After a short breather in the JRA Grade 1 schedule last week, top-level racing in Japan returns on Sunday, November 16, with the 50th running of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Kyoto Racecourse. And it continues for every weekend right up until the end of 2025.
Sunday's race was named in honor of the late monarch and her visit to Japan in 1975.
Such was her passion for horse racing, there are a number of races throughout the world named after her. And the link between the sport in Japan and England has undoubtedly grown over those intervening years.
There are sure to be various displays and events marking Sunday's milestone, with it becoming a popular Ladies' Day in recent times. Kyoto Racecourse is also celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025.
Japan Autumn International Series
The race itself is the first leg of the four races known as the Japan Autumn International Series, featuring the Grade 1 Japan Cup later this month.
Japan's Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup started off as a race for 3-year-old fillies in 1976. It was originally run over 2,400 meters, as the final leg of the G1 "Triple Tiara." The Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) were the other two ― and all three races were contested by 3-year-old fillies.
With the formation of the Grade 1 Shuka Sho in 1996, it opened up the Queen Elizabeth II Cup to older fillies and mares, and the distance was shortened to 2,200 meters. It became an international race in 1999 and saw its first overseas runners in 2003. But it was the Edward Dunlop-trained/Ryan Moore-ridden Snow Fairy that took the race by storm. With two consecutive victories in 2010 and 2011, Snow Fairy showed that the race could be won by an overseas runner.
Information on the 2025 Queen Elizabeth II Cup
There were four foreign-trained horses nominated for the 2025 race, but none will travel to Japan to take on the challenge this time around.
A total of 19 horses were nominated for Sunday's race, though only 18 are permitted to run.
In 2024, a new record time for the race was set when Cristian Demuro won on the 5-year-old mare Stunning Rose, in a time of 2 minutes 11.1 seconds, breaking a 23-year-old record.
One lead-up race to the Queen Elizabeth II Cup was the Grade 2 Ireland Trophy, run at Tokyo in October over 1,800 meters, and won by Lavanda, a progressive filly with more improvement to come, according to her jockey, Mirai Iwata. Lavanda will skip Sunday's race. Instead, she's expected to race in the Grade 1 Mile Championship on November 23.
First favorites have struggled in recent years in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup, with just two winning in the past decade. (Brede Weg was the last one in 2023, as well as being the last 3-year-old winner.) Four-year-olds have been the dominant age group, winning six times in the same time period.
Interestingly enough, all but two of the last ten winners have been trained at Shiga Prefecture's Ritto Training Center (the closest to Kyoto Racecourse), suggesting that the short transportation distance to the track is a real advantage for the fillies and mares.
Sunday's winner's check amounts to ¥130 million JPY (about $840,000 USD).
Post time is 3:40 PM, and it is the 11th race on the 12-race card at Kyoto.
Here's a look and some of the fancied runners expected to play a part in the race:
Regaleira Chasing Glory in Kyoto
Regaleira, the Arima Kinen winner in December 2024, was a little disappointing in her first run of 2025, when she finished 11th in the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen in June. She bounced back to form last time, however, winning the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers at Nakayama in September.
"The jockey was confident last time and rode a good race," assistant trainer Yu Ota said before adding, "the horse's action was a bit stiff, but there's no mistaking her liking for the tight Nakayama course. It was great that she won a race again with jockey Keita Tosaki. She's returned to the stable from a break at the farm and seems very well in [her condition]."
The key could be the Kyoto track, where she has run just once and finished fifth ― in the 2024 Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
Erika Express Teams Up with Legendary Jockey Take
Epiphaneia-sired Erika Express came within a whisker of winning the Grade 1 Shuka Sho in October, when the 3-year-old filly received a great front-running ride by jockey Yutaka Take. Erika Express has finished in the top two in both of her starts at Kyoto.
"The Kyoto track seems to suit the horse, and if she hadn't just got caught off guard a little in the backstraight last time, she may have produced a bit extra," trainer Haruki Sugiyama commented. "She came out of the race well and her appetite's good."
Japan's legendary rider is looking for his 85th JRA Grade 1 victory.
Trainer Hopes Stellenbosch Finds Winning Form
Although she's had plenty of experience racing at the Grade 1 level (seven starts in all), Stellenbosch's only top-level victory came in the 2024 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas). That said, she's come close on a number of occasions, and trainer Sakae Kunieda hopes she can put her last run behind her. She finished 15th of 16 in the Grade 2 Sapporo Kinen in August.
"Despite her condition being quite good in the Sapporo Kinen, she didn't respond so well at the end, and it seemed to be a mental thing with her," the trainer said. "She had a break at the farm, and has returned to Miho [in Ibaraki Prefecture], before transferring to the Ritto Training Center."
Read the rest of this article about the Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.
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Author: JRA News
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