Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) (G1) - Preview

Regaleira

Danon Decile

Museum Mile

Meisho Tabaru

Justin Palace

Shin Emperor

Admire Terra

Tastiera

On Sunday, Dec. 28, with the Hopeful Stakes scheduled for the previous day, racegoers can welcome the Grade 1 Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) back to its traditional spot as the year’s final big bang.

The site is Nakayama Racecourse and a full gate of 16 from 22 nominees is expected in the 70th running of the iconic race, as they vie over 2,500 meters of turf for Japan’s biggest purse. It is one that matches that of the Japan Cup with a first-place prize of JPY500 million and a total value of JPY1.09 billion.

The Arima Kinen field is chosen in part by fan balloting and this year the No. 1 pick - last year’s winner Regaleira - received over 612,700 votes from fans (more than three times what she had last year) as the horse they most wanted to see compete.

Regaleira, and five more from the fans’ Top 10 choices have been included in the nominees. They are Meisho Tabaru (the fans’ No. 4 pick), Justin Palace (No. 6 in the balloting), Museum Mile (No. 7), Danon Decile (No. 8) and Redentor (No. 10).

Run over the Nakayama inner course, the iconic race starts at the end of the backstretch on a part of the outer course just before the far bend. With the field immediately having to jockey for position, horses drawn wide are at something of a disadvantage (the reason behind the Arima maximum field of only 16).

The field passes before the grandstand and circles around once again. A slope in the homestretch begins 200 meters before the finish line and rises two meters in less than 150 meters. The ground continues to rise halfway through the turn into the backstretch, then it’s all downhill until just before the turn off the backstretch where it more or less flattens until the homestretch again. The two laps and the second hill at the end make for an especially challenging test of skill and stamina.

The Arima Kinen is open to 3 year olds and up, including geldings. The two 3-year-old colts and two females expected in the final lineup this year will carry 56kg each, with the rest of the field racing under 58kg. Post time is 15:40 locally for the Arima Kinen, the 11th race on the Sunday card of 12 at Nakayama.

Here’s a look at those horses gaining attention:

Regaleira: The Suave Richard-sired Regaleira just clinched her third G1 victory, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup on Nov. 16, adding to her wins of the 2023 Hopeful Stakes and last year’s Arima Kinen. After last year becoming the first 3-year-old filly in 64 years to win the Arima Kinen, Regaleira was discovered to have suffered a fracture. She didn’t race again until the June 15 Takarazuka Kinen, where she finished in 11th place, her first double-digit result. Back in the winner’s circle three months later in the Grade 2 Sankei Sho All Comers over 2,200 meters at Nakayama, then she landed the QEII Cup at Kyoto. If she can notch a second win in a row of the Arima Kinen, Regaleira will join only four other horses that have done so - Speed Symboli (Japan’s first runner in the Arc), Triple Crown champion Symboli Rudolf, Grass Wonder and Symboli Kris S. Regaleira also would become the very first filly/mare to land back-to-back Arima Kinen victories. Last year, the filly was paired with Keita Tosaki, but this year her expected partner will be Christophe Lemaire, currently atop the jockey rankings with a total 138 firsts, seven wins ahead of second-place Tosaki.

Danon Decile: A 4-year-old old son of Epiphaneia, Danon Decile has two wins from four starts this year. He has landed two G1s thus far (the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) at Tokyo and the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan, and has only missed the board once in his career. Third here last year and coming off a third-place finish in the Japan Cup three months after returning from England, the big chestnut has had an extremely demanding schedule, especially with the effort it took to finish a mere 0.5 seconds behind the record-setting Calandagan in the Japan Cup. Danon Decile also had to deal with Masquerade Ball crashing into him after the two had passed the finish line, in what was a bizarre confrontation that unseated both Christophe Lemaire and Keita Tosaki. Tosaki, who has ridden Danon Decile’s last four starts, is expected up on Sunday.

Museum Mile: This year’s Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) champion, Museum Mile, is by 2015 Asahi Futurity Stakes winner Leontes, whose promising racing career was cut short by tendonitis in his 3-year-old year. Son Museum Mile is eyeing his second big title. In his three starts following the Satsuki Sho, Museum Mile was 6-2 at the top level, first in the Japanese Derby and, in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), where he competed against older horses for his first time. In between those two big tests, he won the Grade 2 St. Lite Kinen over 2,200 meters at Nakayama. Having passed on the last of the 3-year-old classics, the Arima Kinen will be his longest race (by 100 meters) to date. The colt is said to be in good condition, filled out and fresh.

Meisho Tabaru: A 4-year-old Gold Ship colt, Meisho Tabaru, returned early this year from a fifth place in the Grade 1 Dubai Turf, took the lead characteristically in the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen and held it all the way home, landing on his fourth attempt the first big win of his career. Following the Takarazuka Kinen, Meisho Tabaru returned in the fall and took on the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and finished in sixth place. His five career wins have all come in the 1,800-2,200 range and key will be whether he can follow in his sire’s footsteps and land the Arima Kinen.

 
Justin Palace: Winner of the Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) in 2023 and second in two other top-level competitions, the now 6-year-old Justin Palace heads into his fourth bid in the Arima Kinen. He went to the Arima from the Kikuka Sho in 2022, from the Tenno Sho (Autumn) in 2023, but over the last two years the demand doubled in his fall campaign. Three big events were on his menu this year and last year, the Ritto-based son of Deep Imact went from the Tenno Sho (Autumn) to the Japan Cup to the Arima Kinen. Last year, he was 4-5 heading in, this year it’s 3-5.  This will be Justince Palace’s retirement race. Jockey Taisei Danno, who took the reins in this year’s Tenno Sho (Autumn), is expected up.

Shin Emperor: Second in the 2023 Hopeful Stakes, 5-3 in the first two classics the following year, Shin Emperor is another of those who have come so close but have failed to land a big title. After the Japanese Derby, the French-born colt was off to Ireland, then France, posting 3-12 in the top level Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp. Following a second in the Japan Cup last year, it was decided to take him abroad again and the Yoshito Yahagi-trained son of Siyouni picked up his first overseas win, the Grade 2 Neom Turf in Riyadh in late February. He then missed the board again in the Dubai Sheema Classic (7th place), and in the Irish Champion Stakes (6th place), before returning to Japan. Only two months and-some later, he scored an eighth in the Japan Cup, where he was in part disadvantaged by a wide draw. He is tough, tenacious and gutsy, but whether Shin Emperor can rise to the heights while being whisked all over the globe and challenged by one big test after another, remains to be seen.

Others to watch:

Tthe 4-year-old Admire Terra gave himself a 58-kg handicap when he tripped and dumped Yuga Kawada at the Japan Cup break. Sired by 2018 Arima runnerup Rey de Oro, Admire Terra has made the board in all his 10 legitimate finishes, placed third in the Kikuka Sho last year, and won the 2,500-meter G2 Meguro Kinen this year. Kawada may get a better chance at the pot this time around.
Tastiera heads into his third start this autumn since winning the Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong in the spring. He scored a lackluster 8-7 in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and Japan Cup, where he ran into trouble with the freewheeling Admire Terra. Interference in the final stage was also a factor in his sixth-place finish in the 2023 Arima. With a smooth trip, he should run better.