America and Japan

Both Articles from the racingpost , will add replays when I'm home Sunday evening


RAGS-TO-RICHES hero California Chrome (Art Sherman/Victor Espinoza) takes to the turf for the first time on Saturday as the Kentucky Derby's connections make a bold play for the US Horse of the Year title.

Unusually, the Breeders' Cup did little to clarify the pecking order for American racing's most prestigious accolade, for which four or five horses are still in with a serious shout.

Among them is California Chrome, despite his not having won a race since he added the Preakness Stakes to his Churchill Downs victory to complete a stunning first half of the season during which he completed a six-race winning streak.

Following a lacklustre return to action after a midseason layoff in the Pennsylvania Derby, America's most popular horse finished to great effect to take third behind Bayern and Toast Of New York in the Breeders' Cup Classic, in which he was beaten only a nose and a neck.

Although he is likely to contest the Dubai World Cup on the Meydan dirt in March, California Chrome takes the road less travelled when he tries the Del Mar turf in the $300,000 Hollywood Derby.

“I want to run him on the grass,” said veteran trainer Sherman, who trains the colt for small-time owner-breeders Steve Coburn and Perry Martin.

“It will give me a lot of options when he runs next year as a four-year-old and he’s got a chance at Horse of the Year," he added. "It looks to me like there's speed to the inside. I don't think he'll be far off the pace. If somebody wants the lead, they can have it. They can't be going too slow, though; this time he'll come away from there running."

Drawn five of six, California Chrome is not the only Classic winner in the Del Mar contest as one of his five rivals is Lexie Lou (Mark Casse/Corey Nakatani), the filly who won this year's Queen's Plate, Canada's senior Classic on the Woodbine Polytrack. The Woodbine Oaks winner has won two out of three on grass.

Ladbrokes: 4-7 California Chrome, 5 Lexie Lou, 7 Flamboyant, Sawyer's Hill, 14 Talco, 25 Cabral Also on Saturday

Aqueduct: Cigar Mile (Grade 1 hcap) 1m, dirt, 3yo+ (9.17pm GMT, live on ATR)

Secret Circle (Bob Baffert/Joel Rosario) and Private Zone (Alfredo Velazquez/Martin Pedroza), second and third in last month's Breeders' Cup Sprint, step up in trip for this $500,000 contest.

Dual Breeders' Cup winner Secret Circle, who forfeited his Sprint title by a half-length to Work All Week, goes beyond 6f for the first time since he was second in the 2012 Arkansas Derby while dual Grade 1 winner Private Zone hasn't been this far since coming second here 12 months ago.

He breaks from the one-hole in a solid field of nine also featuring Bourbon Courage (Kellyn Gorder/Jose Lezcano), who was cutting back in trip when closing well to finish fourth in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Others in a deep field include Itsmyluckyday (Eddie Plesa/Paco Lopez) and Vyjack (Rudy Rodriguez/Irad Ortiz), who have already snaffled major New York handicaps this year, plus Godolphin's Transparent (Kiaran McLaughlin/Javier Castellano), a track-record breaker last time at Belmont.

Ladbrokes: 5-2 Secret Circle, 4 Private Zone, Itsmyluckyday, 11-2 Vyjack, 7 Bourbon Courage, 10 Transparent, 20 Regally Ready, 25 Noble Moon, Big Business

Aqueduct: Comely Stakes (Grade 3) 1m1f, dirt, 3yo fillies (6.24pm GMT, live on ATR)

Dame Dorothy (Todd Pletcher/Javier Castellano) bids to take her unbeaten streak to five.

Aqueduct: Demoiselle Stakes (Grade 2) 1m1f, dirt, 2yo fillies (8.19pm GMT, live on ATR)

Todd Pletcher bids for his sixth winner of this $400,000 event with Angela Renee (John Velazquez), who flopped as favourite for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She had won the Grade 1 Chandelier at Santa Anita on her previous outing, which makes her one of two Grade 1 victors here alongside Spinaway winner Condo Commando (Rudy Rodriguez/Joel Rosario).

