The Japanese love affair with American bloodlines continues to reap rich rewards.
Last season's Champion First Crop Sire, Drefong (USA), has a rising star in Sunday's Group 1, The Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) winner Geoglyph.
Ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga for Tetsuya Kimura, Geoglyph and the top-class Kitasan Black colt Equinox made their runs together, sweeping four and five wide on the home turn.
Equinox looked to have shaken off Geoglyph at the 100m, but the son of Drefong rallied to win by a length.
The favourite, last season's Group 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes hero Do Deuce (Heart Cry), rattled home to be a further one and a quarter length back in third.
Geoglyph was the main contributor in Drefong's first season sire title when he captured two of his three starts, including the Group III Sapporo Nisai Stakes, before a season-ending fifth to Do Deuce in the Asahi Hai Futurity.
Drefong is from a sireline well-known in Australia.
The winner of six of nine starts, including the Kings Bishop Stakes, Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), and the Forego Stakes, Drefong (USA), is a son of Gio Ponti (USA), who shuttled to Arrowfield Stud for one season in 2012.
A 5-time Grade 1 winner on turf, Gio Ponti (USA) is a son of Tale Of The Cat (USA).
A superbly bred son of Storm Cat, Tale Of The Cat became a regular shuttler to Coolmore Stud from 2003-10.
His popularity peaked after his lone season at Windsor Park Stud in New Zealand in 1999.
From 101 live foals, he left seven stakes-winners head by dual Group 1 Glamour Puss, Ubiquitous, and two future stallions, Falkirk and Scaredee Cat.
From his time in Australia, the son of Storm Cat sired group 1 winners Gathering and Tell A Tale, plus several high-class stakes winners like Real Saga, Whittington, Trusting, Willow Creek and De Lightning Ridge.
Drefong (USA) has been a big hit with breeders' in Japan, covering 207 mares in his first season and 204 in his second.
Geoglyph is the best of three winners from four to race out of the high-class stakes-winner Aromatico who placed in the Group 1 Shuka Sho and Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
Aromatico is bred on a cross of two imported American breed-shapers, being a daughter of King Kamehameha from a daughter of Sunday Silence.
King Kamehameha featured in the pedigree of last week's Group 1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) winner Star On Earth, a daughter of King Kamehameha's champion son Duramente.
What a tragic loss for the industry when Duramente, the Leading First Season Sire of 2020, died last September of acute colitis at just nine years of age.
Star On Earth is out of the Teruya Yoshida homebred Southern Seas (Smart Strike), who won a one and a quarter mile maiden at Sandown from four starts for John Gosden. She is a half-sister to Soul Stirring (Frankel), the Champion 2YO & 3YO Filly in Japan in 2016 and 2017, and to Group III winner Schon Glanz (Deep Impact).
They are daughters of the Monsun's multiple champion, Stacelita, whose trophy case includes Prix de Diane, Flower Bowl Stakes, Prix Vermeille, Prix Saint-Alary, Prix Jean Romanet, and Beverly D Stakes.
