Japan's Top Sprinters Set for Takamatsunomiya Kinen

Sprinters don't get much chance to make their case for year-end honors in Japan with only two top-level events on their annual calendar so the March 24 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1) at Chukyo Racecourse looms large.

Mama Cocha, Mad Cool, and Namura Clair filled the first three spots on the order of finish in the other key sprint race, October's Sprinters Stakes (G1), and Mama Cocha rode that success to being named the Japan Racing Association's champion sprinter of 2023.

All three are looking for a repeat at Chukyo, where Mama Cocha could become only the fourth horse to win the Sprinters Stakes and Takamatsunomiya Kinen back-to-back, joining the likes of Lord Kanaloa , who won both in 2013.

Despite their success in the Sprinters Stakes, the trio hasn't scared anyone off. There were 23 nominations to the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, including Hong Kong's Victor the Winner—only the fifth overseas raider to contest the race, which runs for the 54th time.

Neither Mama Cocha nor Mad Cool showed much on return from the Sprinters Stakes, which was the grade 1 debut for both. Mama Cocha, a 5-year-old mare by Kurofune, finished fifth in the Hanshin Cup (G2) in December. Mad Cool, a 5-year-old son of Dark Angel , reported eighth in the Hong Kong Sprint (G1) in December.

Mama Cocha's trainer, Yasutoshi Ikee, says his charge is better now than in the Hanshin Cup.

"After the Hanshin Cup, she went to the farm to refresh and then returned to the training center Feb. 23," Ikee said after Mama Cocha drew the 14 barrier for the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. "She'd lost her winter coat and she was back to her usual unruly ways. I think her movement is much improved from her last race and we have a good chance of landing a fall-spring successive win of a big race."

On form, Namura Clair, a 5-year-old daughter of Mikki Isle , makes the best case as a confirmed top-shelf sprinter. She was fifth in the Sprinters Stakes in 2022 and second in 2023 and will make her seventh grade 1 start.

"She's older, but her condition is no different," trainer Kodai Hasegawa said of Namura Clair. "She is more mature, but when she's urged, she really switches on. She's very calm though, and I really have no complaints at all."

With proven grade 1 sprinters in short supply, a case could be made for several other locals.

Win Marvel was second in the 2022 Sprinters Stakes and has rebounded from a dry spell to win back-to-back races. The 5-year-old son of I'll Have Another  seeks his first top-level win.

Toshin Macau, a son of 2016 Takamatsunomiya winner Big Arthur, enters on a modest, two-race winning streak. He beat only three horses in this race last year but his connections laid that to the track conditions.

"He has grown and added power, so I think he has a chance if things come together well for him," said trainer Mizuki Takayanagi.

Lugal, a 4-year-old by Duramente , has progressed nicely since being switched from dirt to turf and exits a victory in the Silk Road Stakes (G3).

Hong Kong invader Victor the Winner, a 6-year-old Toronado  gelding, exits a victory in the Centenary Sprint Cup (G1) and has knocked heads with some of Hong Kong's best sprinters. His handlers say he traveled well and is fighting fit but he does face some new challenges—racing left-handed for the first time and climbing a sharp hill starting some 350 meters from the finish.

He drew stall 10 in the field of 18.

Jockey Derek Leung said he was "happy with the draw" for his normally front-running contender but planning for the eccentricities of the Chukyo racing layout.

"There's the stiff uphill finish, a bit like Happy Valley, so I'll have to save a little bit to use it on the uphill," Leung told the Hong Kong Jockey Club. "I asked quite a few jockeys who have ridden here and they said to be careful of it. Many horses can chase home on that uphill, so it's a more important last 100 meters."