Horse Profile: Geoglyph

Breeders' Cup Mile Scouting Report

(Editor's note: Originally published in the 2024 BRISnet Breeders' Cup International Report) 

Neither of the Japanese hopes can match up with last year’s beaten Mile favorite, Songline, who was unlucky to exit her fifth-place effort lame. But Geoglyph at least sports a lot of back class, having beaten future great Equinox in the first jewel of the Japanese Triple Crown in 2022. The problem is that Geoglyph hasn’t won since, and his desired scenario these days remains a bit of a puzzle. 

Trained by Tetsuya Kimura, who honed Equinox into a world champion and currently has dual classic-winning filly Cervinia aiming for the Japan Cup (G1), Geoglyph started out going about 1 1/8 miles as a juvenile. He won his first two starts at that trip, a newcomers’ race at Tokyo and the Sapporo Nisai (G3) by four impressive lengths. 

Geoglyph shortened up to a metric mile for the 2021 Asahi Hai Futurity (G1), spearing home from the clouds to take fifth. Back up to about nine furlongs for his sophomore bow in the Kyodo News Hai (G3), he was a fine second. The step up to about 1 1/4 miles in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) (G1) brought further improvement, as he surged late to overhaul an immature Equinox by a length.

A non-staying seventh when trying about 1 1/2 miles in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (G1), Geoglyph presumably was set for a rebound when reverting in distance. Instead, he went off form, and only lately has he shown positive signs of rediscovering it. 

Still, it must be noted that most of his losing skid has occurred in a series of Group 1s, reflecting the high regard connections have for him to keep trying different spots. And his pedigree has offered reasons to play with various permutations of distance and surface. By 2016 Breeders’ Cup Sprint champion Drefong, Geoglyph is out of the multiple Group 1-placed King Kamehameha mare Aromatico. 

Run off his feet when ninth behind Equinox in the 2022 Tenno Sho Autumn (G1) and a lackluster sixth in the Hong Kong Cup (G1), Geoglyph switched to dirt and finished an admirable fourth in the 2023 Saudi Cup (G1). Hopes that he might reinvent himself as a dirt horse were dashed when he flopped in last year’s Dubai World Cup (G1) as well as in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai and Champions Cup (G1) back home. In the summer of 2023, Geoglyph also attempted another angle of stretching back out on turf in the Takarazuka Kinen (G1), only to reiterate his stamina limitations in ninth.

Geoglyph finally managed to hit the board when going back to about 1 1/8 miles on turf in the Feb. 25 Nakayama Kinen (G2), where he churned on in third. After a fairly even fifth in the about 1 1/4-mile Osaka Hai (G1), the logical idea was to take a more dramatic cutback to a metric mile. 

The June 2 Yasuda Kinen (G1) at Tokyo was a tough spot to conduct the experiment, but Geoglyph performed creditably to hold sixth after chasing the frenetic early pace. Victorious Hong Kong shipper Romantic Warrior, who was also in proximity early but a spot or two behind Geoglyph, was the only one so positioned to stave off the deep closers. 

In his only interim appearance, Geoglyph ran a strong second in the about 1 1/4-mile Sapporo Kinen (G2), the same prep used by Shahryar (Turf) who checked in fifth. Kicking on to improve position on the far turn, Geoglyph didn’t challenge the clear winner North Bridge but was safely best of the rest. Back in fourth was Prognosis, the defending Sapporo Kinen champion. Prognosis has since moved forward to finish second in Australia’s weight-for-age championship, the Cox Plate (G1). 

Given the stalking speed he showed in the Yasuda Kinen, might he work out a beneficial trip around Del Mar? And find the turning mile on a flat track easier to handle? If so, Geoglyph could factor at a gigantic price. He was just about three lengths adrift of living legend Romantic Warrior in only his second-ever attempt at this distance on turf.