Guest Post: A Day for "Excelebration" at the Curragh

Ballydoyle’s Excelebration made easy work of yesterday’s G3 Gladness Stakes at the Curragh, highlighting an excellent card at the popular Irish fixture.

A four-year-old by Exceed and Excel, Excelebration was purchased privately by the Coolmore clan last August following his decisive six length win in the G2 Hungerford Stakes at Newbury in England. By purchasing Excelebration to later stand at stud, Coolmore tapped into the prolific line of Darley’s Exceed and Excel, who shuttles between Sheikh Mohammed’s Kelvinside Farm in Australia and Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket, England. Exceed and Excel got off to a fast start at stud, siring Australian G2 winner Wilander, from the family of Black Caviar, in his first crop. Wilander was quickly followed by G1 winner Reward for Effort in Exceed’s second crop, and, three years later, he is now the sire of four individual G1 winners, namely Helmet, winner of the Sires Produce, Champagne, and Caulfield Guineas in Australia; Margot Did, who took last season’s Nunthorpe Stakes in England, and Reward for Effort and Excelebration. Exceed and Excel’s other top European performers include G2 winners Masamah, Best Terms, and Infamous Angel.

Excelebration in the pre-parade ring

The success does not stop there. Excelebration comes from a long line of successful sires, and his grandsire is one that Coolmore in particular have had outstanding success with: Danehill. The international Coolmore roster includes 13 Danehill line stallions, including exciting young sires Duke of Marmalade, Dylan Thomas, Holy Roman Emperor, Mastercraftsman, Rock of Gibraltar, and Starspangledbanner, and the well-accomplished Danehill Dancer. The best of them all may in fact be Exceed and Excel’s fellow Australian-bred Fastnet Rock, who has sired nine G1 winners and is on fire at the moment, having already sired five individual G1 winners in Australia this season. Fastnet Rock was the busiest stallion in the world last year, covering 364 mares between Australia and Ireland in his second season shuttling. His first northern hemisphere foals are yearlings this year.

Excelebration in the parade ring

The point is, if Excelebration lives up to sire lofty sire line, Coolmore should easily cash in on their purchase. And he has the race record to suggest he should. Excelebration quickly recorded his first G1 win in September following the Coolmore purchase, taking the Qatar Prix Du Moulin de Longchamp in France. Despite his own top level success, Excelebration may be best known for finishing within four lengths of the mighty Frankel on three occasions last year: in the Greenham Stakes, the St. James’s Palace Stakes, and the QEII Stakes. After yesterday’s rousing victory at the Curragh, where the colt overcome a rain-softened turf course to roll his opponents by an easy 3 ¼ lengths under a Joseph O’Brien handride, many are wondering if Excelebration may be the one to finally get the measure of Frankel this year. According to trainer Aiden O’Brien, Excelebration is likely to contest next month’s Lockinge Stakes in England, which is also the target for Frankel. Regardless of whether they meet in the Lockinge, there will be many chances for the formidable pair to square off during a summer of prestigious middle distance contests in England.

Excelebration and Joseph O'Brien
after the win

Excelebration’s win capped a profitable day for Ballydoyle, which also ran first and third in the listed Loughbrown Stakes with three-year-olds Requisition and Nephrite. The Tipperary-based stable also enjoyed success in a two-year-old fillies maiden with Infanta Branca, who became the first lifetime winner for her first season sire Henrythenavigator, who stands at Coolmore’s American satellite in Kentucky.   

I was out at the Curragh yesterday to see Excelebration and take some photos. While it was a typical rainy Irish day for most of the card, the sun came out for Excelebration. Hope you enjoy!

-- Kelsey Riley is a second year trainee on the Darley Flying Start program. She will join the TDN staff in July.

Excelebration's win in the 2011 Qatar Prix Du 

Moulin De Longchamp

Nephrite and Requisition head off in the rain

Excelebration heads to the gate for the Gladness Stakes

Coolmore's Nephrite in the pre-parade ring before
his third-place effort in the Loughbrown

Guest Post: My Richelieu Initiation, Bodemeister and Dullahan

--Brian Ludwick, WinStar Farm Bloodstock Analyst

 On an already sweltering late Sunday morning during the summer of 1969, my uncle Benny, cigar in mouth, was putting the finishing touches on polishing his modest Ford Falcon. I'd just finished an hour's worth of joyous play with my prized toy, a remote controlled (well, with cord attached) green robot called "Great Garloo."

