Japan: Chrono Genesis, Efforia Top Fan Votes For Arima Kinen

Final nominations for the Grade 1 Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) number 17 for the full gate of 16. The year-end tradition, arguably Japan's most beloved and one that carries a winner's prize of JPY 300 million (over US$2.8 million), falls this year on the day after Christmas and will be followed by the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes two days later. Ages range from 3 to 7, with a very strong representation by 3-year-olds. Five females are also in the mix.

Despite the many popular horses that traveled to Hong Kong for the International Races earlier this month, the fans will not be disappointed with this year's Arima Kinen lineup, which includes six Grade 1 winners and the top three ballot winners – Efforia, Chrono Genesis, and Titleholder. All three fan favorites won upwards of 200,000 votes each and Efforia's 260,742 votes set a new record, topping Chrono Genesis's record from last year by 46,000 votes. Chrono Genesis this year received a personal best of 240,165 votes.

The Arima Kinen was begun in 1956 as the brainchild of Yoriyasu Arima, the Japan Racing Association's second president. Arima wanted a race to rival the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and the event began as the Nakayama Grand Prix. At the time, it was the only race to solicit fans' votes for the horses they most wanted to see run. Arima got to see his race's inaugural run on Dec. 23, 1956, but fell ill and passed away less than three weeks later. The race name was changed in memoriam later that year.

The Arima Kinen, shortened half a furlong from 1966, is currently run over 2,500 meters (about 1.55 miles) of turf. The race record, set by Zenno Rob Roy in 2004, stands at 2:29.50. The race has been staged from its beginning every year at Nakayama.

The Arima Kinen will be the 11th race on the Sunday, Dec. 26 at Nakayama and its post time is 3:25 p.m. It's open to 3-year-olds and up and horses carry 57 kg, with a 2-kg allowance given females and 3-year-old colts.

The expected top picks are:

Chrono Genesis: The Arima Kinen will be the final race for the 5-year-old daughter of Bago. Looking to secure her fifth Grade 1 victory, Chrono Genesis returns directly from her seventh-place run at Longchamp, where the gray encountered ground like none she'd known before and her forward position made for even a harder race. Following her win of last year's Arima Kinen, Chrono Genesis started the year off with a second in the Dubai Sheema Classic, and next up back home captured her second successive win of the Takarazuka Kinen, both Grade 1 events. Jockey Christophe Lemaire took the reins in the Takarazuka Kinen after regular rider Yuichi Kitamura was seriously injured in a fall in May, and Lemaire is expected up on Sunday.

Efforia: The Epiphaneia-sired Efforia, this year's Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and Tenno Sho (Autumn) winner, has made dreams come true for jockey Takeshi Yokoyama, whose 100 wins this year have brought him to No. 5 in the jockey standings in only his fourth-year riding. Efforia returns from his Oct. 31 Tenno Sho run and the course is familiar from the Satsuki Sho, and only 100 meters longer than Efforia's longest trip so far. Last week, the bay colt breezed under the jockey in a trio on the woodchip course over six furlongs for a time of 84.1-38.2-11.8.

Trainer Yuichi Shikato expressed his satisfaction with the work: “It was fine for a week out. He'll get two more workouts before the race. He came back from the farm looking happy and healthy and training has gone well.”

Titleholder: The Duramante colt Titleholder was 2-6-1 in the Classic races, with a win of the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) by five lengths. He's experienced at Nakayama with a record of 1-4-1-2-13, and the last of those (the Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen) saw him stuck helplessly in traffic and was not representative. Though jockey Takeshi Yokoyama rode the Kikuka Sho, this time his older brother Kazuo Yokoyama is expected to be partnered with the colt for the first time. Like, Efforia and Chrono Genesis, Titleholder will also be racing under only 55 kg. It should be noted that over the last 10 runnings of the Arima Kinen, four winners have come straight from the Kikuka Sho. Three had won the classic and one had finished fourth.

Stella Veloce: Fourth-place finisher in the Kikuka Sho this year was Stella Veloce, also by Bago and, despite the name, a colt. The name translates from the Italian as “fast star” and he was 3-3-4 in the classics, as well as second in the 2-year-old Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes last year. Stella Veloce also pocketed the Grade 2 Kobe Shimbun Hai at Chukyo, before heading in to the Kikuka Sho. He's good over any ground and versatile in his running style. The Arima ride, however, is not going to Hayato Yoshida, who rode the colt's last four starts, but most likely to new partner jockey Mirco Demuro, who captured the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies two weeks ago, his second Grade 1 win of the year.

