Horse Racing

Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes Preview: A Tough Test for 2-Year-Olds

Recent big-name winners of the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes have included Do Deuce (2021) and Jantar Mantar (2023). The race was first contested in 1949.

by
JRA News
December 20, 2025

It's the 2-year-old colts' time in the spotlight on Sunday, December 21 in the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. This race follows the Grade 1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, which was held on the previous Sunday, December 14.

The Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes continues the watch on Japan's latest thoroughbred stars in the making, when it runs at Hanshin Racecourse over 1,600 meters on the outer turf course. It's the same distance as the previous week's Hanshin Juvenile Fillies.

First run back in 1949 at Nakayama over 1,100 meters, it was then known as the Asahi Hai Sansai Stakes. The distance was changed to 1,200 meters in 1959, and it was finally extended to 1,600 meters ― the distance of the race today ― in 1962. It became a Grade 1 race in1984 and got its current name in 2001. Runners from overseas were permitted in 2010, and the switch to Hanshin came in 2014. The race returns to Hanshin this year, after renovations at the track in 2024 meant the race was run at Kyoto.

No geldings are allowed to run in the race, and all colts will carry the set weight of 56 kg. There is also a 1-kg allowance for any fillies that connections decide to run.

The race is aimed at horses that look suited to a mile, followed by the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes on December 27 set up for runners expected to stay over the distance of that race at Nakayama, which is 2,000 meters. It's the same course and distance as the Grade 1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas).

Info on the 2025 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes

The 77th running of the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes has attracted 18 nominations for a maximum 18-runner lineup. It's a tough race for the youngsters, with the rise in the homestraight just before the winning post.

Recent big-name winners of the race have included Do Deuce (2021) and Jantar Mantar (2023). Just three first favorites have won in the past 10 years (Jantar Mantar was the last one), and Grenadier Guards holds the record for the race at Hanshin, when he won in a time of 1 minute 32.3 seconds in 2020.

Jockey Yuga Kawada has won the race four times in the last decade, and runners trained in Ritto, Shiga Prefecture, certainly have the upper hand, with eight wins in that same time period. Sunday's winner's check is ¥70 million JPY (nearly $450,000 USD).

Many of the runners in the 2025 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes are coming off appearances in various graded races for 2-year-olds, run at Tokyo, Kyoto and Niigata in the past few months.

Sunday's big race will be race 11 on the Hanshin card, with a post time of 3:40 PM.

Here's a look at some of the up-and-coming colts expected to feature in the race:

Trainer Tomomichi Seeks 4th Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes Win

The unbeaten Real Steel progeny Admire Quads is trained by Yasuo Tomomichi, who has already won the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes three times, including in 2024 with Admire Zoom. Admire Quads won his debut race at Tokyo over a mile in October. He followed that up with an impressive win in record time in the Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes, run over a mile at Kyoto in November.

Since then, he's had a refreshing break at the farm. The colt worked on the woodchip course at Ritto over six furlongs with two other horses on December 11, clocking 11.2 seconds for the final furlong.

Jockey Ryusei Sakai has struck up a good partnership with him, and thinks Admire Quads has improved since his second race.

Realize Sirius Exhibits a Big Stride

Also unbeaten in two starts, the Poetic Flare-sired Realize Sirius triumphed in his first start at Tokyo over a mile in June. After that, he ran as the easy winner of the Grade 3 Niigata Nisai Stakes over a mile in August. He's ridden up with the pace in both his starts.

Jockey Akihide Tsumura sat aboard Realize Sirius in his two easy victories so far, and retains the ride on the colt.

"He seemed a bit heavy, possibly due to the ground, but he's better for a recent piece of work, and is more relaxed now," Tsumura said.

The jockey added, "He has a nice big stride. One [key] thing will be how he handles the gate to get into a good rhythm."

Unbeaten Ecoro Alba Going for 3rd Straight Win

Ecoro Alba's ¥77 million ($491,000) price tag at the 2025 Chiba Thoroughbred Sale is starting to look like it could have been a bargain, with the son of Mozu Ascot scoring two wins from his two career races. He won a newcomer race at Niigata over 1,400 meters in July. Then he proceeded to win the Grade 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup over a mile at Tokyo in October.

In both his wins, Ecoro Alba recorded the fastest final three-furlong times. He is trained at Ibaraki Prefecture's Miho Training Center by Yasuhito Tamura.

On Sunday, jockey Kohei Matsuyama will ride the colt for the first time.

"He's moving well, and his reactions are better now than at the time of the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup," Tamura said recently. "It'll be interesting to watch him run in this next race."

Read the rest of this article about the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.

Author: JRA News