The line-up for the Japan Cup in November had a depth that would have been the envy of organisers of other major races around the world. While it contained only one international challenger – France's versatile dual Group 1 winner Iresine (Fr) – the first five horses home read like a who's who of the Japanese turf. Equinox – who else? – led home Fillies' Triple Crown winner Liberty Island (Jpn), the previous year's Japanese Oaks winner Stars On Earth (Jpn), the 2022 Japanese Derby winner Do Deuce (Jpn) and Titleholder (Jpn), the Japanese St Leger winner of 2021 who had subsequently won another two Group 1 races at four. In short, it was a proper race. 

The recognition of this, and in Equinox becoming the second Japanese horse after Just A Way (Jpn) to top the world rankings, comes as the Japan Racing Association (JRA) celebrates its 70th anniversary. 

The inauguration of the Japan Cup in 1981 provided a vehicle with which the country could set about promoting its racing industry worldwide. This in turn led to the establishment of five international JRA offices in key racing nations, a situation which underlines the global ambition not just of Japan's trainers but of its racing administrators. And it is this joined-up approach, from the breeding farms, through to the personalities and the sport's governance, which has surely played its part in the racing supremacy of Japan. 

Kanichi Kusano, the general manager of the JRA office in London, says, “We wanted to promote international racing. That's the reason why we started the Japan Cup. The objective of horse racing is to promote the pedigree. So if you don't have a strong horse competing in a race it is difficult to upgrade the pedigree, and that's another reason that we started the Japan Cup.

“To promote the Japan Cup, we need people promoting it on the ground. The London office was the first office created, 32 years ago, and that was followed by New York, and then we gradually expanded to Hong Kong, Sydney and Paris. So we have five international offices now and still we have to keep working to find the runners for the Japan Cup. That's the main purposes of these offices, to promote the Japan Cup and Japanese racing.”

The early years of the Japan Cup were liberally sprinkled with overseas winners from America, Ireland, Britain, France, New Zealand, Australia, and Germany. Among the visitors, Sir Michael Stoute is the only trainer to have won it twice, with Singspiel (Ire) and Pilsudski (Ire) in 1996 and 1997. The last international winner came almost 20 years ago, when Luca Cumani saddled Alkaased for Michael Charlton. 

The following year came the turn of Deep Impact (Jpn) and since then it has been a solely Japanese success story, despite attempts from the likes of Oaks winner Dancing Rain (Ire), Arc winner Solemia (Ire), Irish Derby winner Trading Leather (Ire), and Melbourne Cup winner Dunaden (Fr). In 2022, Onesto (Ire), Tunnes (Ger) and Simca Mille (Ire) all took their chance but came home empty-handed. Well, not quite, for, as well as significant bonuses on offer for winners of major races around the world if they can win the Japan Cup, there is also a generous allowance simply for showing up. 

“The Japan Cup is invitational and we support all the transportation fees for the horses and the connections, including the jockeys,” Kusano explains. “And we also have appearance money. So for runners coming to the Japan Cup, without spending any money their owners will get at least £100,000 as appearance money. It's a great opportunity, but it is still not that easy to find runners.

“It's run in late November so obviously the trainer has to plan it, and there are lots of competitive races at the end of the season like the Arc, the Breeders' Cup and the Hong Kong International Races, so that's what we are competing against. And because we have very quick ground, not all the European horses can compete equally in those conditions, so that limits our selection as well.”

He adds, “Winning is important, of course, but just by visiting Japan and understanding the beauty of Japanese racing, that is something that we want those owners to explore, to experience another country that is staging racing.”

Last year there were 24 races around the world for which the winner was in line for a $3-million bonus if he or she went on to win the Japan Cup. In 2024, the Coronation Cup at Epsom has been added to that list, with the Derby, Prince of Wales's S., Eclipse S., King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., Juddmonte International and Champion S. also eligible in Britain. 

In France, the Prix du Jockey Club, Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, Grand Prix de Paris and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe are all qualifying races, while in Ireland the Irish Derby and Irish Champion S. also make the list. 

It is also worth noting that it is not only the Japan Cup that accepts overseas horses. It was the country's first, but since 2007 all graded races in Japan, which number more than 120, were opened up to outside runners, including some jump races.

The tide flows both ways, of course, and since 1958, when Hakuchikara (Jpn) became the first Japanese horse to compete abroad, in the USA, the floodgates have gradually been forced open. 

