A troupe of retired stars continues on December 26 at Arima Kinen (G1) at Nakayama Racecourse such as Chrono Genesis try to emulate Opposite, Gran Alegria , and Only love you with a career-ending win.
As always, the revolving door continued to spin, several younger competitors already finished ready to step up to Arima Kinen to help fill the void.
Japanese fans are encouraged to vote for the horses they would like to see run at Arima Kinen. The participation of the top voting participants is not guaranteed, of course, but this year the first three in the vote include not only Chrono Genesis but also 3-year-olds. Efforia and Owner and all are expected to participate.
Chrono Genesis, a 5 year old child Bago mare, which won the 2020 Arima Kinen and will start for the fourth time in 2021 as coach Takashi Saito has put his best foot forward in an ambitious touring schedule.
She started the new year with an impressive second, just a little bit missing Mishriff (IRE) and a neck before Loves Only You, during the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) at Meydan in March. She went home to score a repeat win in the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) at Hanshin in June, then didn’t race again until an unsuitable pitch sent her to seventh at the Qatar Prix de l’Arc. de Triomphe (G1) at Longchamp on October 3. .
Christophe Lemaire got the call in the Takarazuka Kinen after casual rider Yuichi Kitamura was injured in May, and Lemaire is expected to take part in the mares’ final race.
Loves Only You, part of that desperate protracted battle at the Sheema Classic, was won on 12 December at Sha Tin Racecourse following the Hong Kong (G1) Longines Cup.
As the stars of the past seasons died out in the early darkness of winter, Efforia looked unprepared to take her place in the ensemble of Japanese equestrian heroes.
The Epiphaneia Colt mastered some of his seniors, taking solid wins over Contrail and Gran Alegria in Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) at Tokyo Circuit on October 31. He has five wins from six starts. with the only one-second defeat at the finish line in Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby-G1) and trainer Yuichi Shikato expressed his satisfaction with the pony’s final quick performance.
“It’s fine for a week out,” Shikato said. “He came back from the farm looking happy, healthy and training went well.”
Contrail, the 2020 Japanese Triple Crown champion, has begun her breeding career after returning from a loss to Tenno Sho with a win at the Japan Cup (G1) on November 28. Gran Alegria is also back. after failing to end his career with an impressive score in the Miles Championship (G1) on November 21 in Hanshin.
Title owner, a Duramente colt, has become more integrated in his 3-year-old season. After finishing second to Efforia in Satsuki Sho (Japan 2000 Guineas-G1), he finished sixth in Tokyo Yushun and 13th in Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen on September 20 when severely hampered by traffic. He completely reversed form on October 24 at the 3,000 meters (approximately 1 7/8 miles) Kikuka Sho (Japan St. Leger-G1), winning five races.
Four of the last 10 Arima Kinen winners came directly from Kikuka Sho — three of those marathon winners and the other, fourth. This year’s Kikuka Sho fourth, Stella Veloce, another promising 3-year-old pony, is also in the field of Arima Kinen.
The 2,500-meter Arima Kinen (about 1 mile, 4 and a half strands) starts in the outer ring of the Nakayama racecourse, passes the stands the first time, then follows the inner ring around and down the second to the battle post. win.
Arima Kinen is the penultimate 1st place on the Japanese racing calendar for 2021, followed by the hopeful 2nd place (G1) for 2-year-olds on the same track. The top level race then continued on hiatus until February 20 at the Tokyo Circuit.
