Takarazuka Kinen (G1) - Preview

Bellagio Opera

Regaleira

Urban Chic

Rousham Park

Durezza

Lord del Rey

Yoho Lake

Justin Palace

Danon Beluga

Meisho Tabaru

The Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin Racecourse on Sunday, June 15, rounds out the JRA Grade1 action for the first half of the year. This year’s Takarazuka Kinen will be run a couple of weeks earlier than usual, in order to try and avoid the onset of the very hot weather in Japan during the summer months.

The race is one of the two Grand Prix (All Star) races on the JRA calendar - the other being the Grade 1 Arima Kinen in December - where fans get to vote for the horses they want to see run against each other. Topping the fans’ poll this time for the early summer showpiece is Bellagio Opera, with close to 230,000 votes, with Regaleira in second place, and Urban Chic taking third spot. All being well, all three of them will line up in Sunday’s race. Any horse among the entries within the Top 10 in number of votes is eligible to run, with the remaining berths allocated on prize money earnings.

The Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen was first run in 1960, and was originally run over 1,800 meters. The current distance of 2,200 meters was introduced in 1966, and it became an international Grade 1 in 1997. Top-level races in other jurisdictions throughout the world at this time of year have meant few overseas runners have taken on the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen, but Werther from Hong Kong ran a great second in the race in 2018 to prove it can be done.

The race is for 3-year-olds and up, with the younger horses set to carry 53kg, while 4-year-olds and up carry 58kg. It’s run over the inner turf course at the Hanshin track. There are 18 early nominations for this year’s race, which will have a maximum field size of 18. This year’s winner’s check is JPY 300 million (about USD 2 million), and the winner receives an automatic entry to the Breeders’ Cup Turf in America and the Cox Plate in Australia.

Over the past decade, just two first favorites have won the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen (Equinox was the last one in 2023), with the race favoring 5-year-olds, which have won seven times in that same time period. Record time for the race was set by Titleholder, when he won in a time of 2: 09.7 seconds in 2022.

Two Grade 1 races this year that some of this week’s runners have taken on have been the Osaka Hai in April and the Tenno Sho (Spring) in May. The 66th running of the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Hanshin, with a post time of 15:40 local time. Final declarations and the barrier draw will be available later this week.

Here is a look at some of the runners expected to be in the final line-up:

Bellagio Opera: The 5-year-old by Lord Kanaloa is the fans’ top pick, and with his second consecutive win of the Grade 1 Osaka Hai last time, he looks to have a good chance of claiming his third Grade 1 title this time. Trainer Hiroyuki Uemura said: “He’s been as usual since his return from the farm, but he seems better than the last time he came back before the Osaka Hai, when he needed to have a bit more work. He’s been training well, and the weather’s not too hot yet, so we don’t have to worry about that with the race being two weeks earlier this year.”

Regaleira: Jockey Keita Tosaki partnered the 4-year-old filly to a narrow victory in last year’s Grade 1 Arima Kinen, and looks set to ride her again, in what will be her first race at the Hanshin track. It will also be her first run of 2025. “Even though she hasn’t run since the Arima Kinen, she seems to have filled out and matured in the meantime,” assistant trainer Yu Ota commented. “She looks well in her coat and is in good condition. She’s better mentally too. We just want to improve her balance before this next race.”

Urban Chic: The 4-year-old colt by Suave Richard has also tasted Grade 1 success, after winning last year’s Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) over 3,000 meters at Kyoto. Coming back in trip doesn’t seem to be an issue either, as he has also won over 2,200 meters, taking out the Grade 2 St. Lite Kinen at Nakayama last September. Trainer Ryo Takei said: “It was a pity he lost in the Nikkei Sho last time, but the going was bad, and I still thought he ran a good race. The jockey (Christophe Lemaire) also put it down to it being the horse’s first race in a while. In training, he can be a little difficult when he first comes out onto the track, as he hasn’t fully matured yet, but once he gets into a good rhythm, he concentrates better.”

Rousham Park: He has become a bit of a world traveler in his quest for Grade 1 victory, but now back in Japan, he’s being aimed once again at the race where he finished fifth last year, on a heavy track, when the race was run at Kyoto. Assistant trainer Hiroyuki Yamazaki said: “He did his best in last year’s Osaka Hai and Takarazuka Kinen. He’s a bit sensitive when it comes to a different environment, and the transportation tends to be a bit hard on him. This time he’ll transport over to Ritto well ahead of time, and so he can travel to the track for this next race on the same day.”

Durezza: The 5-year-old by Duramente is returning from a good run in Dubai, and before that he managed to finish second to Do Deuce in last year’s Grade 1 Japan Cup. He rarely finishes out of the first three, and now takes on the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen for the first time. Trainer Tomohito Ozeki said: “After his trip to Dubai, on his return we sent him to the farm. When he came back to Miho, he looked refreshed and in good condition. He looks well in his coat too. Everything’s gone smoothly with him so far, as we prepare him for this next race.”

Lord del Rey: It was a great debut in a Grade 1 last time for the 5-year-old, who got the closest to Bellagio Opera in the Osaka Hai. He has six wins from a 10-start career, and has one win to his name at Hanshin over the course and distance of this week’s race. Assistant trainer Taku Fukunaga said: “It was his first run in a Grade 1 last time, and even though he lost, it was a result that showed how he is improving. He returned to the stable on May 13 from a break at Champion Hills Farm, and everything’s gone smoothly so far as we get him ready for this next race.” Lord del Rey is trained by Mitsumasa Nakauchida, and will be ridden by stable jockey Yuga Kawada, who has had success on the son of Lord Kanaloa, as well as taking out last week’s Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen.

Yoho Lake: It is good to see that Deep Impact as a sire will be represented in the race, with his 7-year-old son, Yoho Lake, being one of the great horse’s few remaining runners still in training. Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi is enjoying another good year and knows how to have his horses just right for the big occasion. Yoho Lake put in a great run last time to finish third in the Grade 1 Osaka Hai. “From a position well back in the race last time, he ran on well at the end,” the trainer said recently. “He returned to the stable in the middle of May. There are no problems with his legs, and things are going as expected with him. He’s not fully switched on yet, but we’ll tune him up more as the race gets nearer.”

Other runners include Justin Palace (jockey Michael Dee riding for trainer Haruki Sugiyama), Danon Beluga (the all-powerful combination of Damian Lane and Noriyuki Hori), and trainer Yoshito Yahagi has Libyan Glass in the race, to be ridden by Ryusei Sakai. With the weather also coming into play, Meisho Tabaru might try and make the most of his front-running style, a pattern that has produced winners of the race before.