The following year Hakuchikara won the Washington Birthday Handicap S. Seeking The Pearl, Taiki Shuttle, El Condor Pasa and Agnes World all won Group 1 races in France in 1998 and 1999, while the latter won the July Cup of 2000, making him the first Japanese-trained winner of a Group 1 race in Britain. 

Cesario (Jpn), later the dam of stallions Epiphaneia (Jpn), Leontes (Jpn) and Saturnalia (Jpn), laid down another important landmark in 2005 when becoming the first winner of the American Oaks and Japanese Oaks, while the following year's Melbourne Cup saw a 1-2 for Japan with Delta Blues (Jpn) and Pop Rock (Jpn).

The list goes on, with the highlights including success in Dubai for dual Horse of the Year Gentildonna (Jpn), later followed by another queen of the Japanese turf, Almond Eye (Jpn), through to last year's Sheema Classic romp for Equinox and Dubai World Cup victory for Ushba Tesoro (Jpn). And let's not forget the first two Japanese-trained winners at the Breeders' Cup of 2021, Marche Lorraine (Jpn) and Loves Only You (Jpn). The Arc still eludes Japan, but that omission will surely be rectified before too long. 

“In Hong Kong, or in the Middle East, due to the difference of racing surface, Japanese horses have been really strong, but we have not been that strong in Europe, though we still want to reach out there as well,” says Kusano. 

The nominations for the Dubai World Cup were announced this week with an ominous list of 200 entries from Japan, including the co-top-rated filly in the world, Liberty Island, and defending World Cup hero Ushba Tesoro.

“I would say we will have 20-plus runners in the end,” he adds. “The system in Saudi, Dubai and Qatar is very simple and it makes it easy to plan for the Japanese horsemen, and these big races in February and March work well for the connections.”

As for Japan's own showcase race, the Japan Cup was broadcast live in Britain for the first time last year and there are plans in place to expand that commitment to show more Japanese races to European audiences.

Anyone who has seen clips of Japanese racing fans on social media or elsewhere will understand the level of support racing enjoys in the country, and without the need of extra-curricular enticements such as post-racing concerts. Though, like many other racing nations, attendance figures have dropped, there were still almost 86,000 people on course for Equinox's swansong. That, however, is a long way short of the record crowd figure set at Tokyo in 1990 of 196,517.

“Luckily racing is still very much accepted in Japan,” Kusano says. “The largest difference between racing in Japan and other countries is that we are purely fan-engaged. We truly race for the fans, while working closely with the [horses'] connections. If you don't value the fans you will lose the interest in the sport. So that's our main focus, and I think it is one thing we have been successful in doing. 

“People in Japan purely come to watch the races, and to see the horses and the jockeys.”

They also have the chance to say goodbye to their equine heroes, with on-course retirement ceremonies for the star names a regular feature. Equinox was given his own grand send-off at Nakayama three weeks after his final triumph in the Japan Cup.

“That's another important thing, for us to educate fans that it is the cycle of the pedigree,” Kusano says. “It's sad when one great horse retires, however, that blood will continue and be passed on to the next generation, and that's really the beauty of horse racing. It's a basic thing but it's really important to keep getting that simple information and image across to the fans.”

Kusano has spent the last two years based in Britain and is now a familiar face at racecourses around Europe. While many in this part of the world look on with envy at the strength of the racing and breeding industry in Japan, he has learnt to appreciate elements of British racing. 

He says, “The beauty of it is that you have a lot of opportunities for every horse that's bred. You have 59 racecourses and a lot of handicap racing. If you look at it from the other side, as an owner, not all owners have great horses. But if you have a horse you are excited about it, whatever the horse's rating, and there is always a place for him to compete. So for that reason, I think the UK is an excellent place for giving lots of different horses and owners a chance to compete and be involved in the racing industry. That's what I have found fascinating, and it's what we do not have in Japanese racing.”

Kusano adds, “The culture, the history and the equality for racehorses and owners, that's what has interested me.”

Of the two tiers of racing in Japan, the elite JRA circuit is staged across 10 racecourses and incorporating all the major Group 1 contests. The JRA also operates the two training centres, Miho in the east of Japan, and Ritto in the west. Each has stabling for around 2,200 horses in training.  

The second tier of more regional racing is the National Association of Racing  (NAR), which is operated under the control of local governments in 14 areas and staged on dirt.

