Trailblazer to represent Japan in BC Turf

Japanracing.jp reports that the Yasutoshi Ikee-trained Trailblazer is

currently in Southern California in preparation for his scheduled run in the

Grade 2 Arroyo Seco Mile (formerly known as the Oak Tree Mile) on October 6.

Trailblazer, a son of Zenno Rob Roy, is aimed ultimately for the November 3

Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita.

Trailblazer was given his last fast work on September 12 up the hill course

at the Ritto Training Center while in quarantine and training at 3:30 a.m. He

was clocked going four furlongs in :55.2, wrapping up with a :13.1 final furlong

with no urging.

"It wasn't a normal workout. We just gave him three furlongs and an easy bit

of extra," assistant trainer Kazushi Iwasawa said. "He looks good. This is

enough for now. Once we're in the States we'll up the pace."

Trailblazer departed Ritto the evening of September 13 and left from Narita

International Airport outside of Tokyo on the following morning. Trailblazer

arrived in Los Angeles just after 4 a.m. (PDT) September 14 and was transported

to Hollywood Park, where he arrived 35 minutes later.

The journey was a long one from his Ritto home to Hollywood Park, but all

went well.

"Everything went almost exactly to schedule during the transport," Iwasawa

said. "We arrived without any problems at the Hollywood Park Racetrack

quarantine facilities. First of all, I'm relieved to say that the horse is doing

fine."

Trailblazer, a five-year-old owned by Yoko Maeda, was bred by North Hills

Management in Niikappu, Hokkaido. He is out of the Forty Niner mare Lirio and

currently has a career record of 20-6-1-2. His earnings are verging on $3

million.

Trailblazer scored in last November's Grade 2 Copa Republica Argentina over 1

9/16 miles, then ran fourth in the Grade 1 Japan Cup at 1 1/2 miles three weeks

later. He then traveled to Hong Kong, where he failed to live up to expectations

and finished in sixth place in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase. He was said to have

lost considerable condition due to problems with the flight over.

Trailblazer has had only two races this year, including a win in the Grade 2

Kyoto Kinen on February 12 of this year, with Yutaka Take up. His last time out

was the Grade 2 Meguro Kinen May 27, in which he placed ninth, also under Take.

Take is expected to have the ride in both races in the United States.

Trailblazer had accepted an invitation to the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic

early this year, but had suffered a nosebleed during his last workout before

departing Japan and was withdrawn.

Again, in early summer he bled after work prior to the Grade 1 Takarazuka

Kinen and was forced to sit that June 24 race out as well.

The United States permits the use of Lasix or Salix, brand-names for the

medicine furosemide, used primarily in the treatment of hypertension and edema

in humans and to prevent bleeding from the nose when racing in horses. The

medicine will likely allow Trailblazer to run easier.

Trailblazer has had a variety of riders and his wins have come all with

different jockeys. Katsumi Ando rode him to his win in the Copa Republica

Argentina.

He has raced and won going both to the right and to the left and over a

variety of firm and yielding going. He has been racing primarily over 1 1/4 to 1

1/2 miles or longer. His shortest distance to present was about nine furlongs,

shorter than his intended Breeders' Cup prep, the one-mile Arroyo Seco. His

running style is versatile but he tends to do best when sitting very close to or

right on the pace.

Trailblazer, who has yet to win a Grade 1 race, will likely be up against

very stiff competition in this year's Breeders' Cup Turf. Though it's far too

early to predict the final field, the Breeders' Cup Turf is a possible for such

big-name internationals as Snow Fairy, most recently successful in the Group 1

Irish Champion Stakes; reigning Turf winner St Nicholas Abbey, third to Snow

Fairy last out; three-year-old star Camelot, upset when trying to complete the

English Triple Crown in the Group 1 St Leger; and defending Group 1 Prix de

l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Danedream, just coming off a win in the Group 1

Grosser Preis von Baden.

Americans under consideration at present include champion older male

Acclamation and multiple Grade 1 victors Point of Entry, Little Mike and

Dullahan.

The Arroyo Seco Mile, rebranded for 2012 along with a raft of other Santa

Anita stakes, takes its name from the 40-kilometer-long Arroyo Seco, a seasonal

river, canyon, and watershed in Los Angeles County. This is the race's third

christening after having been inaugurated in 1986 under the name the Colonel F.W.

Koester Handicap, and renamed the Oak Tree Mile Stakes in 1996.

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