PDF(203kb)

Satono Reve Defends His Title in This Year’s Takamatsunomiya Kinen

Race favorite Satono Reve successfully defended his Takamatsunomiya Kinen title, renewing the race record by 0.4 seconds to 1:06.3 and becoming the second horse to win the race in consecutive years since Kinshasa no Kiseki in 2010 and 2011. Following last year’s victory, the son of Lord Kanaloa recorded two runner-up efforts overseas—the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (G1, 1,200m) in Hong Kong and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1, 1,200m) in Great Britain—and while finishing fourth in the Sprinters Stakes (G1, 1,200m) back home, concluded the season with a ninth in another overseas outing, the Hong Kong Sprint (G1, 1,200m). This year, he was initially scheduled to race in the Al Quoz Sprint but canceled his trip to Dubai and instead began his seven-year-old season with this race. Trainer Noriyuki Hori scored his fourth Takamatsunomiya Kinen title, including two with Kinshasa no Kiseki, and his 17th JRA-G1 win. Jockey Christophe Lemaire, who partnered with this horse for the first time, claimed his 59th JRA-G1 victory, his first since this year’s February Stakes with Costa Nova.

Satono Reve broke sharply from stall 9 and settled in mid-division, traveling around tenth as the field rounded the corners. Angling slightly to the outside entering the stretch, the defending champion unleashed a powerful late charge with the fastest closing speed to collar the leaders 100 meters out before pulling away for a comfortable two-length victory.

“I’m glad Satono Reve was able to win the race for two consecutive years. He’s a very strong horse. The pace was fast from the start, but he knows what he’s supposed to do, so I just let him run in his own rhythm. Once we entered the stretch, he really accelerated—it felt great. It was my first time riding him, but having raced alongside him many times, I knew him well. He’s an easy horse to ride, so it wasn’t difficult at all,” commented jockey Christophe Lemaire.

Fifteenth choice Red Mon Reve broke smoothly and traveled just behind Satono Reve about 11th to 13th from the front. Turning the corners wide, the seven-year-old bay by Lord Kanaloa continued to chase the race favorite to the wire, producing the second fastest late kick to overtake the dueling Win Carnelian and Panja Tower just before the wire, securing second place.

Seventh pick and 2025 Sprinters Stakes champion Win Carnelian settled wide in fourth after a sharp break and responded well to inherit the lead passing the 200-meter pole. While soon overtaken by the winner, the nine-year-old dueled with Panja Tower to hold that foe by a head but was denied by fast-closing Red Mon Reve just before the wire, narrowly missing the runner-up seat by a neck.

Other Horses:
4th: (1) Panja Tower—settled around 4th, joined rally for lead, weakened in final strides
5th: (14) Rapier—raced wide around 7th, ran gamely while no match for top 4 finishers
6th: (13) Namura Clair—positioned around 14th, struggled to find clear path, quickened in last 200m
7th: (4) Danon McKinley—settled around 14th, angled out, improved position
8th: (3) A T Makfi—sat around 8th, found little room at early stretch, accelerated in last 200m
9th: (10) Mama Cocha—broke poorly, sat around 16th, circled wide, passed tired rivals
10th: (17) Pair Pollux—ran around 12th, checked rounding final corner, had too much ground to cover
11th: (2) Big Caesar—saved ground around 10th, boxed in at early stretch, showed brief effort
12th: (7) Yoshino Easter—traveled around 4th, lacked needed kick
13th: (12) Puro Magic—took front then eased back to 2nd, outrun in last 200m
14th: (5) Yamanin al Rihla—was off slowly, hugged rails around 16th, showed little
15th: (15) Invincible Papa—rushed to front to set pace, tired in last 200m
16th: (11) La La Maceration—trailed in rear, checked at final corner, no factor
17th: (18) June Blair—chased leader around 2nd, checked 300m out, dropped back
18th: (16) Fioraia—raced around 8th, checked at final corner, never fired

THE 56TH TAKAMATSUNOMIYA KINEN (G1)
4-year-olds & up, 1,200 meters (about 6 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, March 29, 2026          Chukyo Racecourse           11th Race         Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 369,900,000 (about US$ 2,387,000 <US$1=¥155>)
4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares,
1kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2022
Course record: 1:06.2              Race record: 1:06.3 [Satono Reve (JPN, by Lord Kanaloa), 2026]
Safety factor: 18 runners          Going: Good to Firm           Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 17,491,243,400       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 25,590,002,300       Attendance: 30,400

Winner= 17 starts: 9 wins, 3 seconds & 1 third / Added & stakes money: ¥ 173,864,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 734,033,000

* Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1)

The Takamatsunomiya Kinen, one of two G1 championship events for sprinters held by the JRA together with the Sprinters Stakes (G1, 1,200m) in autumn, was formerly named Takamatsunomiya Cup in honor of Prince Takamatsunomiya who presented the trophy to the winner in 1971. The race was shortened from 2,000 meters to 1,200 meters and granted a Japanese G1 status in 1996, then renamed Takamatsunomiya Kinen in 1998. The race, the first of the annual flat turf G1 events, was temporarily shifted to Hanshin Racecourse in 2011 and returned to the newly renovated track at Chukyo the following year with added challenges of an uphill climb and a longer homestretch exceeding 400 meters.
Designated an international race in 2001, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen welcomed its first two foreign participants—Disturbingthepeace (13th) and Echo Eddie (17th)—from the U.S. in 2003 and was part of the Global Sprint Challenge, the international championship series for sprinters, between 2011 and 2017. Aerovelocity (NZ, by Pins) from Hong Kong became the first foreign horse to win the race in 2015, while Blizzard (AUS, by Starcraft) and Victor The Winner (AUS, by Toronado), also from Hong Kong, finished fifth in 2018 and third in 2024, respectively.
Defending champion and 2025 Best Sprinter Satono Reve and 2025 Sprinters Stakes winner Win Carnelian, who finished ninth and 11th, respectively, in the Hong Kong Sprint (G1, 1,200m; Dec.14), commenced their current seasons with this race. Namura Clair, seeking revenge after three consecutive runner-up efforts in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, came off a second in the Hanshin Cup (G2, 1,400m; Dec.27), in which last year’s Sprinters Stakes runner-up June Blair finished 11th. Coming off the Ocean Stakes (G3, 1,200m; Feb.28) were winner Pair Pollux, followed by Rapier in second and 2023 Sprinters Stakes victor Mama Cocha in fourth. The field also included Panja Tower, Invincible Papa and A T Makfi, respective winners of the 2025 NHK Mile Cup (G1, 1,600m), the CBC Sho (G3, 1,200m) and the Keihan Hai (G3, 1,200m).