Rounding out the Japan Racing Association Grade 1 action for the first half of the year will be the Takarazuka Kinen on Sunday, June 25. It will be run at Hanshin Racecourse on the inner turf course over 2,200 meters.
This is one of two races on the calendar. December's Grade 1 Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) is the other. In this event racing fans get to cast votes for the horses they want to see in the big race lineup. The out-and-out winner of the ballot this time is the world's highest-rated racehorse, Equinox, with a total of 216,379 votes.
First run in 1960, the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen was originally run over 1,800 meters. And just six years later the distance was extended to 2,200 meters. It became an international Grade 1 in 1997. And there have just been two runners from overseas, the latest being Werther from Hong Kong, who finished second in 2018.
Panfield, a 7-year-old also racing in Hong Kong, was nominated for this year's race. But he will not be making the journey to Japan.
The Takarazuka Kinen is for 3-year-olds and up, and 4-year-olds and above carry 58 kg. Meanwhile, the weight for 3-year-olds is set at 53 kg, and there is a 2 kg allowance for fillies and mares.
Additional Background on the Takarazuka Kinen
There are 20 nominations for a maximum 18-runner field, and this year sees ¥220 million JPY going to the winner (approximately $1.6 million USD).
The winner also receives an automatic entry to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf in the United States and Australia's Grade 1 Cox Plate (won by Lys Gracieux in 2019).
First favorites have fared quite poorly in the Takarazuka Kinen in the last 10 years, with just two of them winning. And 5-year-olds have been particularly dominant in the past decade, with seven of them winning.
The record time for the race was set just last year in 2022 when Titleholder won in a time of 2 minutes, 9.7 seconds.
Quite a number of the nominated runners for Sunday's race are coming off runs in the Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) in April, and the Grade 2 Naruo Kinen run at Hanshin early this month.
The 64th running of the Takarazuka Kinen will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Hanshin, with a local post time of 3:40 PM. Here is a look at some of the runners expected to compete in the race.
Equinox to Make Hanshin Racecourse Debut
As winner of the Grade 1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March, Equinox completely dictated things and was never at any point challenged. The 4-year-old by Kitasan Black would seemingly have nothing to fear from a lot of the top horses starting in this next race. It will be his first race at Hanshin, and connections are taking no chances with the long transportation, taking him to the Ritto Training Center in Ibaraki Prefecture well ahead of time.
"He handled being in a different environment very well last time when he went to Dubai," assistant trainer Tomohiro Kusunoki said. "We've decided not to train him at Miho this time and have got him to Ritto to prepare him."
Kusunoki added, "He's getting used to things and has just trained solo, so far, before we do some more serious work with him ahead of the race."
The world's highest-rated horse will once more be ridden by Christophe Lemaire, and there is every chance again that Equinox can show just how good a horse he's become.
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Justin Palace Continues to Improve
A strong win in the Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) over 3,200 meters in April at the newly reopened Kyoto track proved that Justin Palace, a 4-year-old sired by Deep Impact, is improving all the time. And he's equally at home at Hanshin, where he also won the Grade 2 Hanshin Daishoten in March.
"He's been working well on his return to the stable, and rather than worry about times with him, we've concentrated on his footwork and balance," trainer Haruki Sugiyama said of Justin Palace. "There's a good feeling about him."
Katsuma Sameshima will ride Justin Palace once again, as he did last year when the colt finished third in the Grade 1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger).
Deep Bond Set for 12th Career G1 Race
One of the unluckiest horses around, this will be the 6-year-old's 12th start in a Grade 1 race, and Deep Bond has even traveled to France a couple of times in his quest to win one. Connections could be forgiven for thinking they'd broken the jinx last time. But again it wasn't to be as Deep Bond had to settle for second in the Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) in April.
"Things looked good at the top of the home straight last time, but he got caught by a strong horse on the run for home and it was almost unthinkable," assistant trainer Taketoshi Yamaguchi said.
"He's now finished second in the last three Tenno Sho (Spring) races, but hopefully a big title can eventually come his way."
Jockey Ryuji Wada, who will ride Deep Bond, will be looking to win the race again after successes with T M Opera O in 2000 and Mikki Rocket in 2018.
Read the rest of this article about the Takarazuka Kinen as well as the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.
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- (2022 Takarazuka Kinen recap): Titleholder Wins 63rd Takarazuka Kinen in Record-Setting Time
Author: JRA News
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