There are two Group I races coming up this Sunday at Sha Tin racecourse in Hong Kong. The 10-race card will get under way at 12 45 PM. The Champions Mile is the seventh race and post time is 3 55 PM. The other race is the Audemars Piguet Q E II Cup and post time is 4 35 PM. We will have more on these two Hong Kong races in the days to come. They will be run on the grass. Sha Tin is a right-handed course. The Japanese 2000 Guineas was run on Sunday at Nakayama racecourse. The race is called the ‘Satsuki Sho.’ The distance was 2,000 metres and it was run on the grass. Nakayama is a right-handed track. Victoire Pisa, the 13/10 favourite, justified the public confidence in decisive fashion. Eighteen sophomores answered the starter’s call. It was a chilly afternoon. Jockey Y Iwata had Victoire Pisa in the rear and made headway on the inside and led 100 metres out and ran on to win by a length and a half. Victoire Pisa is trained by K Sumii. The Japanese 2000 Guineas carried a purse of 2,278,000 dollars. A total of 18,942,663,200 yen was bet on the race. The attendance was 68,000. In Japan, big races draw huge numbers. Last Saturday at Nakayama, Japan’s richest steeplechase race was held. It was the Group I (12th) Nakayama Grand Jump. Jump races are far from being the staple variety in Japan. In 2009, there were 134 steeplechase races out of 3,453 races run in Japan. The Nakayama Grand Jump had 12 fences over a course that had the shape of number 8. It was a 4,250-metre contest. The closing part was a 310-metre uphill run-in. Merci Mont Saint, a 37-1 chance, came through. The winning jockey was Y Kono. The winner is trained by K Take. The time of the race was 5 03.5 seconds. Rain had rendered the going soft. Viewed has been euthanized. The winner of the 2008 Melbourne Cup was suffering from complications resulting from a twisted bowel. Viewed won the Caulfield Cup in 2009 but ran seventh in the Melbourne Cup. Trainer Bart Cummings said, “It is bad news. He was a very good horse. What’s really disappointing is we had not seen the best of him.” The feature on the closing day of the Santa Anita meeting was the San Juan Capistrano. It was a 2800-metre race on the grass. The 8/10 favourite was Bourbon Bay, trained by Neil Drysdale. Rafael Bejarano had Bourbon Bay in fourth position for the first 1,600 metres, moved into striking range turning for home and led for good in the last 200. The win was worth $90,000. Bourbon Bay won by one half length in a time of 2:44.52. A four year-old, Bourbon Bay is by Sligo Bay. The Capistrano was the fourth consecutive win for Bourbon Bay who had also won the San Luis Obispo and the San Luis Rey Handicap this year. Neil Drysdale spoke, “Rafael gave him a picture perfect ride. We have no specific plans. We’ll give him a rest.” There was a race with a million-dollar purse at Charles Town Races and Slots on Saturday. It was a twilight card. The Charles Town track has slot machines. The race was the Charles Town Classic. Researcher proved the fastest when it mattered to make it back to back wins in the big race. Luis Perez was the jockey. Jeff Runco trains Researcher. The nine-furlong Classic was around three turns. Researcher, a six year-old gelding, was held up and advanced steadily off quick fractions and was in third position in the final turn. Quickening spiritedly, Researcher surged to the lead and held the fast-finishing Awesome Gem. The winning margin was a length and three quarters. The time was 1 49.94 seconds. The win payoff was $9.80. Jockey Perez commented: “I had an inside trip and he settled well. I was pretty confident turning for home.” Trainer Runco stated, “It turned out kind of the way we figured. When he turned for home, with the way I know him, I thought we have got a heck of a shot.” In the final Kentucky Derby prep last Saturday at Keeneland, there was a shock result. Exhi, a Todd Pletcher trainee, a 19-1 chance, went wire to wire in the $300,000 (Grade II) Coolmore Lexington Stakes. Robbie Alabardo was aboard the winner. Exhi was coming off a win in Turfway Park’s Rushaway Stakes in late March. Exhi’s win gave trainer Pletcher his third consecutive win in the Coolmore Lexington. Exhi, a son of Maria’s Mon, ran the 1700-metre race on the polytrack in 1 44.38 seconds. Todd Pletcher may have as many as six starters in the Kentucky Derby on May 1. Speaking about Exhi, Pletcher said, “The Derby is off the table. We’ll, however, take him to Churchill. We will enjoy this for the moment. We will see how things shake out.” Let us take a look at what happened in England. At Newmarket last Thursday, Elusive Pimpernel, trained by John Dunlop, was steered to an emphatic win by Ryan Moore in the Craven Stakes. Elusive Pimpernel was the 10-11 favourite. The Racing Post said that Elusive Pimpernel won by four lengths over his comparatively flat-footed rivals. The winner is by Elusive Quality and was cut to 5/1 from 14/1 for the 2000 Guineas on May 1. St Nicholas Abbey, from Aidan O’Brien’s yard, is the 2-1 favourite to land the 2000 Guineas. Jockey Ryan Moore showered praise on his mount: “He has shown he is in good order. He likes the track and handled the ground. He is a big horse and has a lot going for him.” On Saturday, Richard Hannon’s Canford Cliffs and Dick Turpin dominated the finish of the Greenham Stakes at Newbury. Canford Cliffs, the odds on favourite, set the pace and went left under pressure in the last part of the 1400-metre race. Dick Turpin, the second string from trainer Hannon’s stable, got up in the hands of Ryan Moore. Canford Cliffs was beaten in the Prix Morny last year when going to the left late in the lane. Richard Hannon thought aloud: “We will ride him differently at Newmarket in the 2000 Guineas. Hughesie (Richard Hughes) will bury him in the pack and ride him to get the mile. Dick Turpin will go in the Irish 2000 Guineas and the French 2000 Guineas is also an option. He likes a bit of dig in the ground and the Curragh will suit.”