Champion Sprinter-Miler Mikki Isle to join Arrowfield's roster
Arrowfield has announced that Mikki Isle, Japan’s Champion Sprinter & Miler of 2016, will join the Stud’s stallion roster for the 2017 season.
The handsome son of Japanese supersire Deep Impact won eight races, including two 1600-metre Group 1 events, and more than $A6 million prizemoney.
Mikki Isle quickly fulfilled the promise of his two-win juvenile season, establishing himself as Japan’s top-rated 3YO miler with victory in the Tokyo NHK Mile Cup G1, achieved with his trademark front-running pace in a time of 1:33.2.
Mikki Isle’s subsequent performances confirmed the quality of his speed. He was placed in consecutive runnings of the Chukyo Takamatsunomiya Kinen G1, and was second in last year’s Nakayama Sprinters S. G1 – all at 1200 metres.
He then sealed his award claims with a defiant, all-the-way victory in last November’s Kyoto Mile Championship G1, rated among the world’s top 100 Group 1 races of 2016.
Mikki Isle was bred by Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm from the Rock of Gibraltar mare Star Isle, a grand-daughter of three-time US Grade 1 juvenile winner Stella Madrid, who defeated champion filly Go For Wand in the Belmont Frizette S. G1.
Now serving his first book of mares at Shadai Stallion Station, Mikki Isle will join Real Impact, also a dual Group 1-winning son of Deep Impact, on this year’s shuttle run to Arrowfield, which has acquired an interest in both horses.
Arrowfield will announce its 2017 stallion service fees after the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.