Japan captures stakes debut in Easy Goer

Barry K. Schwartz's Japan (Medaglia d'Oro) altered course to the outside in

midstretch and finished with gusto to capture Saturday's $132,000

Easy

Goer, drawing away to a 1 1/4-length decision. A seven-length maiden winner

in his previous outing, the Bill Mott-trained colt made his stakes debut a

winning one.

Junior Alvarado was up on the dark bay three-year-old.

"I said before the race he's the only horse that can upset American Pharoah (Pioneerof

the Nile)," Mott joked. "I just had him in the wrong race."

Reduced to only a trio of three-year-olds following a pair of scratches,

Japan left the starting gate as the 2-1 second choice. He's now earned $129,000

from a 4-2-1-0 mark.

Stanford (Malibu Moon), making his first start since a neck second in the

Louisiana Derby (G2), wound up finishing second as the 2-5 favorite, a neck

better than stablemate Nonna's Boy (Distorted Humor), who established early

splits of :23 1/5, :46 2/5 and 1:10 2/5 in the 1 1/16-mile event. Japan finished

up in 1:42.