NHK Mile Cup (G1) - Preview

Admire Zoom

Satono Carnaval

Lance of Chaos

Caught Alliciant

Immigrant Song

Arte Veloce

Yankee Barows

Magic Sands

Mondo dell’Amore

It is the start of five weeks of consecutive Grade 1 action at Tokyo Racecourse this coming Sunday (May 11), when the NHK Mile Cup begins the run of top-level races at the track. The race is for 3-year-olds, and is run over a mile on the turf course, the same as the Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen, another race that’s in the sequence of five, to be run about a month later.

The Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup was first run in 1996, and gives an opportunity to 3-year-olds (with the exception of geldings) to run over a mile, as opposed to the longer distances of the next two Classic races, the Grade 1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and the Grade 1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). In rare cases, winners of the mile race have gone on to win the Derby - the great King Kamehameha (2004) and Deep Sky (2008) did - but for the most part, it’s seen as a race for a horse that might not stay much further than a mile. It became an international race in 2009.

This year sees 22 nominations (of which nine are fillies) for a maximum 18 runner field for the race, in which colts carry 57kg, with fillies getting a 2kg allowance. The last filly to win was Aerolithe in 2017. The race often throws up surprise winners, with just the one first favorite finding the winner’s circle in the past ten years, and that was Major Emblem, as long ago as 2016. Record time for the race is still held by Danon Chantilly, who won in a time of 1 minute, 34.1 seconds back in 2010. This year’s winner’s check is JPY130 million (around USD850,000).

A couple of official trial races for the Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup have been the Grade 2 New Zealand Trophy over a mile at Nakayama, and the Grade 3 Churchill Downs Cup, also run over a mile, but at Hanshin. Both of these races were run in April.

The Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Tokyo, with a post time locally of 15:40. Final declarations and the barrier draw will be available later in the week.
Here’s a look at some of the horses expected to be in the line-up for Sunday’s race:

Admire Zoom: Despite winning last year’s Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes, the colt by Maurice lost out to Croix du Nord when it came to being elected Best Two-Year-Old Colt of 2024. In his one run as a 3-year-old, he finished second to Immigrant Song in the Grade 2 New Zealand Trophy at Nakayama in April, but trainer Yasuo Tomomichi believes it was a good prep run for him. “He wasn’t fully wound up for his last race, but he ran well enough,” the trainer said recently. “It was good that he handled the long trip to the track and the overnight stay, so those things were a real plus. In the meantime, things have been as expected with him.” Jockey Yuga Kawada will ride Admire Zoom, as he has done in the colt’s previous four starts.

Satono Carnaval: The Northern Farm-bred colt by Kitasan Black already has experience of racing overseas, having run in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar last year. In one run back in Japan this year, he finished fifth to Masquerade Ball in the Grade 3 Kyodo News Hai (Tokinominoru Kinen) at Tokyo over 1,800 meters in February. Trainer Noriyuki Hori feels the horse is improving. “He came back from Northern Farm Shigaraki on April 12, and after a recent piece of work, he weighed 524kg. After his stay at the farm, he looks refreshed with the warmer weather, and much better in his coat than he did before his last race. His balance is better too.”

Lance of Chaos: The interestingly named Lance of Chaos is a colt by Silver State, and has put himself in the picture for Sunday’s race with a good win in the Grade 3 Churchill Downs Cup over a mile at Hanshin in April. Trainer Yutaka Okumura commented: “Things went well for him last time, including the start, after which he got into a good position in the race, and then managed to get through a narrow gap in the homestraight to go on and win. It meant a lot, after his results in the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes and the Kisaragi Sho. He had a short break at the farm after his last run and things seem fine with him.”

Immigrant Song: The colt by Makfi has already put in some good runs at the Tokyo and Nakayama tracks, and last time defeated Admire Zoom in the Grade 2 New Zealand Trophy over a mile in April. Trainer Tetsuhide Tsuji is pleased with the horse’s progress. “He had the advantage last time, with Admire Zoom returning from a break. Even so, it proved there wasn’t much in it between the two of them, and therefore he’s up there at the level of a Grade 1 winner. I think he’ll be able to handle this next race well, and the switch to the Tokyo track again should be fine.” Christophe Lemaire has been booked to ride Immigrant Song.

Caught Alliciant: Although the filly by Saturnalia has only been a winner of her debut race, she hasn’t been far away in some of her higher-level races since, including last time when she ran a close third to Immigrant Song in the Grade 2 New Zealand Trophy. Trainer Daishi Ito commented on the filly: “She started well last time and got into a good rhythm in the race. It was a good enough effort that we could look at the NHK Mile Cup for her next. She’s not the type where her condition changes so much, but the warmer weather is definitely better for her.” Akira Sugawara gets the ride once again on Caught Alliciant.

Arte Veloce: Trained by Naosuke Sugai, Arte Veloce has already had experience running at different tracks around the country, and that includes his one run at Tokyo last year, when he won over a mile in the Grade 3 Saudi Arabia Royal Cup, a race that often sets horses up for bigger wins in the future. He was last seen finishing second to Lance of Chaos in the Grade 3 Churchill Downs Cup in April. Comments from the trainer were: “He wasn’t so relaxed in the gate last time, so he didn’t start so well and raced from near the back. He finished well down the outside to take second in the end, so I think he proved that he can get into the flow of a race. He’s been at the stable since, and everything’s been good with him.”

Yankee Barows: The colt by Epiphaneia hasn’t run over a mile yet, but is coming off a win over 1,400 meters in the Grade 3 Chunichi Sports Sho Falcon Stakes at Chukyo in March. Trainer Hiroyuki Uemura said: “He had a break at the farm after his last race, with this next one being his target. In recent work, the ground was bad, but he managed to run well throughout that piece of training. There’s no big change with him, and I think he showed some of his potential last time in the Falcon Stakes.” Jockey Mirai Iwata won on him last time and retains the ride on Yankee Barows.

A couple of other likely runners to note are Magic Sands and Mondo dell’Amore. Magic Sands is having a quick turnaround, having finished sixth in last month’s Grade 1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas), but he has won twice over 1,800 meters, while Mondo dell’Amore finished second last time to Yankee Barows, but has raced over a mile and further. Jockeys have been confirmed for the two horses, with Yutaka Take set to ride Magic Sands, and Keita Tosaki will be aboard Mondo dell’Amore.