Japan Racing Association
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By Scott Burton
The Japan Cup will take center stage internationally next Sunday and although the race – worth £2.5million for the winner – has not been awarded to a horse trained outside Japan since 2005 didn’t deter the connections of four European riders from making the trip, the largest contingent for a decade.
And there are reasons to hope for a breakthrough, both in terms of the strength of the overseas challenge and the uncertainty around home defence.
Japan Cup week is also when the scale of racing and fandom in the country is on display and the Racing Post will be covering all the preparation from Thursday this week.
Japan Cup: the history of the band
Venue: Tokyo Racecourse
Time and date: 06:40 GMT Sunday 27 November
Distance: 1m4f
Maximum number of runners: 18
Record time: 2m20.6s (Almond Eye in 2018)
JRA
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european challenge
Since Alkaased won the prize in 2005 ahead of Frankie Dettori and Luca Cumani, the only European horse to place in a Japan Cup is Ouija Board, who finished third the following year, while Dunaden (2013), Idaho (2017) and Grand Glory (2021) all ran respectably in fifth.
Grand Glory is back for a second crack for Italian-born Frenchman Gianluca Bietolini and after finishing well from an impossible position to be fifth in the Arc, will be ridden again by Maxime Guyon.
Masakazu Takahashi
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Onesto failed to manage the deep ground at Longchamp but was only narrowly beaten by Luxembourg in the Irish Champion Stakes, and will benefit from the local expertise of Christophe Lemaire.
The French challenge is completed by Simca Mille, who chased Onesto at home in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris and then won the Prix Niel on Arc Trials day for trainer Stéphane Wattel and jockey Gregory Benoist.
At seven, Germany have fielded as many runners as Great Britain in the past decade.
Although Torquator Tasso has now been retired to stud, his three-year-old half-brother Tunnes comes here after a Group 1 victory in the Grosser Preis von Bayern for trainer Peter Schiergen, who saddled Dandream to be sixth as favorite in 2011 .
Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
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As well as increased prize money and a generous bonus system – Onesto could cash in an extra £2.5m if they add the Japan Cup to their Paris Grand Prix victory – visitors were encouraged to travel thanks to the construction of a brand new quarantine facility. in the center of the track.
As well as equine visitors from Europe, Ryan Moore, Tom Marquand, Hollie Doyle and Cristian Demuro are among the jockeys currently riding in Japan on a short-term license.
Japanese defense
While the strength of Japanese middle-distance racing is indisputable, a coincidence means that many of the country’s best middle-distance horses won’t be lining up in Tokyo.
The quartet of riders who got stuck in the mud at Longchamp, led by defending champion and Derby winner Do Deuce, are still recovering from their efforts, while impressive Tenno Sho winner Autumn Equinox will await the Arima Kinen next month.
None of this season’s Japanese Classic winners have been nominated and the only three-year-old in the field is likely to be Danon Beluga, who beat the next 2,000 Guineas Geoglyph winner in February, and posted his best effort since when third at Equinox in the Tenno Sho over a mile and a quarter.
Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
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Two places back in that race was Shahryar in his first start since his disappointment in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes in June.
On that occasion, coach Hideaki Fujiwara blamed Ascot undulations, but the Deep Impact son showed what he was capable of by winning the Sheema Classic in March and Connections were delighted with how he finished in Tenno Sho.
2021 Oaks winners Uberleben and 2020 winners Daring Tact are also expected to line up, while Boccherini, Weltreisende and Win Marilyn all have some interesting form elements, despite not winning at the Group 1.
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