Aqueduct: Remsen Stakes (Grade 2) 1m1f, dirt, 2yo (8.48pm GMT, live on ATR)

New York's top trainers Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown saddle two apiece here. Pletcher is represented by Keeneland winner Royal Burgh (Jose Lezcano) and Ostrolenka (John Velazquez) steps into open company after scoring in state-bred stakes company.

Brown's leading contender looks to be maiden winner Leave The Light On (Jose Ortiz), while Frosted (Kiaran McLaughlin/Irad Ortiz) represents Godolphin.

Churchill Downs: Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade 2) 1m1/2f, dirt, 2yo (10.35pm GMT)

In what might be a significant move given what happens at this venue on the first Saturday in May, California-based Bob Baffert sends Lord Nelson (Martin Garcia) in from Santa Anita. He was a four-length maiden winner at Del Mar before coming fourth to top juvenile American Pharoah in Grade 1 company.

Godolphin's Imperia (Kiaran McLaughlin/Robby Albarado) moves to the main track after showing up nicely in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

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Gentildonna
Moore joins Gentildonna for Cup hat-trick bid
BY NICHOLAS GODFREY 4:00PM 28 NOV 2014
Preview: Japan, Sunday 6.55am GMT (live on ATR)

Tokyo: Japan Cup (Grade 1) 1m4f, turf, 3yo+

SUCH is the strength of the home team that no European-trained horse has won the Japan Cup for nine years and it is long odds-against that sequence being broken as Trading Leather lines up for Godolphin in the 34th edition of Japan's most famous race.

Last year's Irish Derby winner is joined by Germany's Ivanhowe as they bid to end a losing sequence back to Alkaased's last-gasp victory for Frankie Dettori and Luca Cumani in 2005.

However, they face a spectacular domestic squad in the 521 million yen (£2.8m/€3.53m) contest, in which a veritable who's who of Japanese stars is headed by Gentildonna, Just A Way and Harp Star.

Six-time Grade 1 winner Gentildonna (Sei Ishizaka), the fillies' Triple Crown winner in 2012, is reunited with Ryan Moore as she bids for an unpredecented hat-trick in the Japan Cup. The partnership touched off Denim And Ruby here 12 months ago before beating a top-class field in the Dubai Sheema Classic.

With Moore on duty elsewhere, Gentildonna ran sound race to finish second in last month's Tenno Sho (Autumn) which should have put her spot-on for this. She will be retired at the end of the season. She is one of five runners who are progeny of Deep Impact, the brilliant Triple Crown winner who was Racing Post world champion in 2006.

In 2014, the world's top-rated horse is still Just A Way (Naosuke Sugai/Yuichi Fukunaga), who returns to Japanese soil after finishing eighth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, where three-year-old compatriot Harp Star (Hiroyoshi Matsuda/Yuga Kawada) sprinted down the Longchamp straight to finish sixth. Both looked to have been given far too much to do, the loop-and-swoop tactics that often prevail in Japan not proving quite so successful in France.

Questions remain about Just A Way's aptitude for this 1m4f trip, though at least the sensational six-length Dubai Duty Free victor has a pair of Grade 1 successes to his name at Tokyo racecourse.

Several of these ran in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) over 1m2f at this venue four weeks ago, when five-year-old Spielberg (Kazuo Fujisawa/Hiroshi Kitamura) registered his first Grade 1 victory by three-quarters of a length over Gentildonna. Satsuki Sho (2,000 Guineas) winner Isla Bonita (Hironori Kurita/Masayoshi Ebina) was a head away in third; Isla Bonita had previously finished second to One And Only (Kojiro Hashiguchi/Norihiro Yokoyama) over course-and-distance in the Tokyo Yushun (Derby). One And Only seemingly failed to stay in the Kikuka Sho (St Leger).

Denim And Ruby (Katsuhiko Sumii/Suguru Hamanaka) just missed out in last year's race, where Tosen Jordan (Yasutoshi Ikee/Pierre-Charles Boudot) was third. Making his fourth appearance in the race, he was second in 2011 and sixth in 2012.

