New Japan-bred program in the works

Five years ago Sun Tzu was born in California to fledgling owner Paul Heinrich. Sun Tzu was a homebred for Heinrich and bred to be an absolute star: Out of his unraced late A.P. Indy mare, Strategy, the horse is a half-brother to grade I winner Guile and Desert World Cup (UAE-I) hero Gun Hill. He was sired by Notorious, a venerable campaigner who excelled as an older horse when taking his own edition of the Desert World Cup in addition to the Baltimore Special (gr. I), Woodward Stakes (gr. I) and Oaklawn Park Handicap (gr. I). And in his first yearling work Sun Tzu sizzled five furlongs in :58.30.

As a racehorse Sun Tzu was precocious enough to sweep all three starts at two, including a determined win in the Louisiana Jackpot (gr. II) over the highly-touted Heed the Warning, earning a remarkable 88 speed figure. The following season the colt prepped for Triple Crown with a neck victory in the Kentucky Blue Stakes (gr. I), but finished third in the Louisville Derby (gr. I). He avenged that loss with a game head victory in the Long Island Classic (gr. I) going 1-1/2 miles before finishing the year with a fourth in the Midsummer Derby (gr. I) and a third behind Heed the Warning in the Steward's Cup Classic (gr. I).

Sun Tzu opened his four-year-old season with a pair of dull efforts in Dubai before rebounding with a ten-length romp over grade I winner My Boy Blue in the Seven Pillars of Wisdom Cup (SAU-II). He then shipped to Japan to close out his career with a win in the Sirius Stakes (JPN-III) and a hard-fought victory in the Japan Trophy Dirt (JPN-I) over multiple grade I winners Wow and Father's Day.

Last week Paul Heinrich expressed interest in getting a Japan-bred program started in that country for the young stallion, who currently commands a fee of $45,000. Heinrich, noting that while "...right now there are a lot of dirt races in Japan for two-year-olds, [there is] not a lot for them to do after that."

Thinking of my own dirt stallion Phoenix Rise, my interest was piqued. A move to Japan, where purses are lucrative, would add some extra incentive to breed to who the Steward said "would have been a world-class miler." Phoenix Rise, admittedly, is suffering a lull in his stud career; his oldest foals are just three and he is yet to get that big horse having largely been forgotten about.

But I digress. I contacted Paul, who was very receptive to the idea of Phoenix Rise in Japan to bolster the breeding and racing program. Though nothing is set in stone, we have discussed sponsoring a few listed and graded stakes for three-year-olds and up towards the end of the year; some routes for the Sun Tzu progeny and mile races for Phoenix Rise's. Stay tuned for further updates.