Cafe Pharoah won back-to-back in one of Japan’s top dirt road races on February 20 at Tokyo Circuit, in the process earning the right to return to Kentucky for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in Keeneland in November.
5 year old son of American pharoah may be a unlikely candidate to return to the Commonwealth but he has certainly returned to his top form in February (G1) after being unbeaten in three lackluster attempts since the war. won 2021. That lap included a 11th-place finish at the Championship Cup (G1) in December, Japan’s only other Grade 1 event to run on dirt.
Cafe Pharoah after his win in February Betting at Tokyo Racecourse
The February Stake effort has shown a completely different animal. After a smooth start, jockey Yuichi Fukunaga has placed Cafe Pharoah completely behind the long-term leaders down a muddy road. Moving up at the end of the first leg, Cafe Pharoah firmly dominated the outside opponents, taking a very good lead before the end and won by 2 1/2. He ran a mile in 1:33.8.
Watch him go!
Cafe Pharoah secures its place in @Longines #BreedersCup Classic with his victory in #WinAndYouIn Stocks February! # BC22 pic.twitter.com/qriJwggGyA
– Breeders Cup (@BreedersCup) February 20, 2022
The February Stakes are part of the International Breeder’s Cup Challenge Series, which awards winners a “Win and Your You’re In” fee plus a $40,000 travel allowance for the animals. horses outside of North America.
Nam Dan TM beat his odds to finish second after leading most of the way and whites, Sodashialso recovered from a terrible 12th place in the Champions Cup to report third in the February Shares.
Neither coach Noriyuki Hori nor owner Koichi Nishikawa immediately settled on the opportunity to take part in the Breeders’ Cup challenge. Cafe Pharoah struggled with the 1/4 mile Breeders’ Cup Classic, both on dirt and grass.
Fukunaga, who recently returned from a serious injury suffered in December at the Longines Hong Kong Sprint (G1) at Sha Tin Racecourse, reported no difficulty getting Cafe Pharoah back into the winning column. .
“Mr Hori and I reviewed our tactics before the race and everything went as planned,” Fukunaga said. “The start of Cafe Pharoah wasn’t going very well but he recovered well and we were able to sit in a good position, in third place where he didn’t get too much sand in the face, that’s it. is what I hope.
“After that, I just tried to keep him focused, especially after taking the lead on the last leg. I’m grateful to the connectors who provided me with this ride even before I was. fully recovered from my fall in Hong Kong and am glad that I was able to do a good job,” added Fukunaga.
Cafe Pharoah, in addition to 2nd place, won the prize More than ready mare Mary’s Follies , bred in Kentucky by Paul Pompa and sold for $475,000 to Narvick International at the 2019 Ocala Breeders’ March Sale Show Selling 2-year-olds being trained in Eddie Woods consignment. He is the half brother of a high school student who won the first prize King of Glory and class 3 winner Night Prowler .
The race lacks a bit of the usual competition found at the top level of Japanese dirt racing with stars like Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) winner Marche Lorraine reigning Japanese dirt road champion TO Keynes and Chuwa Wizard Take a detour to chase the spoils of races in Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
However, you can only beat what lines up against you and Cafe Pharoah, who seems to enjoy the surface of Tokyo, has no trouble with that.
He’s now 4 to 4 against the Tokyo dirt. Those wins include the 2020 Hyacinth Stakes, a leg of Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby, but he hasn’t persevered on that path and hasn’t raced outside of Japan.
Sodashi, who captured the imaginations of Japanese fans when the first performance of her career matched her outstanding looks, may have redeemed herself in just her second start. not very well.
Before the race, jockey Hayato Yoshida thought the outcome might depend on the bad guy’s mood.
“It’s her personality, to some extent, it’s what she feels like doing during the day,” says Yoshida.
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