Soft ground is a necessity for Ivanhowe (Jean-Pierre Carvalho/Filip Minarik), who surprised Sea The Moon in the Grosser Preis von Baden before a dismal Arc display; he returned to his best on November 1 when readily beating a weak Group 1 field in in Munich.

Rarely out of the places, Trading Leather (Jim Bolger/Kevin Manning) has not won in seven races since last year's Irish Derby and the draw hasn't been noticeably kind, either - gate 18 of 18.

Canadian-trained Up With The Birds (Malcolm Pierce/Eurico Rosa Da Silva) was well beaten in the Arlington Million.

What the Japan Cup connections say

Naosuke Sugai, trainer of Just A Way

"He was up to peak for the Arc and quickened well even when things got tight but it is one tough race after all and it was clear that he needed to have raced from further forward. As the top-ranked horse in the world, I want him to give us a race that won't be an embarrassment."

Jean-Pierre Carvalho, trainer of Ivanhowe

"He was 100 per cent before he arrived in Japan and I would say he's 100 per cent now but he performs better on softer going, so it would be ideal if it rains. He prefers to sit in the back before demonstrating a good turn of foot."

Sei Ishizaka, trainer of Gentildonna

"She just passed Isla Bonita in the Tenno Sho but then she was overtaken on the outside. She finished second but I think the race was proof of how well she is doing now. The good thing for us is that we’ll be racing at Tokyo again and I'm expecting her to do well this time too. I think she's switched on and knows the race is coming. This will be her last Japan Cup, but she's in the best shape she has been in yet, the right shape to go for three successive wins."

Hiroyoshi Matsuda, trainer of Harp Star

"With the change in season, her coat has grown long but she has this from her grand-dam Vega, so it's not a problem. She has handled a good bit of distance in morning work and she's eating well. The distance is long this time and I think the pace will be slow, so she may race from a bit more forward position than usual."

Malcolm Pierce, trainer of Up With The Birds

"I don't think the track will be a problem. He's a kind of horse that likes to run relaxed, and I don't think he will be too close in the beginning, but when we turn home I don't want him too far back."

Hironori Kurita, trainer of Isla Bonita

"I'd say he went to the front a bit too early in the Tenno Sho but he gave it his all up against the older horses. This time he's back with a jockey who's very familiar with him so expectations are high. He has experience at 2,400 metres and even though it's a strong field, if he can run his own race I think it'll go well."

Kojiro Hashiguchi, trainer of One And Only

"We drew an outside barrier for the Kikuka Sho and were forced to travel pretty much the entire way out wide so that hurt us. I like to believe that result doesn't reflect the horse's quality. Tokyo is where he won the Derby. As long as he runs to his potential, we've got a chance."

Pierre-Charles Boudot, rider of Tosen Jordan

"I don't think he ran badly in the Tenno Sho but the trip was certainly a little short for him. We'll be among the outsiders but he has a lot of experience of this race which helps. I'll be delighted if we're there fighting at the finish."

Kazuo Fujisawa, trainer of Spielberg

"I thought he made his move to the outside a little too early in the Tenno Sho, but he was incredible down the stretch. He's got stronger as he's got older, and the long straight at Tokyo has always suited him. I'm excited about the race, even at this distance, which I think is within his range of capability."

Hirofumi Toda, trainer of Fenomeno

"The Tenno Sho was his first race in a long time but even so, he lost by way too much. The jockey said he just wasn't covering ground at all but I don't have a clear explanation for why he lost. We expect him to show some improvement and the extra distance will be a plus. The fact we can't figure out the cause of his loss is a matter of concern."

Kevin Manning, rider of Trading Leather

"He hasn't had his ideal ground probably in any run that he's had this year. He's really a good quick-ground horse and he just didn't really have the conditions that suit him all season. I wouldn't like to see a lot of rain come. I think he's at his peak. He's in top form and he feels very good."

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Bob Brogan wrote:

This horse has to be the best horse racing alive on the planet

California Chrome - as good as ever and now proven he can do it on grass - a shoo-in for Horse of the Year.

Mavourneen wrote: California Chrome - as good as ever and now proven he can do it on grass - a shoo-in for Horse of the Year.

Great horde but not a patch on the Japanese horse, with world recognised form against older horses