Photo:
Japan National Association of Racing TV
Ushba Tesoro finished a hard-charging second, and Derma
Sotogake settled for fifth Wednesday in their final Japan prep race before they
return to the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Grade 2-winning 6-year-old William Barows (7-1) led from
gate to wire in the US$279,130 Hai Stakes, a special-weight race for
3-year-olds and up going about 1 1/8 miles at Funabashi on
Japan’s second-level racing circuit.
Too little, too late for USHBA TESORO! ??
He can’t quite catch WILLIAM BAROWS in the Nippon TV Hai, with DERMA SOTOGAKE fifth.#???????? #??????
— World Horse Racing (@WHR) September 25, 2024
Odds-on favorite Ushba Tesoro (2-5), trained by Noboru
Takagi, ridden by Yuga Kawada and carrying the top weight of 128 pounds, settled in mid-pack in the field of 13. A
wide move around the second turn put the 7-year-old Orfèvre horse into a clear
path to pick off rivals. He still was making up ground when William Barows
crossed the finish line first by one length.
Derma Sotogake (5-2), trained by Hidetaka Otonashi, stalked the early pace under Christophe
Lemaire and raced in second up the backstretch. The 4-year-old Mind Your
Biscuits colt maintained his stride keeping an inside path moving through the
homestretch but was passed by Meisho Hario (14-1) and Naniwa Sateoki (16-1),
who came in third and fourth in that order. Derma Sotogake finished six lengths
behind William Barows.
William Barows, trained by Uemura Yoko and ridden by Rusei
Sakai, carried 126 pounds. He had a winning time of 1:52.8 without a run-up for
the 1,800 meters, about 12 yards short of 1 1/8 miles on the sandy dirt track that
was rated good. The early fractions were 23.7, 49.6, 1:14.4 and 1:39.2.
Derma Sotogake, who is owned by Hiroyuki Asamuna, finished
second to White Abarrio in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Ushba Tesoro, owned
by Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings, was fifth last year at Santa Anita. Both are
expected to be entered for this year’s renewal of the $7 million race at Del
Mar.
Keeneland announced Sept. 25 that a stallion share in grade 1 winner and North American record holder Cogburn will be sold at the inaugural Keeneland Ch
Neither of Japan's contenders for the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) could quite get the job done in their Sept. 25 prep race at Funabashi Racecourse as Ushba
Photo: Jason Moran / Eclipse Sportswire Five weeks after he broke his hand in an accident at Saratoga, Hall of Fame jockey Javier Cast
Photo: Scott Serio / Eclipse Sportswire A 2.5 percent stallion share in Grade 1 winner and record-holder Cogburn will be auctioned at