   As I walked barefoot into the kitchen, the strong odor from my uncle's cigar collided quite unsympathetically with the always comforting smell of my grandmother's hot apple cake. "What are you doing this afternoon?" asked my uncle. "Nothing, why?" was my reply. "Do you want to come to the races with me?" "Sure" I said, not even knowing what kind of races he was referring to.
About twenty minutes later, with an excited 12-year-old in tow, Uncle Benny was backing his shiny Ford out of our driveway on Bloomfield Avenue in the Montreal borough of Outremont. We headed east of the city, passing some smelly, ugly refineries along the way that made me roll up (remember that?) my window. Finally, we wheeled into the very unassuming, yet bustling gravel parking lot (remember those?) of Richelieu Raceway.
   There was a certain excitement in the air. My uncle grabbed two fresh cigars from a sizeable, wooden box marked "Dutch Masters," putting them in the breast pocket of his freshly-ironed, short-sleeved shirt. Pushing down our door knobs (remember those?), we locked the car and walked up to the main (only) admission gate. The sun was shining. I had to almost run to keep up with the suddenly swift cadence in my uncle's step. I could clearly hear the sound of horse's hooves hitting the firm racing surface as they warmed up, still out of sight on the other side of a tall, wooden fence to our right.
   $1.25 (really) got both of us safely through the turnstiles and even a program to boot! My first of many questions that day related to the strange-looking bikes attached to the rear of the horses. These were Standardbreds, not Thoroughbreds my uncle explained. The bikes looked unnatural I thought, but not nearly as strange as the big, white, bubble-topped, metal-winged Cadillac which dispatched the eight participants at the starting pole for the first race.
   After a brief explanation from my uncle on win, place, show, quinella and exacta, I decided, with a full two races of experience under my new, suede leather cowboy belt, to wager $2.00 in race 3. Throwing caution to the wind--it being Benny's two bucks--I decided on a place bet on a 3-1 chance called Speedy Ed. My uncle handed me the ticket which I quickly stuffed into my pants pocket like it was a new pack of Montreal Expos baseball cards.
   My heart was racing as the horses left the mobile starting gate, my eyes locked on the #5 saddle cloth of Speedy Ed. To be honest, it wouldn't have mattered a bit where Speedy Ed finished (he won), I was hooked! I was beaming as we waited to cash my ticket in the $2.00 Place line (remember those days?). Due largely to the 4-5 favorite finishing third, I cashed a fat $4.20 place ticket. Forget the Great Garloo, my new hero was a real life gelding named Speedy Ed!
   I tell this story because even 40 some odd years later, it remains quite vivid in a memory (as my wife often reminds me) that has become somewhat clouded at my ripe old age of 54. Hey, how many guys can actually remember if that chick flick your wife wants to see starts at 6:50, 7:10 or 7:20?

Eighteen Is The Answer

by Bill Finley

   The Bodemeister and Dullahan camps had plenty to smile about over the weekend as their horses won major Kentucky Derby prep races and looked good doing so. Both are good horses and either one could easily win May 5 at Churchill Downs. That is, of course, unless they draw the one post. If that happens they might as well not even show up.

   Churchill Downs needs to fix the problem that is the one hole, and it is a serious problem. It’s bad enough that when you draw inside of 19 other horses you are all but guaranteed of getting into traffic problems. But the real issue is that the horse unlucky enough to break from post one is asked to start the race on the turn. Watch the head-on of any Derby over the last several years. With the way the gate is positioned, the one horse actually breaks to the inside of the inner rail. That means they can either run straight into the rail or the jockey can try to veer out a few paths immediately after the break. The latter means certain traffic problems, probably severe traffic problems.

   It’s well known that the one post hasn’t produced a Derby winner since Ferdinand in 1986. But here’s a much more startling statistic: Since 1988, when Risen Star finished third, no Derby starter breaking from the one post has even finished in the money. That’s 22 years and 66 straight No. 1s who couldn’t even make it in to the Top 3.



No shot from the one hole? The field breaks from
the Derby gates.

    The one post is a disadvantage that horses simply can’t overcome.

   Many want the Derby field reduced to 14. That would eliminate the problems associated with the one post and greatly cut down on the traffic problems. A 14-horse Kentucky Derby would be a much truer race and, therefore, a better race.