While obtaining an owner's licence for the JRA is subject to wealth and suitability checks, the rise of racing clubs has enabled a greater number of people to feel closer to the action. Silk Racing, which owns Equinox, Almond Eye and the dual G1 Hong Kong Vase winner Glory Vase (Jpn) among many others, has several hundred members involved in each horse. 

“The racing clubs have certainly helped to make more people interested in racing,” says Kusano. “In Equinox there were 500 syndicate members and they shared the cost. The syndicate system is very different in Japan as the syndicate members are not regarded as racehorse owners, they are regarded as investors. 

“But just visiting a yard, or being involved in a horse race, gives great joy to people. And that's the great advantage of horse racing. I think we need to all spend more effort promoting that special environment.”

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Championship races are not meant to be processions. Even legendary horses aren't supposed to be so superior to their contemporaries. While others bobbed and heaved with effort, Equinox arrived at the front in his races on the bridle, with Lemaire perched as if for a portrait painter. Then he would slip into a groove of precise, majestic speed, and kill the race.

Superiority on the scale Equinox displayed it contradicts everything we think about how competitive elite breeding and racing are. A Japan Cup or Dubai Sheema Classic is hard enough to win by half a length. But his wins in those races were outlandish.

Equinox's final outing before he was retired to stud bore a distinctly Japanese flavour: 85,000 spectators in Tokyo, a rolling surf of noise from the gate to the line, the local rituals of reverence and respect. But it would be wrong to call him merely Big in Japan. The safest measure of his status as the world's best racehorse was on the one occasion he left his country – then left everything else in the Sheema Classic for dead.

If you could take one Equinox victory to a desert island it would surely be the one in Dubai, which had the racecourse commentator calling him “the titan of the world's Turf.” The Sheema Classic was the highest expression of his brilliance. It added global fame to his notoriety in Japan and lustre to his stallion career in a country quietly building a bloodstock empire.

In Cheltenham Festival season, in March, the TV screen lit up with a performance of astonishing beauty. The Meydan replays never lose their power. On the turn into the stretch we see Equinox up the ante, and Mostahdaf, who has him in his sights, starts to run through tar. While he bobs and heaves under his jockey's urgings, Equinox merely organises himself into a smooth surge that takes him away from a top-class field.

The kind of horse that makes you want to tell non-racing
friends – stop what you're doing, and just watch this.

When a genius comes along in other sports we say they are playing a different game to everyone else. Equinox ran in different races – his own – much as Constitution Hill does in National Hunt racing. In the Sheema Classic, Lemaire merely nudges him down the reins into his full imperious velocity. Every sheikh in the house must have winced with envy.

Discarded in his wake that night were the subsequent Arc runner-up Westover, the Grosser Preis von Baden winner Zagrey and of course Mostahdaf, who won the Prince of Wales's Stakes and Juddmonte International. From that moment Equinox's admirers (and his owners) were on safe ground. Yes, the desire took hold to see him tackle the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, and confront Ace Impact; but that became a dream match-up only after Ace Impact had won so impressively, not before.

Nobody dodged Equinox on his final appearance. For a moment the doomed optimism of the 2022 Dubai Turf winner Panthalassa in blasting 10 lengths clear at the final turn made the race look like a test for Japan's champion. Nor was he alone in possessing a top-class cv. The Japanese fillies' Triple Crown winner Liberty Island made the first move on Panthalassa but Equinox swept past her as if she were a pensioner hurrying for a bus.

Even Lemaire was taken aback – hence the shake of the head as they pulled up. “When we got into the final straight, the horse just reacted to the point that even I was surprised,” he said. “His acceleration was incredible. He's truly a super horse, smart, powerful and gentle, like a pony.”

That nobility shines through. His dark bay coat and white blaze are other distinguishing features, along with his work ethic, his eagerness to quicken. It's this desire that most fascinates me about the best horses. They want to do it – though Equinox 'did it' so easily he left you bemused by the apparent lack of exertion.

Now his owners have decided he's exerted himself enough and will join his sire Kitasan Black at Shadai Stallion Station. It's our loss, but he is four years old, and has won six top races in a row.

Boxing reporters used to like tracking down the first or last fighter to beat a great champion, because the search often led to a nightclub doorman or shelf stacker. Do Deuce has the distinction of being the last horse to beat Equinox, in the 2022 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). Since then Do Deuce has finished 19^th in the Arc (42 lengths behind Alpinista) and eight and a half and five and three quarter lengths behind Equinox in the Tenno Shun (Autumn) and Japan Cup respectively (his record since his neck win over Equinox is one victory in five).

