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Jantar Mantar Claims Third Mile G1 Title in Yasuda Kinen

Second favorite Jantar Mantar claimed his third G1 title in this year’s Yasuda Kinen, his first outing of this season. The son of Palace Malice won all three starts in his two-year-old season including the Daily Hai Nisai Stakes (G2, 1,600m) and the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (G1, 1,600m) to become the season’s Best Two-Year-Old Colt. He marked a third in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) and a victory in the NHK Mile Cup (G1, 1,600m) in his spring campaign at three-year-old but concluded the season with a disappointing 13th in the Hong Kong Mile (G1, 1,600m). With this win, Jantar Mantar became the first NHK Mile Cup winner to claim this prestigious mile Yasuda Kinen. Trainer Tomokazu Takano registered his ninth JRA-G1 title following last year’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup with Stunning Rose while jockey Yuga Kawada scored his 29th G1 victory following last year’s Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes with Admire Zoom and fourth Yasuda Kinen title after with Maurice in 2015, Satono Aladdin in 2017 and Danon Kingly in 2021.

Jantar Mantar was quick out of the gate and raced in a prominent position around third behind Mad Cool. Keeping the keen Palace Malice colt in control while choosing the better part of the track off the rails and asking his mount to stay patient entering the stretch, jockey Yuga Kawada gave Jantar Mantar the green light after the 400-meter pole, to which the four-year-old responded with good speed to take command just before the 100-meter marker and pulled away to win by a comfortable 1-1/2-length margin

“The colt broke well and was in a good position in third to start, but then got a little over-excited as horses came from behind so I got a little worried. The colt just barely managed to contain himself as much as he could after that and, I was still in doubt as to how he would respond at the stretch but, considering the circumstances, he really put in a good performance in the end and really exceeded my expectations as to how strong he is. He was unable race to his standard at all last time out but I’m glad that he was able to show his true form today. I knew he would become a potential miler when he won the Asahi Hai as a two-year-old and was certain he was the best miler in Japan when taking the NHK Mile Cup title. He was unable to meet expectation in his start after that but today, he’s justified his talent so I’m happy for that,” commented jockey Yuga Kawada.

Gaia Force raced in mid-division between rivals after a smooth break, edged forward approaching the final turn as Soul Rush passed him on the outside. After a brief struggle to find space to angle out early in the stretch, the six-year-old son of Kitasan Black unleased an impressive turn of foot that timed the second fastest finish (tying with Soul Rush and Water Licht) soon after the furlong pole to overtake several rivals including the race favorite to out-finish that foe by a neck for second while unable to match the winner.

Race favorite Soul Rush was unhurried after a good break, sat in mid-field around 11th, made headway approaching the final corner and was in good position for a clear run on the outside for the stretch run but was unable to pick up speed early enough while quickening in the final 100 meters for third place.

Other Horses:
4th: (18) Brede Weg—settled wide in 8th, showed effort inside Soul Rush
5th: (4) Win Marvel—chased in 2nd, led briefly after 3rd corner, ran gamely, outrun in final strides
6th: (9) Champagne Color—broke poorly, trailed in rear, showed fastest late kick but belatedly
7th: (8) Ecoro Walz—sat in 8th, ran strongly, weakened in final strides
8th: (11) Sakura Toujours—settled in 12th, angled out, lacked needed kick
9th: (14) Water Licht—traveled in 14th, passed tired rivals
10th: (3) Mad Cool—set pace, showed tenacity, weakened in last 100m
11th: (17) Jun Blossom—positioned in 14th, circled wide, even paced
12th: (1) Sixpence—took economic trip in 4th, failed to find another gear
13th: (12) Long Run—sat in 4th behind winner, struggled to find clear path at stretch
14th: (2) Daddy’s Vivid—saved ground in 8th, found little room at inner stretch
15th: (5) Red Mon Reve—settled behind winner, failed to respond
16th: (6) Gratias—traveled in 14th, caught behind a wall of horses at stretch
17th: (16) Trovatore—raced wide around 6th, met traffic, dropped back
18th: (15) Ho O Reality—hugged rails 2nd from rear, no factor

THE 75TH YASUDA KINEN (G1)
3-year-olds & up, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, June 8, 2025 Tokyo Racecourse 11th Race Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 390,600,000 (about US$ 2,488,000 <US$1=¥157>)
3-y-o: 54kg (about 119 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares,
1kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2021, 2kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2022
Course Record: 1:30.5 Race Record: 1:30.9 [Indy Champ (JPN, by Stay Gold), 2019]
Safety factor: 18 runners Going: Good to Firm Weather: Cloudy

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 22,247,419,800       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 34,103,408,600       Attendance: 51,642

Winner= 8 starts: 5 wins, 1 second & 1 third / Added & stakes money: ¥ 183,822,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 504,350,000

* Yasuda Kinen (G1)

The Yasuda Kinen, a race to determine the best miler of the spring season, has welcomed just over 50 foreign-trained horses since its designation as an international race in 1993, including champions Heart Lake (GB, by Nureyev; 1995) from the UAE, Fairy King Prawn (AUS, by Danehill; 2000), Bullish Luck (USA, by Royal Academy; 2006) and Romantic Warrior (IRE, by Acclamation; 2024) from Hong Kong. The race joined the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series in 2016, enabling its winners to earn automatic starting position in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1, 1,600m), while the first three finishers of this race are eligible to start in the French mile G1s, the Prix Jacques le Marois and the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp.
Past Yasuda Kinen winners that have subsequently become the season’s Horse of the Year include Oguri Cap (JPN, by Dancing Cap; ’90), Taiki Shuttle (USA, by Devil’s Bag; ’98), Vodka (JPN, by Tanino Gimlet; ’08 &’09), Lord Kanaloa (JPN, by King Kamehameha; ’13) and Maurice (JPN, by Screen Hero; ’15). Last year, Songline (JPN, by Kizuna) successfully defended her Yasuda Kinen title and given the JRA Award Best Miler title before retiring from racing at the end of the season.
2024 JRA Award Best Miler Soul Rush came off his second G1 victory in the Dubai Turf (G1, 1,800m,) where 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1, 2,200m) victor Brede Weg was seventh. Long Run came off back-to-back graded victories in the Kokura Daishoten (G3, 1,800m) and the Milers Cup (G2, 1,600m), the latter in which Fuji Stakes (G2, 1,600m) winner Jun Blossom came in second. Two-time G1 champion Jantar Mantar kicked off the current season with this race. 2024 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1,200m) victor Mad Cool had ran at a mile for the second time in his career—the first being his debut start in 2022. The field also included Water Licht and Trovatore, respective winners of the Tokyo Shimbun Hai (G3, 1,600m) and the Lord Derby Challenge Trophy (G3, 1,600m); Win Marvel, runner-up in the 1351 Turf Sprint (G2, 1,351m); Ecoro Walz and Sixpence who came off their respective fourth and seventh-place finishes in the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m).