Akai Ito: Akai Ito, a 4-year-old filly by Kizuna, won her first Grade 1 on her first bid last out in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hanshin. And she did it as the race 10th pick. Helping her win was jockey Hideaki Miyuki, who is to have the ride Sunday as well, for the first Arima Kinen victory of his 27-year career. Akai Ito has only competed in two other graded-stakes races, also females only, and finished seventh in both. Not only will it be her first graded race against males, it will be her first time over a distance longer than 2,200 meters. She does have previous experience at Nakayama though with a 4-5 over 1,800 and 2,000 meters, respectively.

Deep Bond: Another progeny of Kizuna, Deep Bond raced in the 2020 Classics alongside Contrail for a score of 10-5-4. Like Chrono Genesis, the colt returns from the Arc, and he too, even more than the mare, was done in by the ground and finished last. Just a little over two weeks before that, he had captured the Grade 2 Prix Foy at the same venue, Longchamp. Being one of the best stayers in the generation, the more distance seems better for him and he may even find the 2,500 meters a bit short. He was three from the last in the Grade 3 Nakayama Kimpai (2,000 meters), aced the Hanshin Daishoten (3,000 meters), followed by a second in the Tenno Sho (Spring) (3,200 meters) before leaving for Europe.

Kiseki: Deserving mention is veteran Kiseki, who'll be capping a career of 33 outings that includes four bids overseas. It's been four years since his win of the 2017 Kikuka Sho, his only Grade 1 victory and the last time he made the winner's circle. Though Kiseki has only notched four wins in his career, he has made the top three 16 times. This will be his fourth Arima Kinen and his previous 5-5-12 results aren't promising, but his rotation heading in is his least arduous yet. His sire Rulership posted 6-4-3 in his three Arima runs.

Others of interest include:

Also by Epiphaneia, Aristoteles finished only a neck behind Contrail in the Kikuka Sho last year. Being sent to the front last out in the Japan Cup, he finished in ninth place. Preceding that, however, he showed a more relaxed run and finished second in the Grade 2 Kyoto Daishoten two races back. Though this will be only his second run at Nakayama, he scooped the Grade 2 American Jockey Club Cup in January and the venue looks suit him.
The 5-year-old Heart's Cry mare Shadow Diva won the Grade 2 Ireland Trophy Fuchu Himba Stakes before scoring a seventh-place finish in the Japan Cup. This time will be her first time over anything longer than 2,400 meters, and she has posted 4-1-5 from three previous Nakayama runs, all over 1,800 meters.

Also, we can't overlook trainer Yoshito Yahagi's colt Panthalassa, as he's on a two-race winning streak, a wire-to-wire victory in the October Stakes followed by a four-length win of the Grade 3 Fukushima Kinen.

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O’Brien Sends Love, Snowfall Against Top 3-Year-Olds, Japan’s Chrono Genesis In 100th Arc De Triomphe

The Qatar Arc de Triomphe is run over a distance of 1 1/2 miles, and requires 2 minutes and 30 seconds of effort from a horse. The purse on offer amounts to 5 million euros (US$5.8 million) – and champions from all over the world will be on display. Furthermore, the horse tasting ultimate glory will be hailed in the history books as the 100th winner of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. This is the spectacle which awaits the public on Sunday, Oct. 3 at ParisLongchamp.

The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is considered the greatest horse race in the world. It is THE race that causes racing fans, trainers, jockeys and owners alike to dream. The 2021 edition promises to be an exceptional one: as it marks the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe's centenary edition.

The Arc is a “Win and You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Turf on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

The field is certainly on a par with the occasion. The Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe above all pits the young generation (namely a 3-year-old crop which goes into the autumn at the top of its game, but still lacking somewhat in experience), against older horses (4-year-olds plus) who are much more seasoned.

An ambitious young generation

On this occasion, Europe's two best 3-year-old colts will be on display. Both are trained at Newmarket (England) by Charlie Appleby on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, and are Adayar and Hurricane Lane. The former won the prestigious Epsom Derby in which the latter was third.

