3 minute read

As usual the normally Kyoto run races are at Hanshin

That is due to work on the Kyoto track.  Sunday's feature is the G1 Mile Championship and the field is headed by Gran Alegria, the daughter of Deep Impact and both her jockey Christophe Lemaire and this writer lover her dearly.  She's on 2.2 and that may shorten.  For the record she has 8 wins from 14 starts and is never far away, most recently third in the Tenno Sho.

 Schnell Meister has proved to be very schnell (fast in German) and is on 4.5, with Sailos on 7.4 (he was 5th in this race last year) and Grenadier Guards, a son of Frankel, already a course and distance winner and on 10.3.

Saturday saw the running of the Tokyo Sports Nissai Stakes which went to the favourite Equinox, by Kitasan Black and ridden by Lemaire.  He won by 2.5 lengths from Asahi by Curren Black Hill, and third was Tendence, by Just A Way.

Other news from the NAR is that Hitomi Miyashita has been the first female jockey to ride 1000 winners.  Last year she had become the first to ride 100 winners in the year.

At Oi they are running one race each card to give horses a chance to run in the contrary direction to help them if they wish to race in jurisdictions that race in that direction.