The five horses from abroad led by Conduit for the 29th Japan Cup on November 29th present a formidable proposition for the host country, but the quality of this year’s group of Japanese horses is top notch - arguably the best ever the race has seen.
There are nine Grade 1 winners in the Japanese camp, among them cup holder Screen Hero, Tenno Sho (Spring) winner Meiner Kitz, 2009 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) champion Logi Universe and Vodka, winner of six races at the top level. Who will take home the winner’s check of 250 million yen is shaping up to be anyone’s guess.
The following are the big names set to appear for the host nation:
Asakusa Kings: Time is running out for the 2007 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) champion to reestablish himself as a Grade 1 winner. Asakusa Kings finished 18th out of 18 in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) after falling behind early, and for a horse whose style is to be near the lead, the lag proved fatal. The 5-year-old son of White Muzzle started 2009 well, winning a pair of Grade 2 races – the Kyoto Kinen and Hanshin Daishoten – back-to-back. But in the spring version of the Tenno Sho, he was ninth and didn’t run again until the fall version of the race. The distance of the Japan Cup should work to his favor, and the new partnership with jockey Yasunari Iwata – Hirofumi Shii chose to ride 3-year-old filly Red Desire – is very intriguing. Yet despite some positives and for all his past success, Asakusa Kings will need a good showing here to retain his status as among the elites of Japanese racing.
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Cosmo Bulk: The 8-year-old Cosmo Bulk hasn’t finished in the moneys in the JRA since March 29, 2008, when he came in fourth in the Grade 2 Nikkei Sho. But one has to hand it to the pride of Hokkaido local racing who will be running in the Japan Cup for the sixth consecutive year, and will appear in his 25th race at the top level, domestic and abroad. He will be reunited with Fuyuki Igarashi after more than three years, the locally-based jockey who rode Cosmo Bulk in his first JRA start back in November 2003 and in the 2006 Singapore Airlines International Cup, the horse’s only Grade 1 title to date. In his previous race, nevertheless, Cosmo Bulk finished 14th in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) as the last choice and any improvement on that this weekend would have to be considered a success for the fading star.
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Eishin Deputy: Set to begin his stud career after the season, the 2008 Takarazuka Kinen champion is anxious to win one more Grade 1 title before calling it a career. The Japan Cup will be Eishin Deputy’s third race back from a ligament injury that sidelined the 7-year-old for a year and three months, and the crew at Akira Nomoto’s stable believes he is finally nearing his form of 2008. Under Keita Tosaki from the local racing circuit, Eishin Deputy set a slow pace in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) before fading on the final straight to finish ninth. The ownership had plans for him to travel to Hong Kong, but opted to go out on Japanese soil with the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen. The French Deputy son has never raced at 2,400 meters in 29 starts, but if he is indeed approaching last year’s condition, Eishin Deputy cannot be dismissed as any retiring horse looking for a little attention on his way out.
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Logi Universe: Fans and critics alike have long been waiting for the return of this year’s Japanese Derby winner, and they will finally see him back on the turf in the Japan Cup. But the question is, in what kind of form will they see him? When the colt steps out on Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday, it will have been close to six months since Logi Universe’s last race, which was the May 31st Tokyo Yushun, held in the worst going for a Derby in 40 years. Trainer Kiyoshi Hagiwara thought about the 2,500-meter Copa Republica Argentina, but in the end pulled him out with the idea of channeling all of his unspent energy into the Japan Cup, which will be held at the same distance and track as the Derby. Apart from the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) in which he inexplicably flamed out at 14th, the Neo Universe son has won five of six starts in comfortable fashion, and with the two-kilogram allowance for 3-year-olds, one has to like his chances even as he takes on the older horses for the first time. Not since Jungle Pocket in 2001 has the Derby champion won the Japan Cup in the same year. But under the red-hot Norihiro Yokoyama, Logi Universe offers more hope than pessimism in one of the strongest fields since the turn of the century.
