IN the last couple of weeks things have picked up considerably for Japan.

Maurice, who had already won two Group 1 races at home this year, added to that the haul by overcoming Able Friend in the Hong Kong Mile.

The four-year-old son of Screen Hero stays in training in 2016 and racing fans can expect to see him perform in Europe.

As Able Friend is currently ranked fourth in the Longines World Thoroughbred Rankings, it is expected that Maurice will feature prominently when the final 2016 rankings are issued in mid-January.

ONE-TWO

Japan also prevailed in the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup with A Shin Hikari and Nuovo Record completing a notable one-two for the Land of the Rising Sun.

While the latter is a Group 1 winner and had also finished as the runner-up three times in Group1 events, A Shin Hikari was somewhat of a surprise as his best previous performance was a home Group 2 win.

Indeed, on his only prior outing in a Group 1 race he could do no better than ninth.

The Christmas cheer was further helped by the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (two-year-old colts) at Hanshin last Sunday. It was won by Leontes from Air Spinal but both horses pulled away impressively in the home stretch and Japan can look forward to having two top-class three-year-olds next year.