Absent Foreign Runners, 15 Line Up for Japan Cup

With no foreign entries and star filly Almond Eye detoured to Hong Kong, the 39th running of the Japan Cup in Association with Longines (G1) is a wide-open affair with 15 starters ranging from a 3-year-old filly to a 7-year-old previous winner.

The Japan Racing Association attributes the first-ever lack of an international contender to, among other factors, "the increasing standard of racing in Japan ... gaining more recognition that Japanese horses are becoming increasingly hard to beat."

The field assembled for the Nov. 24 renewal would, in fact, be a tough one for a traveler to crack, although a few days of pre-race rain might have benefited European visitors.

Among the runners set for the 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) around the Tokyo Racecourse turf are the 2016, 2017 and 2018 winners of the Tokyo Yushun (G1-Japanese Derby)—Makahiki, Rey de Oro and Wagnerian—and 2017 Japan Cup winner Cheval Grand.

Cheval Grand, who besides his 2017 Japan Cup win finished fourth in 2018 and third in 2016, makes his first start in his homeland since Dec. 23. In the interim, the 7-year-old son of Heart's Cry reported second in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) at Meydan on World Cup night, then finished sixth in the QIPCO King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) at Ascot and eighth in the Juddmonte International (G1) at York. Oddly enough, the latter heat was won by Japan.

"Two races ago the ground was pretty bad and I think that hurt," Cheval Grand's trainer, Yasuo Tomomichi, said after the barrier draw. "And last time out I think the course suited him but the distance was a bit short ... As far as I can tell, he's well recovered from his travels."

Rey de Oro, one of three in the race by King Kamehameha, finished second to Cheval Grand in the 2017 Japan Cup, then skipped last year's renewal in favor of the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1), which he won. That is his most recent win and he finished sixth in the Sheema Classic.

Wagnerian is one of four runners sired by Deep Impact, the 2006 Japan Cup winner and Japan's subsequent dominant sire until his death earlier this year. The 2019 Japan Cup has been designated the "Deep Impact Memorial" in his honor. Wagnerian seeks a jump start after finishing fourth and fifth in his two earlier starts this season and Makahiki has not won since September 2016.

Curren Bouquetd'or, a 3-year-old daughter of Deep Impact, benefits from a weight swing while testing older male rivals for the first time. She was second in the Yushun Himba (G1, Japanese Oaks) and second again in the Shuka Sho (G1) at Kyoto in October.

"I did think of running her in the all-female Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1)," said trainer Sakae Kunieda. "But she has done well at Tokyo and the 53 kg (about 116.8 pounds) she'll be carrying puts her at an advantage." Her opponents carry 57 kg or about 125.6 pounds.

While no international horses competing, international riders will take up the slack. Nearly half of the jockeys expected to ride are from outside Japan, including Englishman Ryan Moore, Oisin Murphy from Ireland, Belgian Christophe Soumillon, Norwegian-born William Buick, and Italian native Frankie Dettori.

The race starts at mid-stretch and is run left-handed. Around the first turn, Mount Fuji is visible in the distance, should two days of rainy weather lift in time. The long stretch run features a significant climb into the final sprint for the finish.