   It’s never going to happen. More money is going to be bet on a 20-horse race than a 14-horse race and Churchill is never going to let those dollars get away.

   The answer is to make the Derby an 18-horse race. By doing so, the horses that break from posts one and two can break from the same slots where the three and four now leave from. That would take away the problem of a horse breaking inside the rail. And cutting just two horses out wouldn’t affect the wagering that much.

   Racing luck will always be part of the equation, but a race as important as the Kentucky Derby needs to have a level a playing field as possible. It’s wrong to have a post position draw essentially eliminate a starter. Eighteen is the answer.

Guest Post: Save Windfields

by Kelsey Riley

For thoroughbred racing and breeding enthusiasts, E.P. Taylor’s Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada is a place of major historic significance. Best known as the birthplace and resting place of Northern Dancer, Windfields was actually so much more. Founded in 1936, the famous farm has experienced nearly unprecedented success across the world. Its progenitors have won some of the world’s greatest races, including the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Epsom Derby, 2000 Guineas, Irish Derby, King George, and Dewhurst Stakes. Windfields-breds have won Canada’s Queen’s Plate 11 times.

Windfields spawned 48 champions and 360 stakes winners that have won over 10,000 races for more than $84 million in prize money. Included amongst these horses are Northern Dancer, Nijinsky, The Minstrel, Storm Bird, El Gran Senor, Try My Best, Secreto, Shareef Dancer, Saint Ballado, Vice Regent, Victoria Park, and New Providence.

Windfields has also played an important role in shaping the bottom line of many of today’s thoroughbred pedigrees. Blue hen mares that have graced the Windfields paddocks include South Ocean (a daughter of New Providence, dam of Storm Bird and Northernette); La Lorgnette (Canadian Horse of the Year, dam of European champion Hawk Wing), and Glorious Song, multiple G1 winner and dam of leading sires Singspiel, Rahy, and Rakeen. Glorious Song was also a full-sister to Saint Ballado and Devil’s Bag.

Today, Windfields faces an uncertain future. The Taylor family, which had been downsizing the operation since the founder’s death in 1989, announced the closure of the commercial operation in the summer of 2008. The farm’s resident stallions were moved and clients dispersed, leaving just a few family owned horses on the fabled land. In 2009, Judith Mappin-Taylor, the then-80-year-old daughter of E.P. Taylor in charge of Windfields, announced the farm would auction off its remaining stock and close its doors forever.

The plan for Windfields was residential development. Located in the centre of a burgeoning university town, Windfields was already feeling the squeeze of development before its closure, and its land value was rising with each day it remained open. While the outskirts of the 1500 acre property have already begun to be developed, the “core” of the farm, including many historic buildings and the cemetery, was gifted to Oshawa’s Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, located near the farm. The plan was to preserve this area and develop it into a public space, perhaps a park. This is where the problem lies today. Three years after its closure nothing has been done with the area, and it is beginning to show signs of neglect. Until a recent wave of negative media attention prompted action, the Windfields cemetery, which includes the gravesite of Northern Dancer, was grown over with weeds. Nearby historic buildings, including the breeding shed and the barn in which Northern Dancer was born, are falling victim to the elements and lack of care.

A video produced by savewindfields.com

Mark Morisette, a local Oshawa resident, has become the voice of the community that is concerned about the future of Windfields. Morisette recently launched a site dedicated to the preservation of the farm at http://www.savewindfields.com. The site has generated a strong following and has resulted in more than 300 letters of support being sent to the Oshawa City Council in support of the cause. In response, the city is calling the university to action, asking them to reveal their plans for the historic site. The city council is also moving to make the Windfields core a designated heritage site, which would allow it special protection against development. Representatives from Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology say they are in negotiations about what to do with Windfields.

While current actions are positive, support for the preservation of Windfields is still needed. Don’t let a major part of our industry’s history fade into obscurity. Visit savewindfields.com to learn more and see what you can do to help.     

A recent news piece on the plight of Windfields

--Kelsey Riley is a second year trainee on the Darley Flying Start program. She will join the TDN staff in July.

Guest Post: A Future For Racing?

by Mark Cramer

“But handicapping is complicated. If I wanted to do it well, I would really have to work hard at it. That would be like doing homework for school.”

