Kitasan Black Faces 10 in Takarazuka Kinen

Ono Shoji's Kitasan Black, the 2016 Japanese Horse of the Year and last year's Japan Cup (G1) winner, is the standout in the 1 1/2-mile Takarazuka Kinen (G1) at Hanshin Racecourse June 25, for an automatic berth into the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T).

The Breeders' Cup Challenge is an international series of 81 stakes races whose winners receive a guaranteed entry and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will be held for the first time at Del Mar Nov. 3-4.

Racing for his third consecutive group 1 this year and his sixth overall group 1 score, the 5-year-old Kitasan Black will face 10 rivals Sunday, and seeks to improve upon last year's third-place finish in this race, beaten by just a quarter length.

Trained by Hisashi Shimizu and ridden by Yutaka Take, Kitasan Black most recently won the two-mile Tenno Sho (Spring) G1 by 1 1/4 lengths over Cheval Grand at Kyoto April 30. Prior to that, the son of Black Tide (JPN) won the 1 1/4-mile Osaka Hai (G1) at Hanshin April 2.

Kitasan Black's only defeat in four of his last five races came Dec. 25 when he lost the Arima Kinen Grand Prix (G1) at Nakayama by a neck to Satono Diamond (JPN). Prior to that defeat, he won the 1 1/2-mile Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse by 2 1/2 lengths as the favorite.

"Last year's results were frustrating, but he has become much stronger since then. He's a different horse now," Shimizu said. "If he can win three grade 1 races in a row, he'll go down in history. I'm being careful not to overdo it, while at the same time, still focusing on getting the very best results."

Breaking from post 11 under Micro Demuro, Hajime Satomi's Satono Crown will try to reverse his sixth-place finish against Kitasan Black in the Osaka Hai. A son of Marju (IRE), Satono Crown has won five of 12 career starts and made his biggest career score when he defeated Highland Reel by half-length in the 1 1/2-mile Longines Hong Kong Vase (G1) at Sha Tin in December. Trained by Noriyuki Hori, Satono Crown won his first start of 2017 in the 1 3/8-mile Kyoto Kinen (G2) at Kyoto Racecourse Feb. 12.

The 5-year-old Cheval Grand, owned by Kazuhiro Sasaki and trained by Yasuo Tomomichi, missed the winner's circle in his last four races, but he has come close, with seconds in the grade 2 Hanshin Daishoten and the Tenno Sho (Spring). For two consecutive years, Kitasan Black and Cheval Grand finished only fractions of a second apart in the Tenno Sho (Spring). Last year, Cheval Grand won the Copa Republica Argentina (G2) at Tokyo Racecourse. The son of Heart's Cry (JPN) will be ridden by Yuichi Fukunaga from post 5.

The 2015 Yushun Himba Japanese Oaks (G1) winner Mikki Queen (JPN) will start from post 8 under Seguru Hamanaka. Owned by Mikki Queen and trained by Yasutoshi Ikee, the 5-year-old daughter of Deep Impact (JPN) won the one-mile Sankeisports Hai Hanshin Himba Stakes (G1) against fillies and mares April 8.

The Takarazuka Kinen will be the third Breeders' Cup Challenge qualifier in the Longines Turf division thus far. The 8-year-old Ordak Dan was the first to qualify when he won the Gran Premio 25 de Mayo (G1) at San Isidro in Buenos Aires May 25. The 3-year-old Voador Magee (BRZ) earned a Turf bid by capturing the Grande Premio Brasil (G1) at Hipodromo Gavea in Rio de Jainero June 11.