Mikki Fight continued a remarkably consistent career on Japanese dirt courses with a repeat victory July 1 in the Teio Sho at Oi Racecourse.
The 5-year-old son of Drefong scored his eighth win from 13 starts and has never finished worse than third. He was second, just 1 1/4 lengths behind Forever Young, in the 2024 Japan Dirt Classic, the race Forever Young used as a bridge between his third-place finishes in that year's Kentucky Derby (G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1).
The Teio Sho repeat was as straightforward as trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka and jockey Keita Tosaki could have hoped. Starting from gate 8, Tosaki positioned Mikki Fight third, wide enough to avoid kickback but well within striking position.
He held that spot down the backstretch, closed some ground around the second turn and surged to the lead midway down the stretch. Outrange gave chase but finished 1 3/4 lengths back in second. Diktaean was gaining quickly through the final 100 meters but settled for third, another neck in arrears.
Mikki Fight finished the 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) in 2:02.8.
"Talking with Mr. Tanaka, our plan was to let any horses go in front of us and stay behind them," Tosaki said. "He (Mikki Fight) was very composed in the gate and had a nice fly out of the gate. I had a nice response from him during the race, and the only thing I think he has is that he was not able to change the lead."
The victory was a satisfying reversal of the outcome of the Tokyo Daishoten (G1) last Dec. 29. In that, Mikki Fight settled for second behind Diktaean and then was idle for four months. He returned to finish second in a 1,600-meter (about 1-mile) black-type event May 5 at Funabashi Racecourse.
"We had some down time in the past and I was trying to get him back in form," Tanaka said. "So I am very happy we won the race. In my mind, I thought he would be able to have a good run only if he would fulfill his potential. And actually he did."
Despite his consistent record against some of the best runners in Japan's improving dirt ranks, international travel remains the gap on Mikki Fight's résumé. Neither trainer nor jockey hinted any move in that direction although Tosaki said he has "really progressed both physically and mentally. I do think he has a lot we look forward to in the future."
"There are many options we can take," Tanaka said. "This horse has up time and down time as we saw in the past. I cannot say definite things at this stage and all we can do is just draft the plan for him leading to the next year."
Although Mikki Fight's sire was a crack American sprinter for trainer Bob Baffert, the bottom of his pedigree has Sunday Silence three generations removed and he won twice in the past at 2,000 meters.
He was bred by Northern Racing and races for Mizuki Noda.
