By Alan Carasso
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 Saturday running at Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourses. Sunday's runners will appear in Saturday's TDN
Saturday, October 5, 2024
4th-KYO, ¥13,720,000 ($93k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400m
DRAGON WELDS (c, 2, Frosted–Little Dipper, by Eskendereya) fetched $72,000 as a Keeneland September yearling last fall and was hammered down to Japanese interests after breezing an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5 at this year's OBS March Sale. Produced by a multiple stakes-placed half-sister to Grade II-winning turf sprinter Bye Bye Bernie (Bernstein) and the Grade III-placed Joe Franklin (Bernstein), the gray colt looks to become his sire's ninth Japanese winner from 10 starters, a number that includes dual Group 3 winner Jasper Krone. B-Willow Oaks Stable LLC (KY)
JASPER NOVEL (f, 2, Vekoma–Flatter Me Owen, by Flatter) made no fewer than five trips through the ring between November 2022 and this past March, hammering for $47,000 at Keeneland November before selling for $60,000 at the January Sale two months later. Bought back on a bid of $45,000 at KEESEP, she changed hands for that same amount at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale and was purchased by Hideyuki Mori for $190,000 at OBS March after she breezed in :9 4/5. She was one of 10 horses secured by Mori at OBSMAR, a lot that includes GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile candidate and $800,000 seller Shin Believe (Constitution). B-James F Miller (WV)
4th-TOK, ¥13,720,000 ($93k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1600mT
ERIKA MAYURI (JPN) (f, 2, Quality Road–Brave Anna, by War Front), a $3-million in-utero purchase at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, is out of the 2016 G1 Cheveley Park Stakes heroine, whose Group 3-winning dam Liscanna (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) is also responsible for Opera Singer (Justify), a Group 1 winner at two and three, as well as 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Hit It A Bomb (War Front). Erika Mayuri is a half-sister to Angelsilica (Dark Angel {Ire}), a two-time winner in Japan. B-EM Planning LLC
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