Kitasan Black Faces Tough Field in Tenno Sho (Autumn)
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Photo: Masakazu Takahashi
Kitasan Black (JPN) wins the 2017 Tenno Sho Spring (G1)
Japan's reigning Horse of the Year, Kitasan Black, starts his race toward retirement in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse Oct. 29—a 2,000-meter test where all but a handful of the nominees also are winners of graded stakes.
Kitasan Black, a 5-year-old son of Black Tide, earned last year's honors on the back of victories in the Tenno Sho (Spring) and Japan Cup, both group 1 races. He started 2017 with a victory in the Osaka Hai (G1) at Hanshin and a repeat in the Tenno Sho (Spring) but then was ninth in the group 1 Takarazuka Kinen, leading to a four-month vacation.
The grandson of Sunday Silence is headed for the breeding shed after the Tenno Sho, the Japan Cup, and the Arima Kinen (G1), or Grand Prix, in December.
Trainer Hisashi Shimizu expects an improved performance from his star runner before he begins that second career.
"I think he was more tired than he appeared to be going into the Takarazuka Kinen," Shimizu said. "He's a smart horse and I have the feeling that he quit running on his own before he could injure himself. This time I wanted to get him ready slowly and brought him back to the training center early."
The competition for the Tenno Sho (Autumn) won't make the comeback trail any easier.
Real Steel, a Deep Impact 5-year-old, won the Dubai Turf Sponsored by DPWorld (G1) in 2016 and comes fresh from a victory over the course in the Mainichi Okan (G2) Oct. 8. Satono Aladdin, a 6-year-old son of Deep Impact, won the Yasuda Kinen (G1) over the course in June. Satono Crown, a 5-year-old by Marju, won the Takarazuka Kinen in which Kitasan Black fizzled. And Neorealism (JPN), a 6-year-old by Neo Universe, scored his first group 1 win in the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong April 30.
Also set for this race is Soul Stirring (JPN), the first group 1 winner for Frankel. The 3-year-old filly benefits from the double weight break for her age and gender and carries the field's lightest impost at 119 pounds. But she disappointed as the favorite in the Mainichi Okan, finishing eighth.