   At the end of April 1989, I was attending a family funeral in my home town of Schenectady, New York. Once the body was laid to rest, several family members corralled me under a shady elm.
   “Who do you like in the Kentucky Derby?” they asked, in chorus. None of them were horseplayers. But racing was part of the general culture in this part of the woods. The Albany Times-Union had, and still has,
regular racing coverage, and during the Saratoga meet, its front pages are graced with feature articles on horse racing.
   With such interest shown by non-horseplayers, I was not made to feel like an oddball member of a marginal subculture. I told them I liked Sunday Silence. My aunts Helen and Ada, neither of them horseplayers, both bet Sunday Silence at their local OTB. When Sunday Silence drew out erratically to win, I felt as if I was doing my part to keep our glorious avocation alive and well.
   But these days, horse racing seems to draw a blank face from most folks. The hard-core are betting more these days and handle is up, but is this sustainable? On Thursday afternoons in April in Paris, stores are full of customers, soap operas enjoy a large audience, cafés are buzzing, museums are crowded and the immense grandstand at Longchamp is nearly empty.  Most people have never heard of Olivier Peslier.
   In the fall of 1998, I was back in the Capitol District of New York State to watch the Breeders’ Cup at the Albany OTB theatre. Art Kaufman, the man who originally conceived and published the Tomlinson
pedigree stats, now invited my reluctant 14-year-old son, Marcus, to come along with us.
   Art made a bargain with Marcus. “I’ll give you $2 to bet in each race, as long as you promise to study the past performances and bet according to your analysis and interpretation. You get to keep any money you win.” Art and I helped Marcus to understand the pps. I had already introduced him to racing, but I knew that forcing it is the wrong strategy for a father. We need friends like Art.
   Marcus was able to pick the winner of the Sprint, Reraise, and he also picked longshot Hawksley Hill in the Mile at 15-1, who ended up a heartbreaking second by a nose to Da Hoss. Not bad handicapping.
After the races, Art asked Marcus if he had enjoyed handicapping the races.
   “It was fun,” Marcus responded. “But handicapping is complicated. If I wanted to do it well, I would really have to work hard at it. That would be like doing homework for school.”
   I have also taken him to live racing, so he could appreciate the poetry of the Thoroughbred in motion. But in the end, Marcus chose other things to do with his life.
   In the sire rankings (I’m talking about horse racing writers siring horsesplayers), I find myself near last place. Mike Helm, author of Bred to Win: the Making of a Thoroughbred, for example, had one kid, who became a horseplayer like his old man. William Scott, author of Investing at the Race Track, sired at least two handicappers. On the other hand, yours truly, with four kids, has produced not a single horseplayer or handicapper.
   I ask myself how and why I have failed. Part of the answer may have come from my son Marcus. He has let us know that playing the races, in a serious way, is very demanding. It is not like watching a Formula I auto race or going to Disneyland. Most forms of entertainment require little or no study. In handicapping and playing the races, if you don’t study, you get buried.
   Consider Nicholas Carr’s article in The Atlantic: “Is Google making us stupid” (July-August, 2008), where he points out a transformation in our culture, in particular, a loss of patience and attention span. He writes: “Once I was a scuba diver in a sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a jet ski.” So many links: we stop reading an article before we are finished and click on to a link, and then a link from the link.
  But this need for speed goes back before the internet. With the advent of remote control, TV viewers could zap one program as soon as it began moving too slowly. In order to counter the apparently shrinking attention span, some TV managers instructed their producers to hold no image beyond 13 seconds, so that viewers would not dart off to another channel.
   If this is all true, about the shortening attention span, then imagine what happens when we bring a kid or a friend to race track to enjoy live racing.
   “You mean we have to wait a half hour for the next race?” said one of my guests at Santa Anita. Of course, we could watch the horses in the walking ring, but those are slow images that last more than 13 seconds. My daughter Gabriela did learn to read the racing form, quite well, and appreciated the beauty of the Thoroughbred, but as she turned 13, she ended up dropping racing for other pursuits more in
demand by her teenage friends.
   It seems that other activities requiring both attention and patience, such as chess and jazz, are also losing supporters. But it would be simplistic to imply that the only reason for the shrinking of the racing audience is the parallel shrinking of attention span. Surely there are other changes in our culture that have squeezed away the space once occupied by horse racing.
   The French Jockey Club, France Galop, recognizes that a cultural approach involving all age groups, especially parents and children, is necessary to make racing touch the mainstream culture, the way I felt
it once did in upstate New York. So France Galop sponsors “Dimanches au Galop”, in April and May, with three participating tracks, two of them flat racing (Longchamp and Saint-Cloud) and the other the jumpers (Auteuil). Admission is free and there are many attractive activities for children. Picnic benches are set up in order to help fill those 30 minutes between races.
   Similar family-oriented free admission days are offered at other French tracks as well, with lots of festivities. The crowds are significant on those special days. But one France Galop official admitted to me that these events have a long-term goal but create no meaningful increase in betting handle. In fact, France Galop officials and employees are not even supposed to bet the races, and they don’t feel that it’s their job to teach the art of handicapping. They’re betting that a long-term cultural awakening to the beauty of the spectacle will eventually trickle into the betting handle. They also reward regular players by providing free coupons for people leaving the track on hard-core days, so seasoned handicappers will be able to get into the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, France’s biggest racing day, for free.
   In summary, the hypothesis is that racing has been relegated to the status of subculture and that types of entertainment that are less demanding on one’s attention span are taking its place. Here’s a link to a French Jockey Club promotion of racing. Do they have the right strategy? Or has the culture altered so much over the decades that racing will never regain its place as part of the mainstream culture?
http://www.dimanchesaugalop.com/

