Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) - Preview

Masquerade Ball

Museum Mile

Meisho Tabaru

Tastiera

Shirankedo

Queen’s Walk

Lord del Rey

Justin Palace

Ho O Biscuits

On Nov. 2, the top-level racing moves from Kyoto to Tokyo. It is the 2025 Tenno Sho (Autumn) and, together with the longer Tenno Sho (Spring), Sunday’s race will mark the 172nd running. Its name translates to “Emperor’s Prize” and it is, appropriately, often considered the most prestigious the Japan Racing Association offers. The race carries a hefty first prize of JPY300 million yen and a purse of JPY651 million.

Nominations closed on Oct. 19, with only 15 horses elected for the 18 spots. The race has not attracted a full gate since 2017. The race’s timing four weeks before the Japan Cup and the renowned difficulty of the Tokyo 2,000-meter course often make for smaller fields.

The turf event is open to 3-year-olds and up including geldings, and this year’s field features seven Grade 1 winners. The Tenno Sho (Autumn) is often the place 3-year-olds meet older horses in a Grade 1 competition for the first time, and the field Sunday will feature two such colts - Masquerade Ball and Museum Mile - both expected to be one of the fan’s favorites. Four youngsters have won since the race opened to 3-year-olds in 1987 - Bubble Gum Fellow in 1996, Symboli Kris S in 2002, Efforia in 2021 and Equinox in 2022.

The Tokyo 2,000 meters starts in the pocket to the right of the grandstand and, only 100 meters later, the field turns into the backstretch, making the inner gates advantageous. No horse further out than No. 9 has won the race in the past decade. However, a runner from a double-digit gate has finished in second place twice in the last 10 runnings, and three times in third place.

Over the past 10 runnings, the day’s No. 1 pick has won seven times and finished in second place once. Double-digit choices have only made the Top 3 places twice over the last decade.

As for jockeys, Christophe Lemaire has ridden the winner in an incredible five of the last seven Tenno Sho (Autumn). Yutaka Take holds the record for wins amongst current riders, with seven wins of the race from his first in 1989 aboard Super Creek to last year’s win partnered with Do Deuce.

Equinox holds the race record of 1 minute, 55.2 seconds set in 2023.

The Tenno Sho (Autumn) is the No. 11 race on the Sunday card of 12 at Tokyo. Post time is 15:40 locally.

Here’s a look at a number of the expected popular picks.

Masquerade Ball: Third in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas), second in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) only 0.1 seconds behind Croix du Nord, Masquerade Ball is one of Miho’s brightest stars in this year’s lineup. He has missed the Top 3 spots only once in his six career starts, and he’s known for his versatility and a mean turn of foot. He is a son of 2015 Satsuki Sho and Derby winner Duramente. Masquerade Ball has won two other races at Tokyo, both over 1,800 meters. This will be his first time, however, to compete against older horses and he is expected to be paired with Christophe Lemaire, on a double G1 winning streak in as many weeks and riding Masquerade Ball for the first time in a race. The colt returns without a sharpener from the Derby in early June, but trainer Takahisa Tezuka has high hopes for the colt: “He is moving better in morning work now than he used to and is more relaxed. There is no big change in him physically. Last week (Oct. 23), Lemaire rode and got a reading on his quirks. He’ll be competing this time against older horses but I think the distance suits him. With the difference in the assigned weight, and if he can access what he’s got, I’m hopeful.”

Museum Mile: Another highly consistent and versatile 3-year-old colt, the Leontes-sired Museum Mile was runnerup in the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes over 1,600 meters at Nakayama at yearend. He then scored a 1-6 in the year’s first two classics, with saw him beat Croix du Nord by a length and a half in the Satsuki Sho. Based at Ritto at the stable of Daisuke Takayanagi, who fielded last week’s Kikuka Sho winner Energico, Sunday’s race will only be Museum Mile’s second time at Tokyo, but his record at Nakayama (two wins and a fourth) shows the trip east itself shouldn’t pose any problems. Museum Mile was prepped with the Grade 2 Asahi Hai St. Lite Kinen at Nakayama in mid-September and won by 3/4 length. He is said to be showing improvement. He will be gunning for his first win over a left-handed track. Cristian Demuro, who has scored a win and a second with Museum Mile at Kyoto, is expected up.

