Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) (G1) - Preview

Eri King

Energico

Shohei

Giovanni

Goltzschtal

Yamanin Bouclier

Right Track

Japan’s Triple Crown wraps up this Sunday, Oct. 26 with the 86th running of the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger). The Kikuka Sho is the longest of the three races in the country’s Triple Crown, which also includes the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) and the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) in the spring.

The race is run over 3,000 meters of turf at Kyoto Racecourse and the field must circle more than one and a half times around. It requires more than 3 minutes to complete, making it a grueling test of stamina, one of the few times for a stayer to shine. The race presently carries a first-place prize of JPY200 million and an overall purse of JPY434 million.

Although the race is open to three-year-old colts and fillies (no geldings), this year’s field will be made up of only colts, with 20 nominees, but only 18 runners permitted to race. Only one of the Top 3 finishers of the first two classics is set to be in the field this Sunday (Shohei, third place in the Japanese Derby).

Shohei and four other colts (named in parentheses) received an automatic ticket to the Kikuka Sho for their performances in one of the two trial races, both run in mid-September, the St. Lite Kinen (Yamanin Bouclier and Red Bande) and Kobe Shimbun Hai (Eri King, Shohei and Giovanni). In addition, there are Top 3 earners -- Energico, Excite Bio and Goltzschtal - that will likely be strongly backed by the fans. Six other nominees tied for earnings will have to win a draw deciding the final four spots in the starting gate.

The Kikuka Sho is run over 3,000 meters on Kyoto’s outer “A course”, which begins partway up the slope of the backstretch, circles around the bend while dropping some four meters and continues once around again. The second lap is especially arduous due to the longer climb with the track rising about four meters over some 200 meters.

All runners will carry 57kg. The Kikuka Sho is the 11th race on the Sunday card of 12 at Kyoto. Post time is 15:40 locally.

Here’s a look at the expected popular picks:

Eri King: Sired by 2013 Japanese Derby champion Kizuna, Eri King started his career with a three-win streak, that included two wins at Kyoto, and culminated in victory in the Grade 3 Kyoto Nisai Stakes over 2,000 meters in late November. During that race, however, he suffered a fracture and did not return until the Satsuki Sho, where he finished in 11th place after suffering interference. In the Japanese Derby, he missed the break, yet was able to finish in fifth place to finish in fifth place 0.7 seconds behind winner Croix du Nord, from a 14-place position. Despite his rather disappointing results in the first two classics, his recent win in the Kobe Shimbun Hai will likely boost him to race-favorite status. Yuga Kawada, who has ridden all the colt’s starts, is expected up. Kawada has notched 96 wins this year and is close to making it his 11th year, and seventh in a row to top 100 wins.

Energico: A dark bay colt by Duramente, Energico is considered to represent Miho’s best chance to win this year’s Kikuka Sho. He won three races in a row from his debut late last year, one of which was the Grade 2 Aoba Sho over 2,400 meters at Tokyo. Returning in late August, he went up against older horses in the Grade 3 Niigata Kinen over 2,000 meters. Though he had raced from far off the pace in his previous races, and despite being slow away this time, he quickly made up ground, racing in fifth position, a strategy that would serve him well here. Energico finished in second place only half a length behind the winning horse, older by two years and carrying 1kg less. Energico shipped early to train at Ritto to skip the long haul to the track immediately before the race. It will, however, be his first time racing to the right. Christophe Lemaire, who won this race in 2023 and 2024 and has ridden the colt’s previous two races, is pegged for the ride on Sunday.

Shohei: The Saturnalia-sired Shohei has only figured out of the Top 3 places in one of his six starts thus far. Before his third in the Japanese Derby, he had scored a win in the Grade 2 Kyoto Shimbun Hai, and following the Derby he returned on Sept. 21 for a second-place finish in the Kobe Shimbun Hai only a neck behind winner Eri King. Four of his starts have been at Kyoto, making him especially familiar with the venue, but he is expected to have a new partner this time out with Mirai Iwata in the saddle. Veteran trainer Yasuo Tomomichi, who has won 23 JRA Grade 1s since opening his barn in 2002, has fielded a Kikuka Sho runner every year since 2014 and won the race with World Premiere in 2019. Of Shohei, he commented: “He does grab the bit in his teeth at times, but he’s been patient in morning work. With a good pace expected this time, I think things will be easier for him. He’ll be up against other 3-year-olds and if he can control himself coming off the hill the first time around, I think he has ample chance.”

Giovanni: A son of 2013 Kikuka Sho champion Epiphaneia, Giovanni posted a 4-8 in the spring classics. He returned in the Kobe Shimbun Hai trial, where he finished in third place 0.4 seconds behind winner Eri King, winning him a place in the Kikuka Sho. One of two horses being fielded here by trainer Haruki Sugiyama, Giovanni has yet to win a graded stakes race but has come close three times - a second in the Grade 3 Kyoto Nisai Stakes, a second in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes and the third in the Kobe Shimbun Hai. Tested over distances from 1,800 meters to 2,400 meters, he is yet to win anything above 2,000 meters. However, though he lacks a quick turn of foot, he settles well and his stamina, proven amid the high pace of the Satsuki Sho, will surely stand him well here. Kohei Matsuyama, who has ridden all of the colt’s eight starts thus far, is expected to have the ride.

Goltzschtal - A son of the American champion Bricks and Mortar, Goltzschtal has yet to win a graded event, but with seven races under his belt and having finished in the top three in all but one, he has made his way to the Kikuka Sho lineup. Though a versatile runner, he tends to race on or close to the pace and has been given only distances from 2,000 to 2,400 meters. His stamina and good racing sense should stand him well and his third place in the Grade 3 Aoba Sho in April, where he finished by a neck and a nose behind winner Energico, indicates he is undoubtedly competitive here. Goltzschtal returns to the track after 2 months off but is looking fine in work. Trainer Haruki Sugiyama is confident the colt’s strong sense of competitiveness will be a plus in this marathon race. Ryusei Sakai, who has ridden four of his previous starts, is expected up on Sunday.

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Others of interest:

Ritto-based My Universe, highly consistent with seven finishes in the top three from 10 starts and proven at Kyoto, smashed the competition by 7 lengths to win over 2,500 meters at Nakayama on Sept. 20. He’s trained by Koshiro Take (still chasing his first G1 win), and brother Yutaka, who holds the Kikuka Sho record with five wins, is expected as his new partner.
Yamanin Bouclier, a striking gray colt by Kitasan Black trained by former jockey Mikio Matsunaga at Ritto, has been markedly improving since the spring, and like his late-blooming sire, looks to be coming into his own. In his third graded race, he made the money for the first time with a second in the G2 St. Lite Kinen in mid September. A huge colt weighing over 510 kg, improvement is expected.
Right Track, also by Kitasan Black, has only three starts behind him, two wins and most recently, a fifth in the Kobe Shimbun Hai. Though he doesn’t have the quickest responses, he has proven his stamina and is able to run at a good speed at length and could do well if he can handle the upturn in pace as the field enters the stretch.
Excite Bio returns from a G3 win at the end of June. The distance is a concern, but he’s nimble, agile, and has a mean turn of foot that could serve him well over the many turns.
With a third and a fourth in G2 company and in the money in his other three starts, the Kizuna-sired Red Bande is consistent, proven over 2,400 meters, and worth a wager.