Japan's first turf Grade 1 event of 2025 is set for Sunday, March 30, as Chukyo Racecourse hosts the 55th running of the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. Twenty sprinters, from the field's youngest, the two 4-year-olds Pair Pollux and Off Trail, to the field's eldest, the 10-year-old Travesura, have been nominated for the 1,200-meter event.
Eighteen of those nominees will go to the gate on Sunday in pursuit of fame and a cut of the overall purse of nearly ¥370 million JPY (nearly $2.5 million USD). First place lands ¥170 million ($1.1 million).
Seven horses from the 2024 edition of the G1 race are back, including the top two finishers ― Mad Cool and Namura Clair. They, along with two other 6-year-olds, 2023 Sprinters Stakes champion Mama Cocha and Satono Reve, are seen as the horses to beat. Lugal, winner of the 2024 Sprinters Stakes, rounds out the trio of Grade 1 sprint champions set to appear in Sunday's big event.
Info on the Takamatsunomiya Kinen
Fourteen other expected participants are also determined to have their moment in the limelight. Not a race clinched solely on speed, it is known to surprise with hidden or latent talent suddenly whisked into the limelight.
The Takamatsunomiya Kinen starts in the Chukyo backstretch and climbs briefly before a long drop of over three meters until about 350 meters out. At that point, there's a sharp two-meter climb over 100 meters until the fairly level remaining furlong home. Nevertheless, an inside draw and the ability to race forward of midfield are definite pluses.
The Takamatsunomiya Kinen is Chukyo's 11th race on the Sunday card of 12. Post time is 3:40 PM.
Here is a look at some of the field's likely top choices:
Namura Clair Chasing Takamatsunomiya Kinen Win in 3rd Bid
Runner-up by a length, then a neck, in her prior two bids in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, Namura Clair is gunning for victory in her third bid. Though Namura Clair has failed to win at the top level in her eight G1 bids thus far, the 6-year-old daughter of Mikki Isle has never missed the board. She has posted a fifth and two thirds in the Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama, and two seconds in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, while having won five graded races over 1,200-1,400 meters.
Returning after a spell of three months, the Ritto-based mare excelled under new partner Christophe Lemaire to win last time out on December 21, 2024, in the Grade 2 Hanshin Cup over 1,400 meters at Kyoto.
Trainer Kodai Hasegawa, who received his trainer's license in 2019, has yet to win at the Grade 1 level.
"I have no worries this time. At six years old, she seems to have finally come into her own," the 41-year-old trainer said. "It's rare to meet a horse like this, and I am so very much hoping she can land a big title."
Mama Cocha Coming Off a March 1 Win
Winner of the 2023 Sprinters Stakes and named top sprinter of that year, Mama Cocha heads into her second Takamatsunomiya Kinen. In 2024, the daughter of Kurofune followed the Sprinters Stakes with a fifth-place finish in the Hanshin Cup, then returned three months later to go directly to the Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
This year, trainer Yasutoshi Ikee has given her one more start as a sharpener. After a fourth in the Sprinters Stakes, a mere 0.1 seconds off the winner, she posted another fifth in the Hanshin Cup. Then, showing no signs of slowing down at 6 years of age, she notched her first win in a year and five months (her first since the 2023 Sprinters Stakes), displaying top form in the Grade 3 Ocean Stakes over 1,200 meters at Nakayama on March 1.
Although her wins at the graded level have all come over right-handed tracks, she did post a second in the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes over 1,200 meters at Chukyo last September.
Mad Cool Enters the Race as the Defending Champion
Winner of the 2024 Takamatsunomya Kinen, the Irish-bred son of Dark Angel followed his first top-level win with a considerable fall from grace. He turned in two double-digit finishes after his Grade 1 victory at Chukyo, first in the Hong Kong's Chairman's Prize and then in the 2024 Sprinters Stakes. Three months on, Mad Cool redeemed himself with a second in the Hanshin Cup, but his position from the front failed to see him draw on late speed.
If Mad Cool can win on Sunday, he will become only the second horse to win back-to-back editions of the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, following Kinshasa no Kiseki in 2010 and 2011.
"He's looking almost too good," said trainer Manabu Ikezoe. "I think his rotation this year is better than last year. I'm able to give him one more fast workout, and he's working well. He's not one to be bothered by the course, but the draw will be a factor."
Read the rest of this article about the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.
RELATED:
- Costa Nova and Rachel King Team Up for February Stakes Triumph
- Mad Cool Claims First G1 Victory in Takamatsunomiya Kinen
Author: JRA News
You must be logged in to post a comment Login