Adayar subsequently went on to become the first horse in 20 years to complete the Epsom Derby – King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes double (considered the 'British equivalent of the Arc') double. Hurricane Lane subsequently shone at ParisLongchamp by taking Grand Prix de Paris, before going on to capture the St Leger run over 2,850m at Doncaster. This was a true test of stamina, but the fly in the ointment is that no St Leger winner has managed to win the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the same season!

“I am very happy with both colts,” Appleby said. “Adayar had a setback before the Arc trials. He missed two gallops as a result and we thought that it was best to skip the Niel. He had already earned his ticket to the Arc. Since then he has been doing very well. William Buick is our first choice rider and he chose Adayar: it's always an encouraging sign when you go in to a race, and even more so when it's the Arc. He feels that he has made the right choice. With a week to go before the Arc, I can say that Adayar is in the form of his life right now.

“We toyed with the idea of going for the Arc with Hurricane Lane after he won the Grand Prix de Paris. Winning the St Leger and the Arc in the same year has never been done: so we took our time before making a firm decision straight after the St Leger. I feel that the St Leger was the easiest of his three big wins: he was very impressive at ParisLongchamp but, in terms of his racing weight and overall condition, we feel that he came out of the race in better shape after the St Leger – compared to his two other group 1 wins.

“After Doncaster, he was just kept ticking over, and he didn't do any serious work until Saturday morning. James Doyle was in the saddle: which was the first time that he had ridden him. He was very happy: as the colt moved well, and worked as he usually does. It's exciting to be able to go into a race, like the Arc, with two 3-year-olds which have rather different profiles. Adayar was an impressive winner of the Derby and King George, and he goes into the Arc on the strength of that. Hurricane Lane can make history by becoming the first St Leger winner to win the Arc [in the same season]. The forecast is for rain later in the week: and that will suit both colts.”

A race which has attracted some top class fillies and mares

The aforementioned two young pretenders are by no means home and hosed, as they will be up against some very talented fillies and mares. In the first instance they will have to contend with Tarnawa – the star mare of His Highness the Aga Khan. Now a 5-year-old, she has remained in training this year (mares of this age are usually retired to the paddocks so as pass on their much sought after gene pool to their progeny). Trained in Ireland by Dermot Weld, the mare will be ridden by Christophe Soumillon: a rider who boasts two prior Arc wins in the Aga Khan colours.

Also travelling over from Ireland are Love and Snowfall. Both are trained by Aidan O'Brien for the powerful Coolmore operation. Both fillies can draw on eloquent CVs despite the fact that they are coming off defeats.

“Everything is going well for Snowfall,” O'Brien said. “Since the Qatar Prix Vermeille, she hasn't done any serious work and everyone is happy with her. Her performance in the Vermeille was a good one: she found herself in a race with no pace on fast ground, and the conditions were very different from those encountered in the Oaks for example. She's got beaten but we're glad we ran her in it, as it gave us a chance to see how she would act on good ground at ParisLongchamp. It's probably better to be beaten, without everything going to plan, than to be beaten on the big occasion. The Vermeille was a prep race for the Arc. I think she's quite indifferent to the state of the ground. Before Epsom, I was worried about the soft ground, but I think that stamina finally comes into play on this type of ground. If it's soft on Sunday, it won't be a problem.

“I think that Love is better on good ground. However, given that she's now a 4-year-old, the filly should be able to handle soft ground that much better. If the ground gets really heavy, then it will be a problem. She won the Prince of Wales's on her seasonal debut and we were very happy. There wasn't enough pace in the King George on her subsequent start. Last time out at the Curragh, she got pipped at the post by a filly who was receiving 10lb and is rated 110. The Blandford Stakes was a prep race for the Arc: and, given that it was run over 2,000 metres with a bend, it was ideal.”

Hailing from Japan is Chrono Genesis. A star in her country and a quadruple Group 1 winner (the pinnacle in horse racing) to boot, she will carry the hopes of a whole nation, and one which has been coveting success in this race since 1969: the year which marked the appearance of the very first Japanese raider.

“The mare had already begun her preparation on a positive note in Japan, and she arrived in France in good condition,” said trainer Takashi Saito. “The flight went very well, and the mare was calm. She cantered on Wednesday when Oisin Murphy, her jockey in the Arc, was in the plate. I instructed him not to force it. She was very fluid in her paces – and so there are no concerns about her fitness.

“She hasn't run since June but I'm not worried about that. In Japan, she runs every two months. This is her natural rhythm. She needs this recovery period between races and that's how it should be.

