Adrian Webber

Keiba Diary: Joe Fujii keeps fighting

Adrian Webber caught up with Joe Fujii for this week’s Keiba Diary as the popular jockey continues to readjust to home life with his wife and children after suffering severe spinal injuries in a race fall last year.

NHK Mile Cup G1 Guide

Tokyo's NHK Mile Cup in May provides a still-testing 1600m Group 1 option for those perhaps lacking in the requisite stamina to take on Japan's best staying three-year-olds over the Classic distances.

David Morgan

Sol Oriens is another feather in Kitasan Black’s cap

The brilliant Satsuki Sho winner is by the impressive young sire Kitasan Black out of a mare that has surprised her former trainer in establishing her place as a proven producer of quality racehorses in Japan.

David Morgan

Liberty Island makes Yankee Rose the height of fashion

Japanese breeders have sourced top international broodmare prospects for decades but in recent years they have cherry-picked Group 1-winning mares from Australia and the latest rising star is rich reward for that approach.

David Morgan

Liberty Island’s Oka Sho brilliance stunned even the expectant

Mitsumasa Nakauchida has long known that Liberty Island possesses rare talent but the filly’s stunning Classic win under Yuga Kawada went beyond what he had envisaged

Adrian Webber

Keiba Diary: cherry blossoms signal the first Classic is almost here

It’s springtime in Japan and Adrian Webber has his eye on emerging talents ready to bloom, recaps the Dubai action, and looks ahead to the Osaka Hai and the Oka Sho.

David Morgan

Lord Kanaloa has the edge as the old sires give way to the new

Japan’s greatest sprinter might not be its greatest sire, but as his son Panthalassa is emphasising, he can produce versatile, top-class types, and for now he is the front-runner in the post-Deep Impact stallion rankings.

Homan Ho

JRA Blackbook: Mikki Twinkle, little star?

Mikki Twinkle looks a filly with a bright future after a classy Newcomer display at Chukyo, while a son of Orfevre has furnished into a stayer of considerable quality.

Homan Ho

JRA Blackbook: Ton Jin Chi another potential star for Duramente?

A two-year-old filly added to late stallion Duramente's growing legacy after a dominant win at Hanshin, while a surging dirt convert could be off to take on the world.

Homan Ho

JRA Blackbook: Ryan Moore full of praise for imposing new son of Duramente

A hulking youngster and a three-year-old future staying star 'Impress' in this week’s JRA Blackbook.