Sprinters Stakes (G1) preview (2)

The Sprinters Stakes on Sunday afternoon will kick off the Japan Racing Association's autumn Grade 1 campaign in style, with an outstanding group of 16 thoroughbreds including Global Sprint Challenge leader Scenic Blast set to take the turf at Nakayama Racecourse.

While the race will not see Sleepless Night defend her title - the 2008 champion has been retired because of an injury she picked up in the Centaur Stakes - Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner Laurel Guerreiro is eyeing the Grade 1 spring-fall sprint sweep; Centaur Stakes winner Ultima Thule looks to join the select company of Grade 1 champions; and Scenic Blast hopes to become the first Global Sprint Challenge champion in three years - and nail down the US$1 million bonus.

The following are the contenders for the 43rd Sprinters Stakes for 3-year-olds & up. 95 million yen is awarded to the winner, and post time is set at 3:45 p.m.

B B Guldan B B GULDAN: The 5-year-old son of Chief Bearhart had the shot to win the JRA's Summer Sprint Series championship after cruising to victory in the Grade 3 Keeneland Cup on Aug. 30, but passed up the opportunity to save himself for the Sprinters Stakes. In his first race since April, B B Guldan comfortably won the Keeneland Cup by more than two lengths, and trainer Masazo Ryoke says the horse is in better form than he was for last year's Sprinters Stakes, when Katsumi Ando rode him to a not-too-far-off third place behind Sleepless Night and Kinshasa no Kiseki. Also in March this year, B B Guldan beat eventual Takamatsunomiya Kinen champion Laurel Guerreiro to win the Grade 3, 1,400-meter Hankyu Hai at Hanshin, so there's no denying the Grade 1 potential of this horse. Under the ever dependable Ando, who has guided him to six of his seven careers wins, the time could be now for B B Guldan.

Grand Prix Angel GRAND PRIX ANGEL: When this 3-year-old filly came in third in the NHK Mile Cup as the 13th choice, some saw it as a fluke performance, that she would be nothing more than a flash in the pan. But in her two races over the summer, Grand Prix Angel proved her critics painfully wrong, first by winning the Grade 3 Hakodate Sprint Stakes on July 5 and then following it up with a third-place finish in the Keeneland Cup. Like B B Guldan, Grand Prix Angel was also in the race for the Summer Sprint Series title, but trainer Yoshito Yahagi decided to turn her undivided attention toward the Sprinters Stakes. Yahagi reckons the fast Grade 1 pace should suit his filly's frontrunning style, and Shigefumi Kumazawa, who has handed Grand Prix Angel three of her four victories, will again be in the saddle. With a four-kilogram handicap, she could follow in the footsteps of her sire, Agnes Digital, as a Grade 1 winner this weekend.

Kanoya Zakura KANOYA ZAKURA: The two-time defending champion of the Summer Sprint Series will find out how much she has left in the tank as the Sprinters Stakes will be her fifth race since June 14. The Kojiro Hashiguchi-trained mare, winner of the Grade 3 Ibis Summer Dash over 1,000 meters at Niigata in July, is coming off a fourth-place finish in the Centaur Stakes as the second choice, but only after being forced way outside along the straight. While Hashiguchi admits Kanoya Zakura will not be fitter than she already is, he also says the daughter of legendary sprinter Sakura Bakushin O has shown no signs of fatigue, either. With Sleepless Night coerced into retirement, Hashiguchi's other 5-year-old - who took seventh in last year's Sprinters Stakes on the heels of victory in the Centaur Stakes - will not be running just for herself, but also for her stablemate.

Kinshasa no Kiseki KINSHASA NO KISEKI: For long, the potential of trainer Nobuyuki Hori's 6-year-old had been touted, and it seemed like this son of the Sunday Silence-sired Fuji Kiseki had finally come into his own last year, when he was runnerup in both of the JRA's two sprint Grade 1 competitions - the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the Sprinters Stakes. A lot had been projected for Kinshasa no Kiseki in 2009, but he fizzled to 10th in his first race of the year, the 1,200-meter Ocean Stakes at Nakayama in March, and came in 10th again in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen later in that month. It resulted in the breakup of what was a successful partnership with Yasunari Iwata, who had ridden Kinshasa no Kiseki in the two Grade 1 races last year. His new partner will be the much heralded sophomore Kosei Miura, who in 2008 rewrote Yutaka Take's longstanding record for most wins by a rookie. The 19-year-old Miura has yet to win a Grade 1 race, but aboard Kinshasa no Kiseki, the young rider has every shot of breaking new ground. The horse has not raced since the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, but has steadily been working out since late August, and it would not be the least bit surprising if both jockey and mount end up celebrating this weekend.

