Tenno Sho (Spring) Preview: Stamina for 3,200 Meters is Essential

After a pause in the action, the Japan Racing Association's big-name races are back and moving from the Satsuki Sho at Nakayama to Kyoto for the Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) on Sunday, April 28. Then Tokyo will host five straight dizzying weeks of Grade 1 events. 

If you enjoy tests of endurance or just want to watch the action for minutes, not mere seconds, this race is for you.

This year marks the 169th running of the Tenno Sho, which is held twice a year, the longer version in the spring at Kyoto, the shorter version in the autumn at Tokyo.

The Tenno Sho (Spring) is the most prestigious showcase for stayers and the longest of Japan's national-level Grade 1 events. It takes over three minutes to complete as a full field of 18 runners ages 4 and up compete over a grueling 3,200 meters.

This year's 21 nominees see a return of four hopefuls from last year's lineup ― 2023 runner-up Deep Bond, 2023's third-place finisher Silver Sonic, Matenro Leo (fifth last year) and Melody Lane (12th) are back again for another shot at the top prize of ¥220 million JPY ($1.4 million USD) or a share of the total purse of over ¥475 million ($3 million). 

The returnees have formidable competition from the upcoming talent, among them proven G1 champions ― 2023 Kikuka Sho champion Durezza and Japanese Derby winner Tastiera ― and those whom that coveted G1 feather still so tantalizingly eludes ― T O Royal, Deep Bond and Silver Sonic.

On Sunday, the Tenno Sho will be the 11th race on the Kyoto card of 12. Post time is 3:40 PM. 

Here's a look at the expected top picks.

Durezza Chasing More G1 Glory

With five wins, one second and a third, the Duramente-sired 4-year-old Durezza reached the heights in October 2023 with a 3½-length victory in the Kikuka Sho, the 3,000-meter Triple Crown capper. It was the colt's first and only run thus far at Kyoto. 

After a spell, Durezza returned in mid-March to take on the Grade 2 Kinko Sho and finished in second place. Although he was a full five lengths behind winner Prognosis, Durezza's final-stage effort displayed his top-level meddle. With the loss having little to do with a lack of ability, and far more with a poor trip, the field top weight of 59 kg, and the fact that this upcoming race was always the main target. 

Ahead of the Golden Week rush, trainer Tomohito Ozeki has had the foresight to ship the Miho-based colt west early. On April 17, Keita Tosaki, fresh off a Satsuki Sho win aboard Justin Milano on April 14, took Durezza through his morning paces over the woodchip flat course. The colt appeared to have improved and looked ready for revenge. 

It should be noted that the Kikuka Sho winner has claimed the spring Tenno Sho seven times over the past decade.

T O Royal Returns to Tenno Sho (Spring)

A 6-year-old son of Leontes, whose promising career was cut short by a tendon injury, T O Royal has been more of a late bloomer. With a slow start to his career, he shone at the lower levels as a 3-year-old, then started to pick up steam and reveal his ability as a stayer. He finished third in his first Grade 1 bid, the 2022 Tenno Sho (Spring), which was run at Hanshin that year due to Kyoto renovations. 

A double-digit finish in the Japan Cup later that year revealed a fracture that sidelined him for nearly a year until his return in November 2023.

T O Royal's second start from his return saw him back in form, with a runner-up finish and then a pair of wins (all graded races, all over 3,000 meters and up) bringing him up to date in style. His most recent win was in the Grade 2 Hanshin Daishoten, a 3,000-meter event on March 17, and he looks primed for success.

This will be T O Royal's first time at Kyoto. But the change in venue may be just the charm he needs to claim his first Grade 1 on his third try. 

Trainer Inao Okada and expected rider Yuji Hishida are both gunning for their first top-level victory.

Tastiera Aims to Regain Successful Form

A son of Satono Crown, the now 4-year-old Tastiera far surpassed his sire's performance in the classics with a 2-1-2 performance that landed him the title of Top 3-Year-Old of 2023. Continuing at the Grade 1 level, his last two starts saw him off the mark with a fifth-place showing in the Arima Kinen (attributable to interference in the stretch) and a far-more-surprising Osaka Hai 11th-place finish, the reason for which remains a mystery. 

Trainer Noriyuki Hori admits he has yet to find a cause for Tastiera's poor performance in the Osaka Hai. But the trainer notes that after shipping west to Hanshin Racecourse, the colt had left 80% off his feed uneaten the day before the race. 

With luck, the return to Kyoto will be more to his liking. The last Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) winner to claim the spring Tenno Sho was Meisho Samson in 2007. And the last winner that went to the Tenno Sho gate directly off a double-digit performance was Beat Black in 2012.

Although the prospects may look somewhat bleak, Tastiera's expected partner for the race definitely brightens the outlook. The bay colt has had five different riders over his eight-start career and this time Joao Moreira, who rode him to his second-place finish in the Kikuka Sho, is pegged to ride.

Read the full Tenno Sho (Spring) preview on JRA News.

RELATED:

• Unbeaten Justin Milano Earns a Narrow Victory in the 84th Satsuki Sho
• Justin Palace Displays Strong Closing Speed to Win the Tenno Sho 
• Titleholder Overwhelms Field in 165th Tenno Sho

Author: JRA News