Cafe Pharoah Tries Grass In BC Qualifier in Japan

For the third time in just eight days, a "Win and You're In" spot for the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF (G1T) is on the line June 5, this time in Japan with an intriguing American Pharoah   colt in the mix for the honors.

The Yasuda Kinen (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse has a diverse field, including the 1-2 finishers from the 2021 NHK Mile Cup (G1), Schnell Meister  and Songline.

Two-year-old stars from 2020 and 2021, Danon the Kid and Serifos, look to resume a path to glory. Soul Rush rides a four-race win streak but takes a big step up in class. And Fine Rouge has finished second in each of two previous starts this season.

Then there's Cafe Pharoah , a 5-year-old son of American Pharoah out of the More Than Ready   mare Mary's Follies . Cafe Pharoah twice has won the February Stakes (G1) at one mile on the Tokyo dirt course but the move to the encircling greensward is a venture into the virtual unknown.

The Yasuda Kinen will be just his second start on turf. The first was an uninspiring ninth in a 2,000-meters event, the Hakodate Kinen (G3) in July of 2021. Into the bargain, Cafe Pharoah drew the No. 1 gate in a field of 18. But with Yuichi Fukunaga taking the mount for trainer Noriyuki Hori, there's no doubt the experiment is well-meant.

"From the looks of his run in the Hakodate Kinen, I'd say he can handle the turf," Hori said despite the outcome. "And he is suited to Tokyo."

Hori said Cafe Pharoah has remained in training since winning the February Stakes in his last start and has been working well.

"His coat and muscle tone are good. Physically and mentally, he's got it all together," the trainer said.

Fine Rouge is one of four females in the race, along with Songline, Resistencia, and Lotus Land. Assistant trainer Yu Ota noted Fine Rouge hasn't had clean stretch runs in her recent runner-up finishes in the Tokyo Shimbun Hai (G3) and the Victoria Mile (G1). In the latter, a "Win and You're In" event for the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T), she stumbled badly early in the stretch run but still came on strongly to finish second to Sodashi.

"The winner in the Victoria Mile did a fine job but this filly had a rough spot in the stretch," Ota said. "Even so, I was very happy to see her rally and come back strongly. She came out of the race quite well and I was relieved that there is no apparent damage."

Resistencia finished third in the Victoria Mile, just nipped at the finish for second. She won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1) in 2019 for her only top-level score but has finished second six times in pinnacle events, including the 2021 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (G1). Trainer Takeshi Matsushita said a change in tactics might be in order, depending on how the Yasuda Kinen unfolds.

"In the Victoria Mile, we let the front-runner take the lead and this horse raced in second position," Matsushita said. "It was her first mile in a long time but she traveled well and amid a close battle, was patient to the end. If no one else wants to go to the front, then we will. But she can also race from further back."

The expansive Breeders' Cup Challenge series awarded two spots in November's turf mile event at Keeneland just a weekend earlier. Viejos Tiempos earned his spot with a win in the Club Hipico De Santiago Falabella Breeders' Cup (G1) in Santiago May 29 and Count Again  did the same in the Shoemaker Mile (G1T) a day later at Santa Anita.

Jet Dark  also qualified for the Mile with a victory Jan. 8 in the L'Ormarins Queen's Plate (G1) in South Africa.