Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) Preview: A 3,000-Meter Test of Endurance

The final colts' Classic of the year will be run on Sunday, October 22, when the Kikuka Sho, which is modeled on the oldest Classic race in the world, the English St Leger, will return to Kyoto Racecourse after the track's reopening this spring. 

It is run over 3,000 meters on the outer turf course, and it will be the 84th running of the race, which is the final leg of the Triple Crown races for 3-year-old colts.

First run in 1938, it was named the Kikuka Sho in 1948. One of the most recent changes was its opening to foreign-bred horses in 2001. Most years it has been run at Kyoto, and it has witnessed eight colts winning the race to add to their triumphs in the Grade 1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and the Grade 1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), and the last one to do so was Contrail in 2020. 

There have been 17 nominations for this year's race. No geldings are permitted to run and all colts (no fillies have been nominated) will carry a set weight of 57 kg.

Information on the Kikuka Sho 

Ask Victor More set the record time for the race in 2022 when it was run at Hanshin Racecourse. But record time for the Grade 1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) at Kyoto is held by Toho Jackal, who won in a time of 3 minutes, 1.0 seconds in 2014. 

First favorites have won the race four times in the past 10 years, with Contrail being the last one to win. This year's first place prize money is ¥200 million JPY ($1.33 million USD).

Two trial races early this autumn for the Grade 1 Kikuka Sho have been the Grade 2 Kobe Shimbun Hai run over 2,400 meters at Hanshin, and the Grade 2 Asahi Hai St Lite Kinen run over 2,200 meters at Nakayama. Both of those races were run in September.

This week's big race will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Kyoto, with a post time of 3:40 PM JST. Final declarations and the barrier draw will be available later this week.

Here is a look at some of this year's best 3-year-old colts expected to take on the race.

Satsuki Sho Runner-up Eyes Kikuka Sho Crown

Tastiera, this year's Grade 1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) winner, has had a nice long break, and is getting ready once again to take on his next big race. He managed to finish second in this year's Grade 1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and has only finished unplaced once in his five-race career so far. 

Trained by Noriyuki Hori, he recently commented on the colt's condition: "He returned to the stable on September 21, [and] he loses his appetite a bit when he's in a different environment, but there's little change with him compared to before his time off." 

Hori continued: "He's recovered gradually after the Derby and is probably eating more now than before." The trainer then added, "He's nice and fresh, and things have gone smoothly in training so far." 

Tastiera is by Satono Crown and will be ridden this time by Brazilian Joao Moreira, who is back in Japan once more on a short-term jockey's license.

Strong Preparations for Sol Oriens

A colt that always seems to give his jockey, Takeshi Yokoyama, plenty to do, Sol Oriens, a son of Kitasan Black, finished first and second in the first two legs of the Triple Crown races. And he already had a prep run for this next race, when he finished second in September's Grade 2 Asahi Hai St Lite Kinen at Nakayama.

Trainer Takahisa Tezuka recently said: "He drew a wide gate last time, and I didn't want him to take an inside position where he might not have run smoothly, so it was a case of him racing wide. The winner, however, ran a perfect race, and that's how he could win, but my horse ran well enough." 

It'll be the first time for Sol Oriens to run at Kyoto, and once again Takeshi Yokoyama has the task of getting the best out of him.

Read the rest of this article about the Kikuka Sho as well as the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.

RELATED:

• Ask Victor More Edges Boldog Hos by a Nose in the 83rd Kikuka Sho
• Titleholder Sets Pace, Controls Tempo En Route to Victory in the 82nd Kikuka Sho 
• [HORSE RACING] Contrail Wins Kikuka Sho, Joins Father Deep Impact as Triple Crown Champions

Author: JRA News