Sunday Break third in Belmont

[breezin']

I didn't see the race but Sunday Break finished third in the Belmont (Sarava 70-1!! won). This is the best result for a Japanese classic in an American classic thus far. In fact, I think Sunday Break is the only Japanese-bred to take on an American classic.
Here are the results:
http://cbs.sportsline.com/u/racing/horse/triplecrown/2002/belmont_results.html
And a brief report:
http://tcm.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=9982
And a later, longer report:
http://www.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,5414105_10,00.html
Anyone see the race or have any comments from the North Hills people or other Japanese breeders?
By the way, do we have any Hokkaido-based people contributing to this board?
[ June 09, 2002: Message edited by: breezin' ]

[Reraise]

Ski Captain trained by Mori Hideyuki was a japanese trained horse ( bred in the US ) that ran in the 1995 Kentucky Derby. Take Yutaka rode him to a 14th place finish. I can't think of any other horses, with japanese connections that have run here in the US in any of our Triple Crown races.
Fusaichi Pegasus doesn't count since he was bred and raced exclusively in the US, although Neil Drysdale trained him and Kent Desormeaux rode him to a Derby victory 2 years ago. Drysdale also trains a nice looking german-bred turfer, Flying Dash for Sekiguchi. He's been very impressing taking two turf stakes since arriving.
Sunday Break is one of only a handful of japanese-bred horses that I have ever seen race here. The others are rather undistinguished.
And of course, I saw the Belmont this week and was not overly impressed by Sunday Break. He finished pretty far back. Made a move on the turn but flattened out. Was nowhere near the winner. Outran the main contenders, though. Still developing and lightly raced, he should be good in the second half of the year.
[ June 10, 2002: Message edited by: Reraise ]
[ June 10, 2002: Message edited by: Reraise ]

[breezin']

Thanks Reraise for your report. Yes, I remember Ski Captain, and you're right, he was American-bred. I think Sunday Break is truly the first Japan-bred to race in an American classic. Not that it means so much, if much at all. It means a lot more I think to Japanese breeders because foreign-breds are only recently being allowed in the classics here and that only two per race. The whole concept of where a horse has been bred is much stronger here I think because of the restrictions. But the fans don't care. They want to see strong fields with the best racing against the best. That's why things are finally changing. The racing association wants to keep drawing the fans to the tracks.
So you didn't think much of SB's performance. I haven't seen the race. Any Web sites out there with a good video version?

[Reraise]

there's video of the Belmont at msnbc website. You need a fast connection to really make out many of the horses, though.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/763878.asp
I can let you know where Sunday Break is heading next if you are interested.

[breezin']

Thanks Reraise, I can't see the video at home. I don't have whatever is needed for PDF and don't know how to get it. But I'll watch this at work later.

[Reraise]

breezin,
You mentioned something that is really lacking in the US. Full, competitive fields in stakes races are hard to find. So many Graded Stakes will feature only a handful of runners contesting them. The Kentucky Derby usually features a near full field, but the drop off by the time the Belmont rolls around is rather steep. 11 runners in this year's edition is one of the bigger fields in recent memory.
Since there are so many Graded Stakes run each weekend ( for example there are 2 Grade 1's, 4 Grade 2's and 2 Grade 3's this saturday alone which is a big day of racing; maybe only one is expected to feature a full field, however. ) trainers can pick and choose the spot that best suits their horse. In the end that translates to a lot of stakes races that are not as exciting as they could be. ( The exception of course, is the Breeder's Cup in November. Always a great day of racing! )
I enjoy the big races in japan and other parts of the world because the racing fans get to see large and usually competitive fields.
Just a thought.

[El Prado]

About Sunday Break, he was doing well until the middle of the final turn, when his hind legs slipped and his footing was compromised. He came out of the race back-sore. Jockey Gary Stevens told Drysdale that he had no horse after the turn, and that he probably strained his back in the mishap. Sunday Break did well, if this report is true.

[breezin']

El Prado, thanks for the report. It's always interesting to hear what the jockey has to say and can offer some crucial insight into the trip.