Do Deuce was merely good. Equinox turned out to be supernatural: not only big in Japan but monstrous in Meydan: the kind of horse that makes you want to tell non-racing friends – stop what you're doing, and just watch this.

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Fifth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after his Classic success, the colt missed Saturday's Champion S. with a raised temperature.

“But he's back fine, he's back cantering again, so the plan with him is to go to the Japan Cup,” said trainer Aidan O'Brien on Racing TV. 

“We were delighted with his run in the Arc. Ryan [Moore] took his time, like he always does with him, and the pace just went a little bit slow in the middle of the race and that was the way it was, but he came home very well.”

Moore is familiar with Tokyo racecourse and was aboard last year's Japan Cup winner Vela Azul (Jpn) (Eishin Flash {Jpn}) for trainer Kunihiko Watanabe. Continuous's sire ran in three consecutive Japan Cups and was beaten just a nose when second to the Luca Cumani-trained Alkaased in 2005.

O'Brien added, “It's a race we've never won and you need a good horse to win it, so it would be great if we could be competitive in it.

“It'll suit him all right, because he's a good traveller, he can handle fast and soft ground, it doesn't matter. He's got a great mind and he's got a lot of ability that horse – he's probably better than everyone thinks he is.”

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“We have decided not to sell him. We've had big offers from all over the world but we have decided to run him. It's a love story, it's an adventure and we will go this way,” Baumgarten told TDN on Wednesday morning. 

Fantastic Moon is trained in Munich by Sarah Steinberg, a rising star of the training ranks. Earlier this season she became the first female trainer of a Deutsches Derby winner after nothing her first Group 1 success the previous year in the Grosser Preis von Baden with Mendocino (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}).

Baumgarten continued, “It's only 18 days between his journey back to Munich after the Prix Niel and then back to Longchamp, and in our opinion that is too much for him. He loves to have a break of about six weeks between races and we believe that he will be a very good four-year-old.

“He's fit and well. He had a vet check today and we are very happy with him and we want to go to the big races next year. We want to create a sire. The Arc is a big, big race and it could be run on soft ground, nobody knows at the moment. He loves good ground, so the Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita and the Japan Cup, which is also considered, are safer when it comes to finding good ground.”

In a statement released by Liberty Racing, Sarah Steinberg said, “I am obviously very happy about this decision and very grateful. Fantastic Moon is a great horse who is still maturing and therefore he needs an appropriate break between races.”

Baumgarten's Classic success in Germany in 2023 has not been confined to his involvement with Fantastic Moon. He is the co-breeder of the G1 Preis der Diana winner Muskoka (Ger), who is also by Sea The Moon, and he retains a 25% share of the filly along with three partners. 

On Tuesday it was announced that Muskoka would be one of three German Classic winners to be auctioned at Arqana's Arc Sale on the eve of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, along with 2,000 Guineas winner Angers (Fr) (Seabhac) and last year's Derby winner Sammarco (Ire) (Camelot {GB}).

Baumgarten added, “We will sell Muskoka at the Arc Sale if the price is good. She has a nomination for the Prix de l'Opera on that weekend. I still have her mother and I have her sister.”

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It was a third Tenno Sho in four years for the Silk Racing partnership, whose Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) won it in 2019 and 2020.

Off at a generous 21-1, Panthalassa bounced well from his low gate, but had some surprising early company in the form of North Bridge (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), and that may have had a material impact on the race, as a keyed-up Panthalassa rumbled right along through early fractions of :23.5 and :46 for the opening 800 metres. Equinox, making his first start since just missing in the G1 Tokyo Yushun at this track in late May, settled kindly behind midfield and was content to allow the front-runner to do his thing, with no apparent panic from Christophe Lemaire.

Panthalassa led by the better part of 15 lengths as the Tenno Sho field hit the turn and carried that sort of advantage off the final corner, daring the market leaders to catch him if they could. Equinox was steered off the heels of Potager (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) at the 450m and began to progress, but still had around eight lengths to find entering the final furlong. Despite racing on his incorrect leg, Equinox gathered up Panthalassa late on, who gamely held for second ahead of Danon Beluga (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}). Equinox covered his final 600 metres in :32.7, a tenth of a second quicker than Danon Beluga. Jack d'Or (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) was a further neck back in fourth, while 2021 Derby hero and this year's G1 Dubai Sheema Classic winner Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was fifth in a useful prep for the G1 Longines Japan Cup Nov. 27.

