Lady Mercy Latest Japanese Winner For Pharoah
It was a 10th Japanese winner for American Pharoah on Saturday when Lady Mercy (2f American Pharoah x Two Oceans, by Cape Town) romped to a five length maiden victory at Chukyo.
Racing against males in the 1 1/8 mile dirt race, Lady Mercy immediately was among the front runners and settled just off the leader’s hip in second. Jockey Masayoshi Ebina sat chilly on the Yoshihito Kitade-trainee and let her edge up to the leader as they turned into the stretch.
Lady Mercy didn’t break away until the final furlong when she found another gear to easily glide away for a five length win.
A homebred for Toshihiro Matsumoto, Lady Mercy is a granddaughter of multiple stakes winner Ocean Cat, whose daughters have produced three stakes winners.
Lady Mercy’s third dam is the Grade I winner Pacific Princess, whose descendants includes Japan Horse of the Year winners Biwa Hayahide and Narita Brian and Japanese champions Kizuna and Phalaenopsis.
Making his mark around the world, American Pharoah has seen 10 of his 13 Japanese runners win at least one race. That group is led by Group III winner Café Pharoah and Japan Dirt Derby winner Danon Pharaoh.