws and punched the breeze out in the centre of the course while unhurried early. Up front, Pixie Knight (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) led under minimal pressure from Ho O Amazon (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), with Grenadier Guards...

Although she left it until late, Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) displayed a scintillating turn of foot once she found running room to rush by her rivals and claim the G1 Mile Championship at Hanshin on Sunday. It was the fourth Group 1 win for the daughter of Breeders' Cup heroine Tapitsfly and she is the eighth horse-after the runner-up Indy Champ (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn})--to claim both mile events in Japan having earlier scored in the G1 Yasuda Kinen. The first filly or mare to claim the Mile...

The 4-year-old filly Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) was the second choice in the betting for Sunday's G1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin, but at the finish line there was no doubting who was number one, with the Sunday Racing colourbearer establishing her dominance with a race record six-length victory and earning a spot in the Nov. 7 GI Breeders' Cup Turf. After finishing third in the opening two races of last year's fillies' Triple Crown, the G1 Oka Sho and the G1 Yushun Himba, Chrono Genesis collected her first Group...

Sunday Racing's Luftstrom (Jpn) (Kinshasa no Kiseki {Aus}) maintained his unbeaten record with a half-length win in the 1600-metre G2 New Zealand Trophy at Nakayama on Saturday. Second choice in the wagering at 7-2, the colt raced near the tail of the field one off the fence for the first half-mile. Unleashing a sizzling burst once spun to the outside of all but Win Greatest (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) nearing the final bend, he appeared to clip heels and was steadied. Balanced up by Shu Ishibashi, he regained his momentum and...