“I'm happy that we were able to catch Panthalassa,” said Lemaire, winning his third Tenno Sho in four years and his 42nd Group 1 on the JRA circuit. “I saw him way in front of us after turning into the straight, the huge gap did worry me a bit, but my colt gave his best and displayed an incredible turn of foot. If he comes out of this race safe and well, he has every chance to do well in the Japan Cup or the Arima Kinen. This was his first Group 1 win but definitely not his last.”

Pedigree Notes:

Equinox is one of 54 winners to date for his second-crop sire and is his first top-level scorer. Kitasan Black, now responsible for three group winners following the victory of Ravel (Jpn) in Saturday's G3 Artemis S., is a son of Deep Impact's full-brother Black Tide (Jpn) and put together one of the great careers in recent memory.

Third to the late Duramente (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in the 2015 G1 Satsuki Sho, Kitasan Black won that year's G1 Kikuka Sho (3000m) before adding his first G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) over two miles the following May. Named Horse of the Year after closing his 4-year-old season with a score in the G1 Japan Cup (2400m), he added the G1 Osaka Hai (2000m), a successful defence of his title in the Tenno Sho (Spring) in his next appearance and this race nearly five years to the day of Equinox's win. Run in heavy ground in 2017, Kitasan Black clocked 2:08.3. He retired as a dual Horse of the Year following success in the G1 Arima Kinen with 12 wins–seven at Group 1 level–from 20 starts for earnings of $16.5 million.

Out of Silk Racing colourbearer Chateau Blanche, Equinox is a half-brother to the operation's Group 3 winner Weiss Meteor, a 2-year-old colt by Just a Way (Jpn) and a yearling filly by Kizuna (Jpn). She did not produce a foal in 2022. Equinox is the second Group 1 winner out of a daughter of Dancing Brave son King Halo (Jpn), joining Sprinters' S. hero Pixie Knight (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}).

WATCH: Equinox catches Panthalassa in the Tenno Sho

Sunday, Tokyo, Japan
TENNO SHO (AUTUMN)-G1, ¥384,500,000, Tokyo, 10-30, 3yo/up, 2000mT, 1:57.5, fm.
1–EQUINOX (JPN), 123, c, 3, by Kitasan Black (Jpn)
1st Dam: Chateau Blanche (Jpn) (GSW-Jpn, $1,096,970), by King Halo (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Blancherie (Jpn), by Tony Bin (Ire)
3rd Dam: Maison Blanche (Jpn), by Alleged
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm; T-Tetsuya Kimura; J-Christophe Lemaire; ¥203,150,000. Lifetime Record: 5-3-2-0, ¥403,242,000. *1/2 to Weiss Meteor (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), GSW-Jpn, $820,531. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
2–Panthalassa (Jpn), 128, h, 5, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)–Miss Pemberley (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire). O-Hiroo Race; B-Hidenori Kimura; ¥80,900,000.
3–Danon Beluga (Jpn), 123, c, 3, Heart's Cry (Jpn)–Coasted, by Tizway. (¥160,000,000 wnlg '19 JRHAJUL). O-Danox Inc; B-Northern Farm; ¥50,450,000.
Margins: 1, NK, HF. Odds: 1.60, 21.80, 6.30.
Also Ran: Jack d'Or (Jpn), Shahryar (Jpn), Karate (Jpn), Maria Elena (Jpn), Uberleben (Jpn), Geoglyph (Jpn), Ablaze (Jpn), North Bridge (Jpn), Cadenas (Jpn), Potager (Jpn), Red Galant (Jpn), Babbitt (Jpn). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Click for the JRA chart.

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The 3-year-old will be part of a three-pronged challenge from France to also include Simca Mille (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), just beaten in the Grand Prix de Paris and subsequent winner of the G2 Prix Niel on Arc Trial day Sept. 11; and Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), a meritorious five-lengths' fifth to Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in last year's Japan Cup whose major victory this year came in the G3 Prix Allez France Longines in May. Grand Glory is then slated for a return to the Arqana December Sale, where she sold for €2.5 million in 2021.

“It's a nice race to contest,” trainer Fabrice Chappet told Paris Turf. “The horse has returned from an Arc de Triomphe that was run in the circumstances that we all know. We will see him again on…ground that he appreciates. The race is late in the season, but he had a good break after the Arc. Next year, he won't come back until May, so it's possible to go there and try it.”

