Alongside three races close to home on Saturday at Belmont Park, the Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ Challenge’ returns to Japan on Sunday with the 71st running of the prestigious Yasuda Kinen – a race in which the nation’s latest superstar mare Gran Alegria could move to the top of the world rankings.
For all that there are major Classics on two continents this weekend – Derbys in England and France plus the Belmont Stakes in the States – this ¥248 million ($2.25m) event over the metric mile at Tokyo racecourse is the richest prize on offer anywhere on the planet.
It features six G1 winners, headed by top-class sprinter-miler Gran Alegria, bidding for back-to-back successes here as she seeks to claim top spot on the TRC Global Rankings with her sixth G1 triumph.
The 5-year-old daughter of the legendary Deep Impact – who last weekend supplied a record seventh winner of the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) with Shahryrar – currently stands at #4, within hailing distance of world leader Palace Pier.
Be prepared, because Gran Alegria usually puts on a show. Winner of the Oka Sho (Japanese 1,000 Guineas) as a 3-year-old, Gran Alegria compiled a memorable G1 hat-trick in 2020 with a series of fantastic displays. After her handsome victory in the Yasuda Kinen came a stunning last-to-first effort when she was dropped back to six furlongs in the Sprinters Stakes before claiming the Mile Championship with an amazing turn of foot.
Three weeks ago Gran Alegria sped away for an effortless 4-length victory over an 18-runner field in the Victoria Mile – a ‘Win and You’re In’ race for the Maker’s Mark Filly & Mare Turf at the Breeders’ Cup.
Yasuda Kinen: a bit of context
History: first run in 1951 as the Yasuda Sho to honour Izaemon Yasuda, founding chairman of the Japan Racing Association. Granted international Grade 1 status in 1993, this prestigious mile contest has gone abroad three times, via Godolphin’s Heart Lake in 1995 and the Hong Kong pair Fairy King Prawn (2000) and Bullish Luck (2006).
Star turn: Vodka (2008 and 2009) – the first filly to win the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) for 64 years, she was a specialist at Tokyo racecourse, scene of six of her seven G1 wins, including back-to-back editions of the Yasuda Kinen. At the time of her retirement in 2010, she was the biggest prize-money earner of all-time.
Breeders’ Cup Challenge
The winner of the Yasuda Kinen will receive an automatic fees-paid berth in the FanDuel Mile at the two-day championships at Del Mar on November 5-6. A minimum travel allowance of $40,000 will also be provided for all starters based outside North America; the Challenge winner must already be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup programme or nominated by the pre-entry deadline of October 26 to receive the rewards.
Already qualified (3): Jet Dark (L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, South Africa), Succeso (GP Club Hipico Falabella, Chile), Smooth Like Strait (Shoemaker Mile)
Breeders’ Cup past performance
No previous winner of the Yasuda Kinen has ever shown up at the Breeders’ Cup. Two horses have already qualified for this year’s championships via the Japanese route in the shape of Cafe Pharoah (Classic) and Gran Alegria (Filly & Mare Turf), who earned their spots with their respective victories in the February Stakes and the Victoria Mile.
Top contenders for 2021
Gran Alegria (Kazuo Fujisawa/Christophe Lemaire) – last year’s victory over the great Almond Eye is one of five career G1s; below form over 1m2f on return to action before returning to best with comfortable victory in Victoria Mile and sure to start a hot favourite.
Salios (Noriyuki Hori/Kohei Matsuyama) – G1 winner at two and runner-up to Contrail in both Japanese Guineas and Derby in 2020; one place behind Gran Alegria after missing break on seasonal debut in Osaka Hai.
Schnell Meister (Takahisa Tezuka/Takeshi Yokoyama) – rare 3-year-old runner, progressive German-bred son of Kingman has won three out of four and made G1 breakthrough over course and distance in NHK Mile Cup four weeks ago, fashing home from off the pace.
Indy Champ (Hidetaka Otonashi/Yuichi Fukunaga) – now 6, G1 regular won this in stakes-record time two years ago but easily handled by Gran Algeria in 2020; back up in trip after decent efforts in top sprint company.
What they say
Kazuo Fujisawa, trainer of Gran Alegria
“Compared to when she was 2 or 3, she can now settle much better at Tokyo. I was very happy about the Victoria Mile win. Due to the lack of time between races, we’ve just focused on getting her recovered and tuned up.”
Hidetaka Otonashi, trainer of Indy Champ
“He’s very young for his age, so 6 isn’t old. It won’t be easy to beat the Victoria Mile winner. I’m hoping he’ll rise to the challenge. I’ve tried many different things, many distances and find ourselves back at the mile.”
Noriyuki Hori, trainer of Salios
“In the Osaka Hai, the ground was heavy and he came back to the stable in pretty bad shape. His weight was not up when he returned from the farm this time, but mentally he’s looking very refreshed.”
Takahisa Tezuka, trainer of Schnell Meister
“Last race he went from 2,000 to 1,600, from Nakayama to Tokyo, and it was a difficult race in many ways, so for him to win was outstanding. The Yasuda Kinen is a big challenge and though 3-year-olds have won before, it’s often a tough race, but he has potential. I’m hoping he can make the best of the lighter weight he’ll be racing under.”