Tenno Sho (Autumn) Preview: Top-Level Champions to Vie for Glory

The presence of superstar Equinox in 2023 was surely a factor in keeping the field down to a mere 11, but this time 15 are set to ride in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) on Sunday, October 27 at Tokyo Racecourse.

Talent abounds with at least a full hand of horses considered equally capable of pulling off the win, which comes with a ¥220 million JPY prize (about $1.45 million USD) from a total purse of over ¥475 million ($3.1 million). Ages range from 4 to 6, with Fillies' Triple Crown champ Liberty Island holding the torch as the only filly in the field.

The field is packed with top-level champions ― Do Deuce, Tastiera, Sol Oriens, Justin Palace and Bellagio Opera. And Lebensstil, expected to vie with Liberty Island for race favorite status, chases his first big win, with likely partner Christophe Lemaire looking to make it a personal Grade 1 hat trick over three straight weeks this October.

It is very colorful in the saddles as well, with legends such as Yutaka Take participating, aces Lemaire and Yuga Kawada, German rider Andrasch Starke here on a short-term license, and two father-and-son combinations, Norihiro Yokoyama and his sons Takeshi and Kazuo, as well as Yasunari Iwata and son Mirai vying for a share of the pot.

Tenno Sho Time Record Not Expected to Fall

Though rain is expected over the days leading up to Sunday, it may not be enough to slow down the pace. It should keep the fast lap times of recent weeks coming. That said, the dizzying speed of 2023 champion Equinox and his record of 1 minute, 55.2 seconds over the 2,000 meters of turf is expected to stand, and for quite some time.

The Tenno Sho (Autumn) is the 11th race on the Sunday card at Tokyo, and post time is 3:40 PM. The weight carried is 58 kg for horses 4 years old and up. Three-year-olds carry 56 kg and fillies and mares receive a 2-kg allowance.

Here's a look at a number of the expected popular picks.

Lebensstil Aiming for More Success with Lemaire

Lebensstil cruised along in the top 3 in the first six starts of his career, posting a third, two seconds and three wins, which included defeating Sol Oriens, winner of the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) in the Asahi Hai St Lite Kinen in September 2023. Then, he surprised with two poor showings, first an eighth-place finish in the Hong Kong Vase over 2,400 meters in December 2023. He followed that by placing 11th of 16 in the Grade 3 Niigata Daishoten over 2,000 meters in his first start of 2024. 

The 4-year-old colt by Real Steel found his rhythm once again under new partner Lemaire in the Grade 3 Epsom Cup over 1,800 meters on June 9 at Tokyo. Despite carrying the field's top weight of 59 kg, he won it by two lengths and the five horses following him over the line were running under 2 kg less. 

Next time out he was paired again with Lemaire and scored another win, this time in the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers over 2,200 meters at Nakayama Racecourse on September 22. 

On Sunday, Lebensstil takes on his first top-level race on home turf. With Lemaire on the saddle, Lebensstil should have his best shot at his first big win. Lemaire is chasing his second Tenno Sho (Autumn) winning streak after having triumphed from 2018 through 2020 and presently on a double from Equinox's wins in 2022 and 2023. 

The Frenchman is also riding a double Grade 1 wave at the moment, having won the Shuka Sho (on October 12) and the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) the following week.

Kawada Chasing Elusive Tenno Sho Victory with Liberty Island

Veteran jockey Kawada is also chasing a win, his first in either of the Tenno Sho events (the spring version of the race is held in Kyoto). He is also looking to catch up after suffering a fall on Saturday, October 19, which forced him to sit out the Kikuka Sho. 

If all goes well, this time he's got quite a partner ― Liberty Island. They have been together through all this super filly's eight starts thus far. After finishing first and second in the first two starts of her career, the wonder girl turned in a four-way Grade 1 streak, scoring the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, the biggest race for 2-year-old fillies, followed by a sweep of the 3-year-old filly Classics. 

She then added a runner-up finish in the Japan Cup in November 2023 to the tally and started this year off with a third-place finish overseas in the Grade 1 Dubai Sheema Classic. However, after returning to Japan and being sent to the farm, she was found to have a slight inflammation in a ligament in her right foreleg. 

With the swelling down, she has been getting work and returned to the training center in mid-September. This will be only her second start of the year, and the 4-year-old filly is racing for the first time in seven months. Kawada has ridden the Tenno Sho (Autumn) 14 times, with a best result of second in 2019. The pair has yet to win in mixed company.

Read the rest of this article about the Tenno Sho and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.

RELATED:

• Kikuka Sho: Urban Chic Triumphs in the Final Leg of Japan's Triple Crown
• Cervinia Dominates in the 29th Running of the Shuka Sho
• [ODDS and EVENS] A Horse Racing Journey of Love with Yutaka Take and Christophe Lemaire
• Equinox Repeats as the Tenno Sho (Autumn) Champion

Author: JRA News