The 45th running of the Grade 1 Japan Cup will be held at Tokyo Racecourse, where races are run counter-clockwise, on Sunday, November 30.
In this 2,400-meter turf event, there's a winner's prize of ¥500 million JPY (about $3.2 million USD) and a total purse more than double that amount.
The invitational, once an international gala with nearly half the field comprised of horses having flown in from abroad, in recent years has seen the number of foreign raiders drop as low as zero. This year, only one runner from overseas will be in the gate. But, it's a doozy ― Calandagan ― just crowned Horse of the Year at the Cartier Racing Awards ceremony in London.
Calandagan, a three-time G1 winner, will vie alongside 17 Japanese horses, a strong showing that includes three Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) winners, and altogether seven Grade 1 winners. The dead-heat runners-up in the 2024 Japan Cup ― Shin Emperor and Durezza ― are back again for another try.
Keep an Eye on a Dynamic Trio
Sunday's race is headlined by a trio including two 3-year-olds, the 2025 Japanese Derby winner Croix du Nord and Tenno Sho (Autumn) champion Masquerade Ball, along with the 4-year-old 2024 Japanese Derby winner Danon Decile, who also triumphed at the 2025 Dubai Sheema Classic.
It's been 19 years since the victor's bounty left Japan. That was when the UK-based Alkaased won under Frankie Dettori and bettered the longstanding Japan Cup record set by Horlicks in 1989. The big question is, can Calandagan land the lode of gold?
Though Calandagan may have a hard time being boosted to race favorite on Sunday, the race itself does favor the favorite. Over the past 10 years, the No 1 pick has won the race six times, finished second once, and finished in third place twice.
Info on the 2025 Japan Cup
Tokyo Racecourse is known for its spaciousness, long homestretch, and the long upward slope beginning soon after the final bend. The Japan Cup race starts in front of the grandstand and completes just over one lap around. Horses will carry 58 kg, except for the two 3-year-old colts (Masquerade Ball and Croix du Nord) and one mare (Brede Weg), who will carry 56 kg.
On Sunday, the race's speed is expected to come from any of three strong possibilities, including last year's frontrunner Shin Emperor. The other two are Sunrise Earth, who most recently went to the front in the October 5 Kyoto Daishoten (G2, 2,400 meters), but was caught less than 200 meters out by Deep Monster and finished second. Then there's Ho O Biscuits, who led in the Grade 2 Mainichi Okan (1,800 meters, Tokyo) last time out but also finished in second place, missing the top by half a length.
The Japan Cup was won three times wire-to-wire ― Katsuragi Ace in 1984, Tap Dance City in 2003 and Kitasan Black in 2016.
Like in 2024, the Japan Cup will once again have a post time of 3:40 PM. But the race will be, not the usual 11th, but the 12th and final race on the Tokyo Sunday card.
The following horses are expected to be the popular choices on Sunday.
Calandagan Brings Impressive Credentials from Europe
Calandagan, the fourth horse bred by the Aga Khan Studs to be named Horse of the Year by Cartier, is trained by the France-based Francis-Henri Graffard. In his 13 career starts (all but three at the graded level), the 4-year-old gelding has never finished out of the top three. And he's dropping in to Tokyo on a G1 hat trick.
In 2025, the son of Gleneagles won both the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Champion Stakes to become only the second horse to claim both events in the same season. He also won the top-level Grand Prix de Saint Cloud in France.
Calandagan arrived at Narita Airport accompanied by his travel mate Le Nomade on November 20, and the pair was immediately transferred to the international stables at Tokyo Racecourse.
"It took us 27 hours to get here from our stables via Frankfurt, and the horse's condition is no different from when he was at home," said groom and rider Jeremy Lobel.
Calandagan is said to be training calmly with his stablemate, quickly acclimatizing to the new environment, eating well, and maintaining his weight. If Calandagan can win on Sunday, he will be only the second France-based horse to do so, and the first since Le Glorieux in 1987.
Masquerade Ball Chasing More Glory in Tokyo
Second in the ratings among Japan-based horses with 121 points, Masquerade Ball returned to the track following his second-place finish to Croix du Nord in the Japanese Derby to clinch the Tenno Sho (Autumn) on November 2. It was his first top-level victory after three previous attempts.
Racing in the Tenno Sho under new partner Christophe Lemaire, a master of timing, particularly over the Tokyo straight, the Duramente 4-year-old broke sharply and prevailed despite the drop in pace down the backstretch. Lemaire later admitted he had been worried at the time, thinking the colt may not have the turn of foot needed for the final drive. Masquerade Ball came through, topping Grade 1 Satsuki Sho winner Museum Mile by 3/4 length for the win. His four wins from seven starts have all come over left-handed tracks, three of them at Tokyo, and all at 1,800-2,000 meters.
The extra two furlongs could be a concern, though trainer Takahisa Tezuka, who has yet to win the Japan Cup, thinks otherwise.
"I don't believe the race conditions pose any problems, but there is little time between races, so the horse's mental state does concern me somewhat," Tezuka said. "I'll be paying close attention to that during his preparation."
The last three Tenno Sho (Autumn) winners to follow that race with the Japan Cup have all won: Almond Eye in 2020, Equinox in 2023 and Do Deuce last year.
Lemaire is expected up.
Croix du Nord Seeks Return to Winning Ways
On a par with one of the biggest threats to Masquerade Ball is the Kitasan Black colt Croix du Nord. Back from an unfortunate result in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris, this stunning black colt has claimed two G1s at home, the Hopeful Stakes for 2-year-olds in December 2024 and the Japanese Derby this spring.
Croix de Nord also ran second in the classic Satsuki Sho and had won his Arc prep only two weeks earlier, the G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange at Longchamp on September 14. He encountered heavy ground for the first time in both races. With little or no rain in sight in the days leading up to the Japan Cup, Croix du Nord should pose a real threat.
That said, it's a tough rotation for a 3-year-old, even one that handled with aplomb 2 kg more in the Prince d'Orange than he'll carry in the Japan Cup.
Trainer Takashi Saito said, "He had a tough run in the Arc, with the outside draw and, not being able to move inside, he was pulling at the bit. The horse he'd beat in the prep won, so I don't think the loss was due to a lack of ability."
Read the rest of this article about the Japan Cup and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.
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Author: JRA News
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