JC / Railbird

Japan

Winning Legende

Legende has a ways to go before he reaches the rarefied level of his full sister, two-time Japanese Horse of the Year Gentildonna, but the 3-year-old colt made an auspicious career debut at Kyoto Racecourse on February 15. Michele MacDonald recaps the race for Thoroughbred Daily News:

Legende (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) … entered the starting gate as the even-money favorite in a field of 14 maidens going 1800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) on turf. After breaking without incident, he rated kindly in second under jockey Keita Tosaki while the filly Kurseong (Jpn) (Empire Maker) set the pace for much of the trip.

When Tosaki rounded the far turn on Legende, he asked the colt for more and his mount bounded quickly to the lead. Tosaki tapped his flank twice in the stretch and Legende proved clearly best, defeating Kurseong easily by three-quarters of a length in 1:52.4 on a course rated firm, and he galloped out with his ears pricked. Fillies Gold Glory (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) and Juwelen (Jpn) (Deep Impact) finished third and fourth.

Watch the replay:

【PHOTO】レゲンデ Legende http://t.co/ceOD6xUjYM 姉にジェンティルドンナ、ドナウブルーの超良血馬。まずは順調なスタートを決めました。 #競馬 pic.twitter.com/bZSR0IU16j

— 競馬ラボ (@keibalab) February 15, 2015

Posted in Racing on February 16, 2015 / Tagged Champions, Gentildonna, Horses to Watch, International, Japan, Kyoto, Legende, Siblings

Odds and Ends

“IHA lives a life of comfort.” The Kentucky Derby winner at Big Red Farm (via).

Azeri, Ginger Punch, Lethal Heat, Moscow Burning, Stardom Bound … Kate Hunter on the Yoshida brothers’ starry broodmare band (PDF).

But the horse will tell us what he wants to do. “It’s an absolute crock. Frankel has been saying all year I can do what YOU want me to” (via).

It’s not about the surface. What Dullahan really wants is distance. Given his one-run style, this makes sense. It doesn’t raise his prospects in any of the three Breeders’ Cup races he might enter, though.

East vs. West, Sid Fernando, March 2012: “… it’s striking that even cheaper dirt tracks in the East have lower overall rates than most anything out West.” Hm.

Posted in Racing on September 1, 2012 / Tagged Breeding, Dullahan, Frankel, I'll Have Another, International, Japan, Track Surfaces, UK