Talented Juveniles Set for Star-Making Futurity

Some impressive young runners will look to add a top-level victory to their résumés in the Dec. 15 Asahi Hai Futurity (G1) at Hanshin Racecourse—a race with a good recent record for producing stars.

Run at one mile on the turf, the 2018 Futurity went to Admire Mars, who a week ago captured the Longines Hong Kong Mile (G1) at Sha Tin Racecourse. Danon Premium won the previous year to nail down champion honors.

This year's crop of starry-eyed hopefuls includes Salios, winner of the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup (G3); Red Bel Jour, victor in the Daily Hai Nisai Stakes (G2) in November; and Taisei Vision, winner of the Keio Hai Nisai Stakes (G2).

Salios, a Heart's Cry colt, is 2-for-2 with both wins coming at one mile at Tokyo Racecourse. Ryan Moore, after riding last weekend in Hong Kong, returns to Japan to take the mount, starting from the gate 6 in the Silk Racing colors.

"All is well with him, and he's getting tuned up nicely," assistant trainer Kazutomo Mori said. "Since the spring, he's looked as if he could develop into a very nice horse."

Red Bel Jour, a Deep Impact colt, won at first asking at Hanshin, then scored his stakes victory Nov. 9 at Kyoto in his only other start.

Red Bel Jour drew gate 12 in a 16-horse field and will be piloted by Christophe Soumillon.

Taisei Vision, by Turtle Bowl, also won his first start at Hanshin, then finished second in a grade 3 event at Hakodate before becoming a graded stakes winner over the Tokyo turf Nov. 2. Trainer Masayuki Nishimura has held a training license since 2014 and is looking for his first JRA grade 1 victory.

Yutaka Take will guide Taisei Vision from gate 8.

Bien Fait, a Kizuna colt who won the Hakodate Nisai Stakes (G3), also is in the Futurity field after a second in the Keio Hai Nisai Stakes (G2). And Win Greatest, a Screen Hero colt, most recently was second to Red Bel Jour in the Daily Hai Nisai Stakes at Kyoto, an outcome his trainer hopes to reverse with a change in tactics.

"The horse started well last time, and thinking ahead to this race, we didn't want him to be too forward in the run last time," Takafumi Aoki said. "The jockey knows the horse well and thinks he doesn't have to be right on the pace."

The race starts on the backstretch, proceeds around one sweeping turn, and then features a climb through the stretch run.

Along with the 2,000-meter (about 1 1/4-mile) Hopeful Stakes (G1) at Nakayama Dec. 28, the Futurity will help crown the 2019 2-year-old champion and point the way for the 2020 classics.