Champions Cup Preview: Chukyo Racecourse's Premier Event

After a thrilling 2025 Japan Cup, won by Calandagan on November 30, the final leg of the Japan Autumn International Series of races will be held on Sunday, December 7. The Grade 1 Champions Cup will be staged at Chukyo Racecourse, just outside the city of Nagoya.

It is the dirt version of the Japan Cup. Formerly known as the Japan Cup Dirt, it was first run in the year 2000 at Tokyo over 2,100 meters, and the inaugural race was won by Wing Arrow. The race was held at Tokyo until 2007, with the exception of 2002, when it was run at Nakayama Racecourse. After that, it was shifted to Hanshin Racecourse in 2008, and contested over 1,800 meters. 

The race's varied history meant there was another switch to Chukyo in 2014, the year that it was also renamed the Champions Cup. And that's where it's been run ever since, with the distance remaining at 1,800 meters. It is just over a circuit of the left-handed dirt course at Chukyo, meaning there are four corners for the runners to take on, with dexterity being one of the keys to the race.

It's always been open to international runners, and there have been 29 of them in the history of the race so far. Fleetstreet Dancer's win in 2003 has been the only overseas winner to date. America's Pavel was the last foreign runner, and the 4-year-old colt finished 15th in 2018. There were nine nominations from overseas runners this year, including Mystik Dan, the 2024 Kentucky Derby winner, but unfortunately none will make the trip to Japan.

Information on the Champions Cup

The Champions Cup is one of just two top-level JRA dirt races (the other being the February Stakes), and is for 3-year-olds and up. There have been 24 nominations for a maximum field size of 16, so there's plenty of competition for a berth in the race. Prize money levels will mostly determe which horses will get a start. 

There's only a one-kilogram difference between the weight carried by 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds and above (57 kg and 58 kg, respectively), with a 2-kg allowance for fillies and mares. 

Record time for the race is held by Chrysoberyl, who won in a time of 1 minute, 48.5 seconds in 2019, and was also the last 3-year-old winner. 

In the last 10 years, four first favorites have won the race, and 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds have shared the honors in that same time period, with three wins apiece. Sound True was the last gelding to win, back in 2016. The only filly or mare ever to win the race was the 6-year-old Sambista in 2015. 

This year's winner's purse is ¥120 million JPY (about $780,000 USD).

Two lead-up races to Sunday's Grade 1 Champions Cup were the Miyako Stakes, run at Kyoto over 1,800 meters, and the Musashino Stakes, run at Tokyo over a mile. Both of these are Grade 3 races and were run in November.

Post time for the race is 3:40 PM, and it is Race 11 on the Chukyo card.

Here's a look at some of the runners expected to take on the 26th running of the Grade 1 Champions Cup:

W Heart Bond, Jockey Sakai Team Up for Champions Cup 

W Heart Bond, a 4-year-old Kizuna-sired filly, is proving to be quite something, with six wins from her seven career starts, and always finishing in the first two. All her races have been on dirt, and she's coming off a good win in the Grade 3 Miyako Stakes over 1,800 meters at Kyoto in November. 

"She quickly got a forward position last time, and managed to fend off the second horse and win in record time, so it was an impressive performance," trainer Ryuji Okubo said.

The trainer added, "She's been at the stable since, and as she seemed a bit tired after that race, we've taken good care of her." 

Jockey Ryusei Sakai is looking for a hat trick of wins in the Grade 1 Champions Cup, after winning the last two years with the outstanding Lemon Pop, and will surely be doing his best to make W Heart Bond just the second filly or mare to win the race.

Narukami Has Enjoyed Success on Dirt

Another horse that's been stringing together a number of wins is Narukami, a 3-year-old colt. He's won his last four races on dirt, ranging in distance from 1,700 to 2,000 meters. The Darley Japan home-bred is by Thunder Snow, and has only been unplaced once in his six career races to date. 

"He's always a bit flighty in the first week after returning from the farm, but gradually he becomes more relaxed," assistant trainer Hiroyuki Yamazaki said. "Since the Kozukata Sho [on September 2], he's been a bit tense when taking the bit and racing well forward, and we want him to be more balanced, but he's been running well in recent training." 

Jockey Keita Tosaki has struck up a good partnership with him and is expected to take the ride again on Sunday.

Meisho Hario Brings a Wealth of Experience

Eight-year-old Meisho Hario has been around for quite a while on Japan's dirt racing scene. But he is still very capable when it comes to these big races. In 2025, he finished sixth in the Grade 1 February Stakes, and most recently was second to Mikki Fight in the JBC Classic over 1,800 meters at Funabashi Racecourse in November. 

"The winner last time is a strong horse," said assistant trainer Atsushi Obayashi. "Having said that, Meisho Hario ran a good race. In the backstretch, things looked good, and he put in a better performance than we expected. He improves for a race and there's a good feeling about him now." 

Jockey Yutaka Take, who's won the Champions Cup four times, will fill in for the injured Suguru Hamanaka.

Read the rest of this article about the Champions Cup and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.

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Author: JRA News