Sophomore Spotlight: Blue Grass and Arkansas Derby

--Brian DiDonato

GI BLUE GRASS S. - While favorite Hansen (Tapit) showed somewhat of a new dimension in rating a bit last time when winning the GIII Gotham S., he's very vulnerable here. There's a ton of early speed signed on, and even if he's not on the lead, he'll be close enough to it that it should take its toll--especially at a distance farther than the champ has ever gone. I like two horses to upset the speedy grey--Dullahan (Even the Score) and Holy Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}). I'll use both in Pk3s and 4s, will box them in the exacta and will bet one to win (9-2 seems fair on Dullahan; 15-1 on Holy Candy).

Dullahan works up a storm at Keeneland
Coady Photography

   Dullahan seemed talented, but a bit lost in the first few starts of his career before the light came on and the half-brother to Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird graduated with a very solid off-the-pace effort in this venue's GI Breeders' Futurity S. in October. His connections opted for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile over the the turf equivalent, and Dullahan did little to undermine that decision. He was simply too far out of things early, but came running at the end to be fourth, beaten six lengths by the front-running Hansen. The chestnut resurfaced in the Mar. 11 GIII Palm Beach S. over nine furlongs of the Gulfstream sod, and came up a length short of fellow Blue Grass entrant Howe Great (Hat Trick {Jpn} while getting the worst of it. Whereas Howe Great saved ground while close up to a reasonable pace, Dullahan was at his usual spot towards the back of a compact field. He was forced to go very wide at the head of the lane while the eventual winner hugged the rail, and Dullahan just couldn't overcome the added real estate he was forced to cover. According to Trakus data, Dullahan traveled 44 feet more than Howe Great, which translates to more than five lengths. Dullahan did reportedly pop a splint in the interim, but it hasn't seemed to bother the Dale Romans trainee--he fired a five-furlong bullet in a super-quick :57 2/5 over the Poly here last Sunday. The Keeneland clocker comment said of the spin: "was impressive, loves the surface, out in 1:10 2/5." That proven affinity for Keeneland's somewhat quirky main track and a hot expected pace make Dullahan the one to beat.
   I already made the case for Holy Candy in my analysis of the GI Santa Anita Derby last week (click here), and nothing has changed. The pace should be more to the recent graduate's liking in this spot than it would have been last week, and while I'd be betting with both fists if Holy Candy were to go off near his morning line price of 30-1, I'm not quite expecting such a generous number. He'll still offer significant value, though, and should be moving well late along with Dullahan.

