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Meisho Tabaru Defends His Title in This Year’s Takarazuka Kinen

Second favorite Meisho Tabaru captured this year’s All-Star “Grand Prix,” the Takarazuka Kinen, becoming only the third horse to win the race two years in a row, following his sire Gold Ship in 2013-2014 and Chrono Genesis in 2020-2021. After winning last year’s edition, the son of Gold Ship finished sixth, 0.2 seconds behind the winner, in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m) before finishing a disappointing 13th in the year-end Arima Kinen (G1, 2,500m). He commenced the current season by finishing second to Croix du Nord in the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m) on April 5, his most recent start. Trainer Mamoru Ishibashi scored his second JRA-G1 win, while jockey Yutaka Take claimed his 86th G1 title, following his victory in the Yasuda Kinen aboard Sixpence just a week earlier, and extended his own record for most Takarazuka Kinen victories to six, including victories with Inari One (1989), Mejiro McQueen (1993), Marvelous Sunday (1997) and Deep Impact (2006). He also extended his own record as the oldest jockey to win a G1 race at the age of 57 years, 3 months and 1 day.

With the track condition changing from “good to firm” to “yielding” due to a sudden downpour just before the race, the strong field of 18, which included five of the top six horses in the fans’ vote, made a clean break in front of a large crowd of racing fans. As Cosmo Kuranda rushed to the front to take the lead, Meisho Tabaru broke smoothly from an outside draw and settled just off the pace in second. As the field crowded while turning the last two corners, the five-year-old bay by Gold Ship tenaciously closed ground, caught the leader passing the 200-meter marker and managed to fend off the strong charge by the race favorite in the final 100 meters to defend his title by a neck.

“When it started raining just before the race, I felt as though the late owner Yoshio Matsumoto had sent it down from heaven. Since races are unpredictable, I stayed flexible and settled in second position, and we were able to race in good rhythm. When Croix du Nord closed in before the wire, I thought, “Please, not this time!” I felt that Meisho Tabaru was in really good form and the strongest today. I think we can head to France with our heads held high,” commented jockey Yutaka Take.

Race favorite Croix du Nord tracked the pace in good striking position, around fifth from the front, and saved ground along the rails through the final two corners. The four-year-old Kitasan Black colt launched his bid upon entering the lane, chasing Meisho Tabaru and unleashing a powerful late kick in an attempt to catch the leader as he had in the Osaka Hai but fell a neck short this time to finish second.

Breaking from the innermost stall, third pick Danon Decile was unhurried around 14th and made headway on the rails rounding the final corners before angling out at the top of the stretch. The two-time G1 victor dug well to close in on the leaders with the fastest late speed, and while unable to threaten the top two finishers due to too much ground to make up, he denied tenacious Cosmo Kuranda just before the wire to register his fourth consecutive third-place finish since last year’s Japan Cup.

Other Horses:
4th: (9) Cosmo Kuranda—set pace, showed tenacity after surrendering lead, weakened in last 100m
5th: (8) Tagano Dude—trailed in rear, passed tired rivals between horses with tied 2nd fastest late kick
6th: (7) Family Time—hugged rails around 9th, showed effort on inner stretch
7th: (17) Regaleira—traveled wide around 11th, failed to launch late speed
8th: (10) June Take—ran wide around 7th, advanced but failed to keep up with frontrunners in last 200m
9th: (2) Museum Mile—sat around 6th behind favorite, lacked needed kick
10th: (12) Meiner Emperor—tracked leaders around 3rd, sustained bid until 200m pole
11th: (11) Shin Emperor—saved ground around 15th, even paced
12th: (4) Mikuni Inspire—sat around 7th, gradually dropped back
13th: (14) Stinger Glass—settled in 17th, unable to reach contention
14th: (13) Shake Your Heart—positioned wide around 15th, showed little
15th: (6) Byzantine Dream—raced in 16th, advanced after 3rd corner, failed to respond
16th: (18) Mystery Way—traveled wide around 11th, never fired at stretch
17th: (3) Sugar Kun—chased leaders around 3rd, faded after final corner
FF: (15) My Universe—ran around 10th, dropped back, pulled up due to acute heart failure

THE 67TH TAKARAZUKA KINEN (G1)
3-year-olds & up, 2,200 meters (about 11 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, June 14, 2026          Hanshin Racecourse          11th Race            Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 651,000,000 (about US$ 4,200,000 <US$1=¥155>)
3-y-o: 53kg (about 117 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares,
1kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2022, 3kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2023
Course record: 2:09.7           Race record: 2:09.7 [Titleholder (JPN, by Duramente), 2022]
Safety factor: 18 runners       Going: Yielding                  Weather: Rainy

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 29,390,524,400       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 39,367,507,100       Attendance: 61,857

Winner= 15 starts: 6 wins & 1 second / Added & stakes money: ¥ 303,780,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 866,338,600

* Takarazuka Kinen (G1)

The Takarazuka Kinen, established in 1960, opened its doors to foreign-trained horses in 1997 and became the first international grade-one race designated by the International Cataloguing Standards Committee (ICSC) held in western Japan in 2001. The race joined the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series in 2011, enabling its winner to earn automatic starting position in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1, 2,400m). The winner is also eligible to start in the Cox Plate (G1, 2,040m) since 2019. In 2018, the race welcomed Hong Kong’s 2015/2016 Horse of the Year Werther (NZ, by Tavistock) who finished a neck second. The venue was temporarily shifted to Kyoto Racecourse in 2024 due to the repair of the stands at Hanshin Racecourse.
It is a Grand Prix (All-Star) race, along with the year-end Arima Kinen (G1, 2,500m), in which the runners are selected by a fan poll. The fans can cast their votes online to select the ten most popular runners. The top ten horses with the most votes from the second special entry list are entitled to run in the race, while the rest of the field will consist of horses determined by earnings and selected foreign runners.
This year’s contenders that were among the top ten horses voted included: Croix du Nord (1st), coming off his wins in the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m; Apr.5) and the Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1, 3,200m; May.3); Meisho Tabaru (2nd), defending champion and runner-up in the Osaka Hai; Regaleira (4th), three-time G1 victor including the 2024 Arima Kinen; Museum Mile (5th), winner of the 2025 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) and Arima Kinen; and Danon Decile (6th), 2024 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m) champion who went on to claim the 2025 Dubai Sheema Classic (G1, 2,410m).
Other runners within the top 50 horses voted included graded winners Tagano Dude (20th), My Universe (21st), Shake Your Heart (22nd), Stinger Glass (25th), June Take (27th), Shin Emperor (34th), Cosmo Kuranda (35th), Meiner Emperor (36th), Byzantine Dream (38th) and Mystery Way (46th).
Horses that were ranked among the top ten but passed up their entry were Masquerade Ball (JPN, C4, by Duramente; 3rd), Energico (JPN, C4, by Duramente; 7th), Lovcen (JPN, C3, by World Premiere; 8th), Admire Terra (JPN, H5, by Rey de Oro; 9th) and Embroidery (JPN, F4, by Admire Mars; 10th).