Meisho Tabaru: The 4-year-old Gold Ship-sired Meisho Tabaru returns directly from his win of the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen. He topped the 2,200-meter Takarazuka field by three lengths only two months after returning from a fifth-place finish in the Dubai Turf over 1,800 meters at Meydan. Meisho Tabaru has raced twice over left-handed track (both at Chukyo) thus far and won the Grade 2 Kobe Shimbun Hai over 2,200 meters last year. Though nominated for the 2024 Japanese Derby, the colt was scratched two days prior to the race due to a stone bruise. The distance here should be a plus for him, as his five career wins thus far have been claimed over 1,800-2,200 meters. Meisho Tabaru is looking good in morning work and turned in a fine time of 78.3 seconds over the Ritto woodchip course Oct. 23. Yutaka Take, who has been partnered with Meisho Tabaru for his most recent two starts, is pegged for the Tenno Sho ride.

Tastiera: 2023 Japanese Derby champion and runner-up here last year behind Do Deuce, Tastiera followed the 2024 Tenno Sho (Autumn) with a third in the Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin in early December. This spring, he returned to Hong Kong and captured the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in late April, in what was his first win since the Japanese Derby seven starts ago. He returns after a layoff of a full six months. He is proven at Tokyo and based at the Miho barn of Noriyuki Hori, who won the race with Maurice in 2016. After returning to Miho in late September, the trainer said the horse’s imbalances in his hindquarters were rectified with changes made to the angle of his hooves and he’s been improved. Tastiera’s sire Satono Crown failed to make the winner’s circle in his three runs in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), but he greatly improved his results going from a 17th-place finish as a 3-year-old, 14th the following year and finally a second as a 5-year-old, the same age as Tastiera is now. Two of Tastiera’s four career wins and three of his other four finishes in the Top 3 all came over 2,000 meters.

Shirankedo: The Grade 1 Victoria Mile in late May put an end to a three-race roll for the 5-year-old mare Shirankedo, but despite some rough spots, she clocked the field’s fastest late speed and made third place matching the winner’s time. At the end of August, she competed in mixed company over 2,000 meters in the Grade 3 Niigata Kinen and topped the field, putting half a length between her and Kikuka Sho winner Energico. “She’s suited to the long stretch and the spacious course,” Ritto-based trainer Mitsunori Makiura said. The mare is often slow out of the gate and that may be a point of concern.

Queen’s Walk: Set to race in the Niigata Kinen on Aug. 31, Victoria Mile runner-up Queen’s Walk got loose in the warm-up and had to be scratched from the race. She recovered at the farm and returned to Ritto in early October. A huge filly by Kizuna at about 550kg, Queen’s Walk was fourth in the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) over 2,400 meters at Tokyo and has won two Grade 2s at Chukyo. Her tension level on raceday will be key.

Lord del Rey: A son of sprint champion Lord Kanaloa, the 5-year-old Lord del Rey has taken exceptionally well to longer distances and has three wins over 2,000 meters (two at Tokyo). He also has three second places over the distance, including the Grade 1 Osaka Hai in April, where he finished a length behind Bellagio Opera, who won the race in record time. Next out in the Takarazuka Kinen, traffic was the main cause of his eighth-place finish, coupled possibly with it being his first time over a softer track. Racing under Yuga Kawada in that race, Lord del Rey is expected to be back with Atsuya Nishimura, who has ridden three of his previous races, including the Osaka Hai.

Others of interest are:

Second in the 2023 Tenno Sho, fourth last year, Justin Palace returns from a third in the Takarazuka under New Zealand jockey Michael Dee. The 6-year-old was in eye-catching shape last week working under jockey Taisei Danno, expected up Sunday.

Third here last year, Ho O Biscuits led until overtaken only a handful of strides before the finish. He has two seconds in Grade 2 company this year, including his most recent race, the Mainichi Okan over 1,800 meters at Tokyo run earlier this month. He is looking fine in trackwork and is best not dismissed.