Bodemeister (inside) tries to hold off
Creative Cause   Benoit Photo

GI ARKANSAS DERBY - He'll probably go favored, but I expect Bodemeister (Empire Maker) to score here and stamp himself as a major Derby contender. When horses break their maidens with very high Beyer Speed Figures, like the 101 Bodemeister earned for his second-out 9 1/4-length romp, they almost always regress in their subsequent starts. But the Zayat colorbearer paired that 101 next out, nearly denying GI Santa Anita Derby runner-up Creative Cause in the GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita Mar. 10. He pressed a hot pace that day (nine points above par early on the Moss Pace Figure scale) and did very well to hang on as much as he did (despite drifting out a bit) considering his lack of seasoning. Another start under his belt and more time to develop could lay the foundation for a figure progression, and any step forward from a 101 would make Bodemeister extremely tough to beat. The biggest question is whether or not he can rate, or at least harness his speed while setting the pace. I'm confident that he can and will. Bodemeister sheds blinkers for this, gets a rider switch to the patient Mike Smith and seems as if he has been getting some schooling in the mornings. Check out this HRTV video of his four-furlong spin at Santa Anita in :46 4/5 Mar. 23--he was able to relax and finish very well from behind a group of horses. I still say he's one of the most promising and best-bred for the Derby distance of this sophomore crop, and hope my future wager on Bodemeister at 22-1 will look like value after Saturday.
   The only horse I'll use as a back-up is Isn't He Clever (Smarty Jones), who couldn't have made a more unnecessarily wide, premature move after enjoying a perfect spot behind a pair of dueling leaders in the GIII Sunland Park Derby Mar. 25. He takes off the blinkers and gets a rider switch off that runner-up finish.

Major Impact...

What an exciting week in the Thoroughbred world. From California to New York, a plethora of Kentucky Derby protagonists were putting in their final preps for Churchill Downs. Gemologist (Tiznow), I’ll Have Another (Flower Alley) and Creative Cause (Giant’s Causeway) impressed, and will be tough to beat on the first Saturday in May. Meanwhile, the fillies took center stage on Keeneland’s much anticipated opening weekend, with Karlovy Vary (Dynaformer) springing an upset in the GI Ashland. The Bluegrass has been buzzing on the back of a certain basketball game, and the party just kept on rolling at Keeneland. On top of all that, a half-sister (by Redoute’s Choice) to the mighty Black Caviar created fireworks Down Under, selling for A$2.6 million at Inglis Easter. The TDN has been action packed.

With all that going on, it would have been easy to miss an important development in Japan last Sunday. Gentildonna (Deep Impact–Donna Blini) won the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) at Hanshin in determined fashion. The filly bounced back from a fourth-place finish in the G3 Tulip Sho to capture the country’s first Classic of the season. In doing so, Gentildonna was realizing her genetic potential.

Deep Impact was a remarkable racehorse, whose appeal transcended the sporting realm in his native land. Moreover, his participation in the 2006 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Longchamp resulted in widespread media attention. The Deep Impact fan club descended upon the prestigious Parisian venue in their droves, with the Japanese superstar running a gallant third to Rail Link (later disqualified). Unsurprisingly, Deep Impact has transferred his athletic prowess to the breeding sphere and was also responsible for the second-place finisher, Verxina, in the Oka Sho.

Gentildonna was produced by the former Brain Meehan trained Donna Blini, who won the G1 Cheveley Park and G2 Cherry Hinton in 2005. Although Donna Blini failed to fully recapture her sparkle as a three-year-old, she retired to stud with impeccable credentials. Katsumi Yoshida purchased her for 500,000gns ($1,017,240) at the 2006 Tattersalls December Sale. Gentildonna is Donna Blini’s second foal, the first being her Group 3-winning full-sister Donau Blue.

I guess that brings us to the principal reason that inspired this blog. Donna Blini is just one of many talented American/European racemares that have ended up in Japan over recent years. Calling it a mass exodus might be bordering on hyperbole, but Japanese buyers have certainly acquired some high quality stock. Azeri, Dubawi Heights, Ginger Punch, Hilda’s Passion, and Serious Attitude spring to mind. It may be argued that is far from a new phenomenon, and Japanese buyers have always been active at Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, Tattersalls et al. However, their appetite for quality broodmare/stallion prospects has definitely increased.

On the stallion front, Harbinger and Workforce were world-class racehorses and could easily have stood in Europe. However, both were whisked off to Japan to commence their stallion careers upon retiring from the track. Likewise, the regally-bred Empire Maker was far from a failed stallion when Shadai acquired him in 2010. Empire Maker’s progeny have lit up the track/ring since his departure, and his loss will be a huge blow to the American bloodstock industry going forward. Harbinger, Workforce, and Empire Maker show that Japan is no longer a dumping ground for stallions that can’t cut it elsewhere.

The Japanese industry will continue to benefit from the substantial investment in international bloodstock, coupled with successful domestic bloodlines. The future looks bright in the Land of the Rising Sun...