Japanese Arc Contender Announced

Trainer Koji Maeda has announced that his 4YO entire Deep Bond (Kizuna-Zephyranthes, by King Halo) will travel to France to represent Japan in the Gr1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October, reports bloodhorse.com. A last start second behind World Premiere (Deep Impact-Mandela, by Acatenango) in the Gr1 Tenno Sho (Spring) over 3200m, Deep Bond is a winner of three of his 12 starts including the Gr2 Hanshin Daishoten over 3000m and the Gr2 Kyoto Shimbun Hai over 2200m. "He showed a lot of courage in the Tenno Sho, which is a very demanding race," Maeda said. "Although the ground was very quick on Sunday at Hanshin, he is a son of Kizuna, who himself finished fourth in the Arc in 2013, and he can handle softer ground. He is the right horse for France in the autumn." Deep Bond will be set for the Arc with a warm-up run in the Gr2 Prix Foy on 12 September. He was a ¥16,500,000 (A$195,000) yearling and has earnings of ¥240,862,000 (A$2.85m).