The unbeaten 3-year-old Japanese Triple Crown winner Mick Fire will make his next start in the Oct. 1 Derby Grand Prix at Morioka, trainer Kazu Watanabe who trains the colt by Sinister Minister , announced.
Mick Fire has run all six career starts at Oi Racecourse, the Tokyo Bay area track which runs clockwise. His next start in the Derby Grand Prix will be his first attempt ante-clockwise. Watanabe is eyeing the Champions Cup (G1) at Chukyo, also ran ante-clockwise, Dec. 3 as the ultimate goal for the season.
Bred by Takahashi Farm, Mick Fire is the eighth foal out of the winning Brian’s Time mare Mariage and was purchased during the HBA Summer Yearling Sale for ¥5,500,000 (US$ 38,781) by Koichi Hoshika. The colt swept all three legs of the Japanese Triple Crown, the Haneda Hai May 10, the Tokyo Derby June 7, and the Japan Dirt Derby July 12. Six-for-six, Mick Fire is enjoying downtime at Midway Farm in Ibaraki Prefect since his last victory.
JRA and NAR have already announced changes for the Tokyo-based Triple Crown races, moving the Japan Dirt Derby to the fall, allowing JRA-trained horses to be eligible to run in all three races beginning in 2024.