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The daughter of Madonna Lily (Ire) (Daylami {Ire}) belied odds of 23-1 to post a maiden Group 1 victory in last year's Darley Prix Jean Romanet and proved that effort was no fluke when just pipped by eventual €3-million December sales-topper Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}) in the G1 Prix de l'Opera ahead of a bold fifth-place effort behind Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Japan Cup.

Purchased at last year's December sale by agent Anne-Sophie Yoh on behalf of owner Xavier Marie's Haras de Hus, Grand Glory has trained on nicely this season at six, topped by a popular success in the G3 Prix Allez France at ParisLongchamp in May. A sound third to State of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in the G1 Prince of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot in June, Grand Glory was fourth in the G1 Prix Vermeille Sept. 11 and a latest fifth to Alpinista (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Oct. 2 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. She is currently being prepared for a return engagement in the Japan Cup at the end of November.

“In the beginning, Mr. Marie wished to start breeding, so we bought mares with exceptional pedigrees, including Grand Glory,” explained Yoh. “However, this purchase also enabled him to discover more about life as an owner, and he has enjoyed it so much that he has decided to concentrate on this. For this reason, Grand Glory will go under the hammer as a broodmare prospect. She will be offered by [her trainer] Gianluca Bietolini and his team, which seems a fitting next step for this incredible mare.”

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“The Breeders' Cup [Turf] is after the Arc, so basically the Arc is next on the agenda and once you've won that race, you have a free entry to the Japan Cup, same as the Breeders' Cup, same as Hong Kong,” said Muir. “We can't do them all. It is impossible to do everything.”

A firm decision on where the 5-year-old entire goes after France will be made by Muir, his co-trainer Chris Grassick, injured regular jockey Martin Dwyer, and Pyledriver's owners.

Muir said, “The three owners and me, and definitely Martin–even though he is not riding, he is a big part of this horse's journey–will decide where we go after the Arc. The Breeders' Cup is possible. We will have a meeting and discuss which way we go, but the Arc is next.”

Ridden by PJ McDonald on Saturday, Pyledriver pleased Muir on Sunday morning.

Muir added, “He is grand, really good this morning. He has come out of the race well, he is very happy. I was out with him about 5 a.m. this morning and he is fine.”

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Breaking well from the second most inner stall, Contrail was settled under Fukunaga in mid-pack and two-wide, while Kiseki made rapid headway in the backstretch from the rear, taking over the front at the third corner, extending his lead by six to seven lengths. By the time the field hit the top of the straight, the brown colt had shifted to the outside with clear running room in front of him and displayed his trademark explosive kick, shaking off Shahryar after a brief rally at the furlong pole then turned up an extra gear to easily put away Authority 100 meters out for a convincing two-length win.

“All I have now is mixed feelings of relief and lonesomeness,” said trainer Yoshito Yahagi. “In the colt's latest start (Tenno Sho (Autumn)), he broke poorly so I told him, while he was walking in the paddock earlier, to stay calm at the start. It worried me a bit since the pace was slow and he wasn't in that good a position, but we had tuned him up to perfection and the colt gave us all he had in the straight. I have to admit I was under a lot of pressure during the two years he was at my stable, but I think it has helped me in becoming more mature, and I can't thank him enough. Wouldn't it be wonderful to win the Arc with an offspring of his someday?”

“The colt had issues before his debut, so there were always concerns about his form, but I am so proud of how he proved himself today—I'm overwhelmed,” commented jockey Yuichi Fukunaga after the race. “All I did today was believe in him. He broke well and everything went just perfectly. He has given me every jockey's dream and I am utterly grateful. The colt shone a bright light over a gloomy year due to the pandemic last season. I'm relieved that we can send him off to his next career with this victory.”

Posted third favorite, 4-year-old Authority sat in fourth behind Shadow Diva, turned wide into the lane while passing Wagnerian and ran strongly, inheriting the lead from the tiredpacesetter300 meters out, but was gunned down in the last half furlong by the eventual winner for second.

Second favored 3-year-old colt Shahryar ran in fifth down the backstretch, entered the straight right behind Authority and in front of Contrail, ran willingly up the hill but was checked when rallying with the closing winner and had nothing left to tag the runner-up, finishing 1-1/2-lengths behind Authority in third.

