With a pedigree deeply rooted in his stable, trainer Mikio Matsunaga aims to guide Del Avar toward the elite ranks in this weekend's G2 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes. This promising colt, who secured a strong Newcomers win at Fukushima in June, hails from a lineage with personal significance to Matsunaga. His granddam, Heavenly Romance, was ridden to G1 victory in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) by Matsunaga himself during his jockey days. As a trainer, Matsunaga has also managed other standouts from this bloodline, Amour Briller, a six-time JRA and NAR graded stakes winner, her full brother and JBC Classic champion Awardee, and Lani, the UAE Derby winner.

Del Avar displayed impressive potential in his debut. Despite a slow break that left him sitting 11th around the tight-turning Fukushima course, he showed a powerful late kick, cruising up through the field and unleashing an explosive finishing drive from the outside to win convincingly. "His first race was strong," Matsunaga noted. "He was a bit slow from the gate, so a spacious track like Tokyo should suit him well."

Though this pedigree has traditionally thrived on dirt, Del Avar is by Frankel, pointing to a preference for turf. "He might still handle dirt, but he's different from his siblings and has inherited some of his dam's best qualities," Matsunaga explained. Positioned as a potential turf star in a family known for dirt prowess, Del Avar aims to join the five G1 winners produced from this race in the last decade, opening the way to a Classic campaign.