“When the mare won the Arima Kinen last December, we started thinking about the Arc. There were several pathways to the race, and we made the choice to head to Dubai. The idea was to give her experience of racing abroad, in preparation for the Arc, and to get her used to the travel factor. I think that our trip to France was made easier by the experience in Dubai.

“I don't have any concerns about the ground. I know it's the subject of much debate, and is advanced to explain the defeat of the Japanese [horses] in the Arc. Chrono Genesis will adapt: as she gives of her best whatever the conditions. She is generous and will give 100 per cent on Sunday. I know that she will be up against very tough opposition, but my job is to ensure that she's 100 per cent for the race. What matters to me is my mare. I have total confidence in her jockey. It's an honor that she's being touted in France as a leading Arc contender.”

The French will be out to upset calculations

The Gallic challenge only looks to have an 'outside' chance of landing the spoils this year – despite the fact that the home team are the defending champions, thanks to the 2020 success of Sottsass. The latter was trained at Deauville by Jean-Claude Rouget and ridden by Cristian Demuro.

A French quartet is expected to come under orders on Sunday. This includes a trio of 3-year-old colts and namely: Sealiway, second in the Qatar Prix du Jockey-Club in June but unraced since; plus Bubble Gift and Baby Rider. The latter pair were separated by a whisker in the Qatar Prix Niel: the traditional Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe prep reserved for 3-year-olds.

Fifth last year, the 4-y-old filly Raabihah will endeavour to do better this year by attempting to thrust Jean Claude Rouget and Cristian Demuro yet again into the spotlight.

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Chrono Genesis Pointed To Arc; Gets Murphy

Four-time Japanese Group 1 winner Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) will be pointed to this year's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, owners Sunday Racing have confirmed, with jockey Oisin Murphy set to take the ride. The 5-year-old mare's regular pilot, Yuichi Kitamura, is currently on the sidelines with an injury.

Third in both the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) at three before taking the G1 Shuka Sho, the third leg of the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown, Chrono Genesis bested the Classic-winning colt Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) in the G1 Takarazuka Kinen last summer before checking in third behind Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) in the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn. She wrapped up her 4-year-old campaign with a victory in the G1 Arima Kinen over a shade further than the Arc trip, and was second to Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic before bouncing back to win this year's renewal of the Takarazuka Kinen on June 27. Her current rating of 120 makes her the world's highest-rated mare between 10.5 and 13.5 furlongs.

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St Mark’s Basilica New Leader Of LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings

After defeating his elders in the Coral-Eclipse (G1), St Mark's Basilica (FR) [127] now leads the fifth edition of the LONGINES World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2021.

In the Eclipse, St Mark's Basilica defeated Addeybb (IRE) [121] by 3 ½ lengths, while Mishriff (IRE) [122] was a neck behind in third. St Mark's Basilica had previously been rated at 120 following his victory in the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club (G1), and he is a perfect three-for-three this season, as he also won the Emirates Poule d'Essai des Poulains (G1) to start his 2021 campaign.

Addeybb came into the Eclipse having won the LONGINES Queen Elizabeth Stakes G1) in Australia in April, while Mishriff was making his first start since taking the LONGINES Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) in March.

Meanwhile, Poetic Flare (IRE) [122] and Subjectivist (GB) [122] find themselves ranked in the co-fourth position following their impressive efforts during Royal Ascot. Poetic Flare won the St James's Palace Stakes (G1) by 4 ¼ lengths, while Subjectivist was victorious in the Gold Cup (G1) by five lengths.

In Japan, Chrono Genesis (JPN) [120] took the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) by 2 ½ lengths to join the rankings. It was her first start since finishing second to Mishriff in the LONGINES Dubai Sheema Classic (G1).

Additionally, Hurricane Lane (IRE) [120] joins the rankings following his score in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (G1).

LONGINES World's Best Racehorse Rankings

Leading Horses

click here for complete rankings

Rank Horse Rating Trained
1 ST MARK'S BASILICA (FR) 127 IRE
2 PALACE PIER (GB) 125 GB
3 NATURE STRIP (AUS) 123 AUS
4 DOMESTIC SPENDING (GB) 122 USA
4 MISHRIFF (IRE) 122 GB
4 MYSTIC GUIDE (USA) 122 USA
4 POETIC FLARE (IRE) 122 IRE
4 SUBJECTIVIST (GB) 122 GB

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