French raider Grand Glory was the top finisher among the three foreign contingents. Unhurried after the break, the Olympic Glory mare saved ground along the rails in mid-division in ninth or tenth position. Angling out off the rails coming into the final turn, Grand Glory exerted an impressive turn of speed going up the long uphill stretch and geared up further from the 200-meter marker to make ground and finish fifth, five-lengths from the winner.

“I am very satisfied with her performance and her result at fifth-place. She appeared to lose a bit of balance and lean to the inside but thankfully Cristian got her back on her feet by the stretch. She's mentally very strong and the experience to run in the Japan Cup was fantastic for us. It's a great race and we would love to come back with another horse,” commented trainer Gianluca Bietolini.

“We couldn't have asked for a better result—having finished fifth in this competition is almost like winning for us. She was in super form, almost as good as when I rode her in the Prix Jean Romanet—which we won. The pace was very fast for this mare, but she handled it remarkably,” commented Cristian Demuro.

Japan broke sharply from an outside stall but was eased back to mid-field, choosing to move to the inside to save ground behind Grand Glory. Angled out at early stretch for a clear run, the Galileo horse attempted to make his bid with the eventual winner in view but was unable to cause a serious threat but held on for eighth.

“The track may have been a bit too fast for this horse. He was able to secure a good spot but wasn't able to keep up with the pace,” commented Patrick Keating.

Broome was slow out of the gate and gradually worked his way up to mid-division along the backstretch outside Grand Glory, but struggled to find another gear with 400 meters to go and even paced to finish 11th.

“He missed his break and that cost him,” said Patrick Keating. “He missed his break. The pace was slow but he wasn't able to pick up speed in the end,” added Ryan Moore.

Other Horses:
4th: (12) Sanrei Pocket—sat in front of winner, angled out, showed effort although unable to threaten top finishers while besting the rest
6th: (14) Uberleben—raced near winner, struggled to find clear path at early stretch, showed 2nd fastest late speed, belatedly
7th: (11) Shadow Diva—chased leaders in third, remained in contention until 100m out, weakened
9th: (9) Aristoteles—disputed lead and made pace, opening gap to 4 to 5 lengths, gave way to Kiseki while keeping second position, unable to sustain bid and overtaken
10th: (5) Kiseki—held back after break, headway along backstretch, led rounding 3rd corner and pulled away to open gap to 6 lengths, soon used up and outrun by foes at furlong pole
12th: (16) You Can Smile—further back than mid-division early, weakened after uphill stretch
13th: (13) Mozu Bello—near rear, raced wide throughout and unable to make up ground
14h: (15) Makahiki—raced second from last, unable to reach contention
15h: (10) Lord My Way—broke a fraction slow and raced behind, unable to make ground from wide turn
16th: (1) Muito Obrigado—trailed in rear, never a factor
17th: (8) Windjammer—mid-division early, even paced and outrun in last furlong
18h: (17) Wagnerian—broke sharply and tracked leader in 2nd, tired and faded

The post Triple Crown Winner Contrail Bows Out With Japan Cup Triumph appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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After losing his unbeaten record in this race last year when he found only the champion filly Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) too tough, Contrail was third over yielding ground coming off a winter break in the G1 Osaka Hai on Apr. 4. Put away until Oct. 31, the dark bay resurfaced with a second-place finish in the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn over 2000 metres at Tokyo.

Breaking among the leaders from gate two, Contrail was allowed to drop back through the field on the inside as they passed the stands for the first time. A rank Aristoteles (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) took the field around the first bend, with Contrail eventually settling right around midpack with this year's G1 Prix Jean Romanet victress Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), one of three international raiders, tracking him with Aidan O'Brien's Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) both keeping close tabs on her.

Midway down the backstretch the 2017 G1 Kikuka Sho winner Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn})-who has not won a race since-made a bold bid to pass the majority of the field on the outside to take the lead on the run into the final bend. Contrail, meanwhile, maintained his placing under Yuichi Fukunaga while working his way to the outside for running room coming off the turn. Contrail had about six lengths to make up upon straightening but was soon rolling down the middle of the course as Authority (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) grabbed a short-lived lead from the tiring Kiseki approaching the 200. Authority's quest for a first Group 1 win was soon quelled by Contrail, who blew past under minimal urging with a furlong to run and drew clear to win by a widening two lengths. This year's G1 Tokyo Yushun scorer Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) got up for third, with Grand Glory staying on for fifth as she bowed out ahead of a sale date at Arqana December next weekend. Japan and Broome checked in eighth and 11th, respectively, under Yutaka Take and Ryan Moore. Japan was likewise running his last race before he heads to stud at Gestut Etzean in Germany.