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Meiner Kitz: It’s hard to fathom the reigning Tenno Sho (Spring) champion not being a top five pick in the Japan Cup, but that’s probably what will happen on Sunday in this star-studded field. The 6-year-old Meiner Kitz lifted the Emperor’s Cup as the 12th choice back in May, but was seventh in the Takarazuka Kinen and launched the autumn campaign with another seventh-place finish in the Grade 2 Kyoto Daishoten under 59 kilograms. The Tokyo 2,400 meters and a lighter load should boost the son of Chief Bearhart’s chances, but Meiner Kitz will need a good performance in the Japan Cup before he begins developing a reputation as a flash in the pan.
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Oken Bruce Lee: Oken Bruce Lee’s stock is rising fast after two strong starts this fall, victory in the Kyoto Daishoten and fourth place in the Tenno Sho (Autumn). The 2008 Kikuka Sho winner ran just once in the spring, the Hanshin Daishoten, but traveling 3,000 meters on mud took a toll on the 4-year-old’s hips, forcing trainer Hidetaka Otonashi to pack the colt in until the autumn. And given Oken Bruce Lee’s form in his last two races, Otonashi is looking like a very wise man. The terms of the Japan Cup will certainly be to the horse’s liking, and leading jockey Hiroyuki Uchida has been tremendously confident about his chances on Sunday. In Oken Bruce Lee, Otonashi just may have found his successor to the retired Company as the stable’s flagbearer.
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Reach the Crown: There was talk of trainer Kojiro Hashiguchi’s prized colt entering the Mile Championship, but owner Hiroyoshi Usuda wanted to go after bigger fish. From Hashiguchi to jockey Yutaka Take, everyone is wooed by the potential of the 3-year-old Reach the Crown, by Special Week out of Crownpiece. But the youngster still lacks the temperament to get the most of his talent and as a result, the performance varies from race to race. Reach the Crown ran himself out early in the Satsuki Sho and ended up 13th, but in his next race, the Tokyo Yushun, he showed tremendous poise to finish runnerup to Logi Universe. Which Reach the Crown will show up in the Japan Cup remains to be seen, but a lot will come down in the hands of Take, who must figure out a way to settle the frontrunner.
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Red Desire: The newly crowned Shuka Sho champion could be the most tantalizing pick of the 29th Japan Cup with three wins from six starts, never below second. Former star jockey-turned trainer Mikio Matsunaga decided to test her against the big boys here, rather than pit the filly in a rematch versus rival Buena Vista in the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup. Red Desire finally got the better of Buena Vista in the Shuka Sho on Oct. 18, after narrow defeats to Katsumi Ando’s mount in both the Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks). It was her performance in the Oaks – also held at Tokyo over 2,400 meters – that convinced Matsunaga Red Desire was fit to take a shot at the Japan Cup. While she remains untested against the older horses, the sky seems to be the limit for the Shadai-bred daughter of Manhattan Cafe, and given her four-kilogram allowance, hope floats for Red Desire.
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Screen Hero: Just when people started to think his victory in last year’s Japan Cup was a fluke, Screen Hero nearly steals the show in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), finishing runnerup to Company in his first race since the Takarazuka Kinen. Clearly, the Yuichi Shikato-trained 5-year-old by Grass Wonder likes running at Fuchu, where he has won twice and placed twice in eight starts. Shikato says the horse has improved considerably since the last race, and may continue to sport a blinker which he wore for the first time in the Tenno Sho. And a reunion with Italian rider Mirco Demuro, who rode Screen Hero to victory in the Japan Cup last year, could complete his return to the winner’s circle.
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Vodka: Two races without a win this fall for the 5-year-old superstar have led to a switch in riders, from Yutaka Take, who had been trainer Katsuhiko Sumii’s first choice since the Dubai Duty Free last year, to the outstanding Christophe Lemaire. In what may or may not be Vodka’s final run, Lemaire will have the tough task of trying to settle the mare during a journey of 2,400 meters, a distance she has not won at since her historic victory in the Japanese Derby two years ago. Vodka was the overwhelming favorite in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), a race she won in record time last year over Daiwa Scarlet, but settled for third after leaving it too late to try to catch Company. Sumii even pondered retiring her, but perhaps a fresh start with Lemaire is just what she needs to get back on the winning track. On her best day, Vodka can be the best horse in the country. Sumii is hoping that day will be Sunday.