Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1) - Preview

Blow the Horn

Justin Palace

Sunrise Earth

Redentor

Meiner Emperor

Shonan la Punta

Byzantine Dream

Chevalier Rose

Following four straight weeks of Sunday Grade 1 events and one week with a breather from the racing heights, the Tenno Sho (Spring) on Sunday, May 4, kicks off six nonstop weeks of top-level racing. The spring version of the “Emperor’s Prize” is run over 3,200 meters at Kyoto Racecourse, and it is the longest of the Japan Racing Association G1 competitions.

With the Tenno Sho held twice each year, at two different venues and over different distances, the tally is up to 171 for this year’s spring running. Fifteen horses (all male) ranging in age from 4 to 8 have been nominated for the race open to 4-year-olds and up. Last year’s winner T O Royal remains sidelined and, for the first time in seven years, there is no participation by a former winner of the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger), the final and longest contest in Japan’s Triple Crown.

The 2024 Tenno Sho (Spring) runner-up Blow the Horn and 2023 champion Justin Palace are back, along with a number of exciting newcomers to the race, and a strong showing expected by the 4-year-olds. These include the Grade 2 Hanshin Daishoten champ Sunrise Earth, the highly consistent Redentor.

This Sunday’s main event, a highly prestigious showcase for stayers, requires over 3 minutes to complete, a grueling run of nearly two full laps over the Kyoto outer course. The race, run clockwise, starts in the backstretch and the field will be asked to twice climb the hill toward the end of the backstretch. Those staying close to the pace or midfield tend to do well in the event, but frontrunners, such as the 71-1 longshot Ingrandire in 2004, have been known to pocket first prize, now at JPY300 million.

The race record is held by superstar Kitasan Black, who clocked 3 minutes, 12.5 seconda in his 2017 winning bid.

All runners will carry 58kg.

The Tenno Sho (Spring) is the 11th race on the Sunday Kyoto card of 12. Post time is 15:40 locally.

Here’s a look at some of the runners expected to take on Sunday’s race:

Sunrise Earth: If one disregards the two double-digit finishes in this colt’s career (after suffering interference in the Satsuki Sho and after an eight-month layoff in the Nikkei Shinshun Hai), Sunrise Earth has performed consistently well, including a fourth in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). Last out, in the Hanshin Daishoten, his first test over 3,000 meters, he romped to victory crossing the finish line 6 lengths ahead of the runner-up. “I’m expecting him to be about the same weight as he was for his last start and I’ve given him just enough work to keep him in condition,” trainer Koichi Ishizaka said. “He’s had races regularly this year and his times in trackwork have been satisfactory. Everything has come along very well. From the time he was two years old, I have really wanted to showcase his stamina here,” The trainer opened his barn in 2019 and is still gunning for his first G1 victory.

Redentor: The Rulership-sired Redentor has only finished out of the Top 2 spots once, an eighth-place finish in the Grade 2 Aoba Sho at Tokyo. He was second to Urban Chic in the Kikuka Sho and followed that up with a 4-length win in the Grade 3 Diamond Stakes, run over 3,400 meters at Tokyo. Based at the Miho barn of Tetsuya Kimura, Redentor has stayed relatively near to home, with only the one excursion to Niigata and one west to Kyoto. Assistant trainer Yuya Tsuchida commented: “In the Diamond Stakes, everything we had been working on came together. His weak point, the start, was much better, so he was able to get a good position. It was a strong win and the jockey did a great job too. After a short spell, we were able to pick right up where we’d left off in training. He’s better all around. It’s a G1 and the course changes, but I think he has a chance if he’s able to draw solidly on his abilities.” Damian Lane is expected to have the ride.

Justin Palace: Winner of this race in 2023, the now six years old son of Deep Impact cannot be ignored. He has competed at the top level in 15 of his 19 career starts, including a bid in Dubai. This is the only G1 he has captured, but his talent is no fluke. He has made the Top 3 in five of those G1s, including a third in the 2022 Kikuka Sho, a third in the 2023 Takarazuka Kinen, and a second four months later behind the magnificent Equinox in the 2023 Tenno Sho (Autumn). Last year, he passed on this race due to his participation in the Dubai Sheema Classic (finished fourth), and this year, he has a slightly different rotation, heading into this race with only four weeks between races, not six as in 2023. Less time off may have him sharper. Trainer Haruki Sugiyama remains positive. “He’s gotten a bit sluggish, so the fact that he moved on his own in the Osaka Hai was very good,” Sugiyama, who has already amassed 23 graded wins since opening his barn nine years ago, said. “If he can make a clean break like he did last time, he can get a good position. His stamina is something you can count on.”

Blow the Horn: By Epiphaneia, the six-year-old Blow the Horn heads into his fifth Grade 1. He shone in his first two G1s close to his Ritto base with a second here last year, followed by a win two months later in the Takarazuka Kinen. After that, however, things took a plunge to double-digit finishes in his next three outings, including the Japan Cup at Tokyo and the Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) at Nakayama. Three months later, he looked to be back in form with a third place in the Hanshin Daishoten. That race and his finishing order in it duplicate last year’s prep before the Tenno Sho (Spring), but this year he carried 1kg more in the Hanshin Daishoten and still performed well. “He had a bit of time off after the Hanshin Daishoten which gave him a nice reset,” trainer Tatsuya Yoshioka commented. “After returning to the training center, he was looking good from the start. Things didn’t unfold in his favor in the Arima Kinen, but he’s suited to this course and I expect his prep race to have sharpened him.”

Meiner Emperor: A 5-year-old son of Gold Ship, whose six top-level wins included the 2012 Kikuka Sho and this race in 2015, Meiner Emperor heads into his first Grade 1. He has been consistent as he has finished in the Top 3 in 12 of his 20 career starts thus far. He has had a slew of riders, including Lanfranco Dettori last December in a 3-win-class event at Kyoto. Two races later in the grade 2 Nikkei Sho over 2,500 meters at Nakayama, he topped last year’s Kikuka Sho winner Urban Chic by a double-neck margin. This will not only be his first G1, but it’ll be also his longest race yet. Trainer Hisashi Shimizu thinks he can handle it. “He’s slow to get his engine revved and his responses aren’t the sharpest, but he can race at a good speed over long distances. He has won over the Kyoto outer course before, so the layout won’t bother him. He’s not one to get keen, so I don’t think the distance will be a problem.” Meiner Emperor has two seconds and two firsts from his seven starts at Kyoto and should enjoy the long stretch. Yuji Tannai is expected up.

Others to watch:

A four-year-old colt with a best two seconds in G2 company, Shonan la Punta was fourth in the Kikuka Sho. He disappointed as the race favorite with another fourth-place finish in the Hanshin Daishoten, but could break into the Top 3.
Fifth (0.5 seconds off the winner) in last year’s Kikuka Sho, Byzantine Dream returns from Saudi and a win in the 3,000-meter Grade 2 Red Sea Turf Handicap. He will carry 2kg less this time and Andrasch Starke, who rode his Kikuka Sho bid, is expected to have the ride.
At the end of 2024, the 7-year-old Chevalier Rose won two Grade 2 events – the Kyoto Daishoten over 2,400 meters, followed by the Stayers Stakes over 3,600 meters. Although he returned four months later with a poor showing in the Grade 2 Nikkei Sho over 2,500 meters at Nakayama 2,500, he will surely welcome the long stretch at Kyoto.