Contrail's trainer Yoshito Yahagi said after seeing his stable star cross the wire for the final time, “All I have now is mixed feelings of relief and lonesomeness. In the colt's latest start [the Tenno Sho Autumn], he broke poorly so I told him while he was walking in the paddock earlier to stay calm at the start.

“It worried me a bit since the pace was slow and he wasn't in that good a position, but we had tuned him up to perfection and the colt gave us all he had in the straight. I have to admit I was under a lot of pressure during the two years he was at my stable, but I think it has helped me in becoming more mature, and I can't thank him enough. Wouldn't it be wonderful to win the Arc with an offspring of his someday?”

Fukunaga added, “All I did today was believe in him. He broke well and everything went just perfectly. He has given me every jockey's dream and I am utterly grateful. The colt shone a bright light over a gloomy year due to the pandemic last season. I'm relieved that we can send him off to his next career with this victory.”

Contrail was bringing to a close a distinguished career that began with victories at two in the G1 Hopeful S. and G3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai S. Named Japan's champion 2-year-old off an unbeaten three-start campaign, Contrail picked up where he left off at three, rolling through the Japanese Triple Crown and also taking the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai to once again earn divisional honours.

Grand Glory's trainer Gianluca Bietolini said of his mare's fifth-place finish, “I am very satisfied with her performance and her result at fifth-place. She appeared to lose a bit of balance and lean to the inside but thankfully Cristian [Demuro] got her back on her feet by the stretch. She's mentally very strong and the experience to run in the Japan Cup was fantastic for us. It's a great race and we would love to come back with another horse.” Grand Glory's rider Cristian Demuro added, “We couldn't have asked for a better result–having finished fifth in this competition is almost like winning for us. She was in super form, almost as good as when I rode her in the Prix Jean Romanet, which we won. The pace was very fast for this mare, but she handled it remarkably.”

Aidan O'Brien was represented in Tokyo by Pat Keating, who said of Japan, “The track may have been a bit too fast for this horse. He was able to secure a good spot but wasn't able to keep up with the pace.” Of Broome, he added, “He missed his break and that cost him.”

Pedigree Notes

Shinji Maeda's Contrail is the third foal out of Rhodochrosite (Unbridled's Song), who was bought by Maeda's brother Koji of North Hills Farms for $385,000 at Keeneland September in 2011. The daughter of American champion 2-year-old filly Folklore (Tiznow) was placed four times at two, and has a 2-year-old full-brother to Contrail who has run twice this year.

Contrail's page has been further boosted this season by the exploits across the pond of GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. winner Essential Quality (Tapit), who is out of Folklore's half-sister Delightful Quality. Essential Quality was America's champion 2-year-old of 2020 and goes to stud in 2021 as a four-time Grade I winners with the likelihood of picking up another divisional championship first.

Sunday, Tokyo, Japan
JAPAN CUP-G1, ¥575,460,000, Tokyo, 11-28, 3yo/up, 2400mT, 2:24.70, fm.
1–CONTRAIL (JPN), 126, c, 4, by Deep Impact (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Rhodochrosite, by Unbridled's Song
                2nd Dam: Folklore, by Tiznow
                3rd Dam: Contrive, by Storm Cat
O-Shinji Maeda; B-North Hills; T-Yoshito Yahagi; J-Yuichi
Fukunaga; ¥303,822,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo & 3yo Colt-
Jpn, 11-8-2-1. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for
   the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Authority (Jpn), 126, c, 4, Orfevre (Jpn)–Rosalind (Jpn), by
Symboli Kris S. O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm; ¥121,092,000.
3–Shahryar (Jpn), 121, c, 3, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Dubai Majesty,
by Essence of Dubai. O-Sunday Racing; B-Northern Farm;
¥75,546,000.
Margins: 2, 1HF, 3/4. Odds: 0.60, 6.10, 2.70.
Also Ran: Sanrei Pocket (Jpn), Grand Glory (GB), Uberleben (Jpn), Shadow Diva (Jpn), Japan (GB), Aristoteles (Jpn), Kiseki (Jpn), Broome (Ire), You Can Smile (Jpn), Mozu Bello (Jpn), Makahiki (Jpn), Lord My Way (Jpn), Muito Obrigado (Jpn), Windjammer (Jpn), Wagnerian (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart and video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

The post Contrail Goes Out On A High In Japan Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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