Japanese Stars Turn Out For Sapporo Kinen

Japan's autumn racing season hits high gear Aug. 20 with the Sapporo Kinen (G2)—a grade 1 in all but name that's chock full of candidates for the biggest races yet to come this year, including November's Japan Cup (G1).

In 2022, Japan sent seven horses to contest the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), the target that has eluded the nation for decades. This year, only three are targeting the race, leaving the door open to domestic battles and later international tilts from California to Hong Kong.

For several, the Sapporo Kinen gets the ball rolling.

The Sapporo Kinen, a 2,000-meter spin over the turf, has heavyweights across the age spectrum and both genders, including the third-, fourth- and fifth-place finishers from the 2022 Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1), won by the world's highest-rated horse, Equinox .

Danon Beluga  makes his first start in the Sapporo Kinen since finishing second to the ageless Lord North  in the Dubai Turf (G1) on Dubai World Cup (G1) night at Meydan in March. That excellent result followed a 2022 campaign that featured fourth-place showings in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas-G1) and Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby-G1), a third in the prestigious Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) and a fifth in the Japan Cup (G1)—all as a 3-year-old —before Dubai.

His performance in the Sapporo Kinen will be instructive about plans for Danon Beluga's immediate future but connections indicated the Tenno Sho again is at least an interim target. Coincidentally, Shirl's Speight , who was fourth in the Dubai Turf, is set to make his return start just hours later in the King Edward Stakes (G2T) at Woodbine.

While Danon Beluga stands out among the 4-year-olds, Shahryar  leads the older crowd.

The 5-year-old son of the late superstar Deep Impact , winner of the 2021 Japanese Derby, also has in his win column the 2022 Dubai Sheema Classic (G1). And, as a possible clue as to his year-end target for 2023, he finished third in the 2021 Japan Cup and second in that same race in 2022. He also traveled to Royal Ascot in 2022, reporting fourth in the Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1).

Another 5-year-old, Jack D'Or, won the 2022 Sapporo Kinen and returns. After last year's triumph, the son of Maurice  finished fourth in the Tenno Sho and seventh in the Hong Kong Cup (G1) in December at Sha Tin Racecourse, a spectacular race that also featured Golden Sixty and California Spangle. He won the Osaka Hai (G1) in April, then continued his streak of butting heads with superstars, finishing fifth in the Yasuda Kinen (G1) June 4. Songline  won that heat.

Others in the talent-packed lineup include Hishi Iguazu , who finished second to Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) winner Loves Only You  in the 2021 Hong Kong Cup; Prognosis, second behind Romantic Warrior in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1) in Hong Kong in April; and Win Marilyn, a 6-year-old mare who finished second in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1) at Hanshin in November, won the Hong Kong Vase (G1) in December and finished sixth in the Sheema Classic.