Juddmonte Weighs Turf or Japan for Flintshire

Juddmonte Farms is wrestling with a multi-million dollar decision regarding the next start for its brilliant homebred Flintshire—the $3 million Breeders' Cup Longines Turf (gr. IT) or the US$5.2 million Japan Cup (Jpn-I).

The dilemma is that the 5-year-old son of Dansili can't do both because he has not been vaccinated for West Nile Virus. According to Japan quarantine rules, a European horse that has run in the United Stakes within 60 days of shipping to Japan has to either have been vaccinated or been in Europe a minimum of two weeks before shipping. Japan Cup contenders have to be in Japan by Nov. 19, according to the Japan Racing Association.

"I did not vaccinate him because the vaccine is problematic," said preeminent French trainer Andre Fabre Oct. 15. "I am waiting any moment for the final word. Either way, he is doing very well. He recovered well from the Arc."

Where Flintshire goes is a costly decision. If the horse runs on the Turf at Keeneland, he may have a rematch with Golden Horn, to whom he finished second in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I). The winner of the Turf earns $1.65 million, while second place pays $540,000. Meanwhile, the winner of the Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse would earn US$2.5 million and second place pays US$1 million.



Fabre expects the horse will excel wherever he goes.

"Since he is 5, he is a bit stronger than last year," he said. "But the rest is the same, he is still consistent. I am delighted with him."

Flintshire started in last year's Turf and ran second to Main Sequence, who was later named the year's champion grass horse and champion older male.

WNV encephalitis is mosquito-borne illness with symptoms that include a lack of coordination or stumbling, depression, weakness in the hind limbs, an inability to rise, or muscle twitching. The fatality rate among horses exhibiting clinical signs is about 33%, with 40% of those that survive an acute bout of the illness still exhibiting abnormalities in gait and behavior, according to the American Association of Equine Practitioners.



While there have been over 25,000 cases of WNV reported in the U.S. since 1999, the disease is not as widespread throughout Western Europe, though there have been periodic outbreaks since 2000.

Flintshire has not finished off the board in six starts this year in England, France, the U.S., and the United Arab Emirates. An impressive victory Aug. 29 in the Sword Dancer Stakes (gr. IT) at Saratoga Race Course gave him his first stakes win of the year and automatically qualified him for the Turf through the Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" program.

Earlier this year Flintshire finished second in the Dubai Sheema Classic Presented by Longines (UAE-I) and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (Fr-I). He also ran third in the Investec Coronation Cup (Eng-I). For his career to date, Flintshire has won five times and been in the money 15 times out of 18 starts and amassed $7,121,640 in earnings.