Laurel Guerreiro LAUREL GUERREIRO: To some racing fans, Laurel Guerreiro's 15th-place finish in the Yasuda Kinen back in June was not particularly shocking because the mile has always been a little long for this 5-year-old by King Halo. But his 14th-place outing in last month's Centaur Stakes had to have puzzled a few, even considering the fact that he was shouldering 59 kilograms in his first race of the fall. Yet the folks at Mitsugu Kon's stable were never concerned, because they know Laurel Guerreiro does not handle the heat well, and because their sights have always been set on this week's Sprinters Stakes, not the Centaur Stakes. The sweep of the Sprinters Stakes and Takamatsunomiya Kinen is a tall order for any horse, but if Laurel Guerreiro is anywhere near the form he was in during the spring, the feat will be well within reach for this horse. Shinji Fujita, who seems to have a better grasp of him than any other jockey, will be in the saddle again, and with Kon eyeing a possible trip to Hong Kong in December, it's almost a given that Laurel Guerreiro will, at the very least, reach the leaderboard this Sunday at Nakayama.

Soldier's Song SOLDIER'S SONG: One of the few active offspring of the late Sunday Silence remaining, the 7-year-old Soldier's Song is lurking as a darkhorse in the field, especially with Hiroyuki Uchida - currently the leading jockey in the nation - set to toe the irons in what will be the horse's second Grade 1 appearance. Under Katsumi Ando who will ride B B Guldan in the Sprinter Stakes, the Ippo Sameshima-trained closer came in 10th in the Centaur Stakes, following a respectable spring highlighted by his third-place finish in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen. Sameshima concedes he may have been a bit easy on Soldier's Song in the workouts ahead of the Centaur Stakes, and says with certainty that drawing the No. 3 post among 15 did not help. Improvement in his conditioning is all but guaranteed after getting a race under his belt, and while it remains to be seen how the combination with Uchida will pan out, the partnership definitely offers more optimism than pessimism. Soldier's Song could just be the most intriguing pick among this lot.

Toreno Jubilee TORENO JUBILEE: This 6-year-old by Sakura Bakushi O hasn't won a graded race in 29 starts and remains largely unsung, but trainer Hideaki Fujiwara's horse has the fastest time over 1,200 meters - 1 minute, 6.9 seconds - among the Sprinters Stakes nominations. Toreno Jubilee ran twice in August under Yasunari Iwata (he came in seventh and fifth in the UHB Hai and the Keeneland Cup, respectively), and there must be a good reason why the talented jockey has chosen him over the slew of other horses he could have ridden. While his record may suggest otherwise, Toreno Jubilee could turn a few heads this weekend.

Ultima Thule ULTIMA THULE: Had Sleepless Night been around, the defending Sprinters Stakes champion would likely have been the favorite, given her dominance in 12 previous races at 1,200 meters - nine wins, never having finished under second. So when the Masaashi Okuhira-trained Ultima Thule comfortably defeated Sleepless Night by two-and-a-half lengths in the Centaur Stakes, her stock soared like a blue chip in a bull market. After various bouts with injury since winning her debut in December 2006, the Shadai Race Horse-owned mare has had all of 10 races for her career at the age of five. It was not until this year that Ultima Thule has been able to race on a regular basis, which has made all the difference for the Fuji Kiseki daughter as she has won 4-of-6 in 2009 including the Centaur Stakes. Ultima Thule, under Masami Matsuoka, will run at Nakayama for the first time in the Sprinters Stakes, but the inexperience should not stop her from winning. It seems like the only obstacle standing in between Ultima Thule's way and a Grade 1 medallion is herself or another unfortunate injury.

Urbanity URBANITY: Another blueblood owned by Shadai Race Horse, the 5-year-old son of Manhattan Cafe will look to rebound from 14th place in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen to victory in the Sprinters Stakes in his first shot at a Grade 1 title. Urbanity is 2-for-2 over 1,200 meters at Nakayama, including the Grade 3 Ocean Stakes in March which was his first graded win. While Sunday will be the horse's first race in six months, and will see Hiroshi Kitamura take the outstanding Norihiro Yokoyama's place in the saddle, trainer Masaaki Koga's confidence in Urbanity isn't wavering the least bit. There's a first time for everything, and that first time could come on Sunday for Urbanity.