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Puro Magic Captures First G1 Title in Wire-to-Wire Sprinters Stakes Victory

Ninth favorite Puro Magic turned in a wire-to-wire victory in this year’s Sprinters Stakes, capturing her first G1 title in her sixth challenge at that level. Debuting in June as a two-year-old, the daughter of Asia Express was mainly raced at 1,000 and 1,200 meters and registered three graded titles—the 2024 Aoi Stakes (G3, 1,200m), the Kitakyushu Kinen (G3, 1,200m), and the 2025 Ibis Summer Dash (G3, 1,000m)—during her three- and four-year-old seasons. This year, the five-year-old mare won the Hakodate Sprint Stakes (G3, 1,200m) in June and the Ibis Summer Dash in August, then registered a runner-up effort in her previous start, the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1,200m), three weeks earlier, which earned her the Summer Sprint Series champion title. This win marked the first G1 title for her sire Asia Express, winner of the 2013 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes. Trainer Shogo Yasuda scored his second JRA-G1 victory since the 2024 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) with Danon Decile, while jockey Mirai Iwata also claimed his second G1 title after his win in the 2024 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies with Arma Veloce.

Puro Magic broke sharply from the widest stall and quickly assumed command to set the pace. The Asia Express mare continued to lead the field, opening a three-length gap over the rest of the field while turning the corners, and though challenged by World’s End and Sound Moryana in the final 100 meters, the five-year-old bay found another gear and managed to cross the wire a neck in front to capture her first G1 title.

“I was a bit worried about the ground condition, but thanks to her ability and speed, we were able to take the lead. She was more composed than in her last race and managed to hang on in the stretch,” commented jockey Mirai Iwata.

Fifth choice World’s End advanced to third on the rails and strongly closed in on the eventual winner with every stride in the stretch, but was a neck short of catching that foe and finished second, repeating his runner-up effort in his previous G1 start, the Yasuda Kinen (G1, 1,600m) this spring.

Eleventh pick Sound Moryana broke sharply but eased back around fifth early. The Keeneland Cup (G3, 1,200m) winner turned the final corner in tandem with World’s End and dueled with him in the last 200 meters, but missed the runner-up seat by a nose to finish third.

Race favorite Star Anise broke smoothly and traveled wide toward the back, around tenth from the front. Meeting traffic at the top of the lane, the three-year-old Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) winner found an open space 200 meters out and displayed a powerful turn of foot, recording the second fastest closing speed to close in on the top three, but finished 1-1/4-lengths behind in fourth.

Other Horses:
5th: (1) Red Mon Reve—trailed in rear, launched fastest late kick but belatedly
6th: (14) Win Carnelian—raced around 6th, rallied to chase winner, weakened in last 100m
7th: (8) A T Makfi—settled near rear, showed tied 3rd fastest late drive but never threatened
8th: (4) June Blair—saved ground around 7th, showed effort until 100m out
8th: (7) Pair Pollux—ran around 4th, met traffic 300m out, even paced thereafter
10th: (3) Mama Cocha—sat around 7th, angled out, lacked needed kick
11th: (2) Ai Sansan—hugged rails around 10th, showed little at stretch
12th: (15) Flicker Jab—tracked winner in 2nd, remained in contention up to 200m pole
13th: (10) Rapier—positioned near rear, circled wide, unable to reach contention
14th: (11) Lugal—race wide around 10th, failed to respond when needed
15th: (13) Panja Tower—ran wide around 8th, never fired at stretch
16th: (12) Black Chalice—traveled wide in mid-group early, dropped position

THE 60TH SPRINTERS STAKES (G1)
3-year-olds & up, 1,200 meters (about 6 furlongs), turf, right-handed
Sunday, September 27, 2026   Nakayama Racecourse      11th Race         Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 369,900,000 (about US$ 2,387,000 <US$1=¥155>)
3-y-o: 56kg (about 123-124 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs),
2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares, 1kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2023
Course record: 1:06.7              Race record: 1:06.7 [Lord Kanaloa (JPN, by King Kamehameha), 2012]
Safety factor: 16 runners          Going: Good                     Weather: Cloudy

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 17,266,324,100       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 29,064,916,000       Attendance: 33,526

Winner= 22 starts: 8 wins, 3 seconds & 1 third / Added & stakes money: ¥ 173,360,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 441,417,300

* Sprinters Stakes (G1)

The Sprinters Stakes, initially established in 1967 as a major 1,200-meter sprint race for three-year-olds and up, was designated as a spring G3 event in conjunction with the new grading system implemented in 1984. It was then upgraded to G2 in 1987 before becoming a G1 sprint race in 1990, with the date of the fixture also shifted to the latter part of the season. The race now positions itself as the pinnacle event for sprinters, together with the Takamatsunomiya Kinen (G1, 1,200m) held in spring.
One of the first few JRA races to open its doors to foreign entries, the Sprinters Stakes has enjoyed the participation of many outstanding sprinters from North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Hong Kong raiders have taken home the title twice so far—Silent Witness (AUS, by El Moxie), the first foreign contender to win the title in 2005, and Ultra Fantasy (AUS, by Encosta De Lago) in 2010—while Australia’s Takeover Target (AUS, by Celtic Swing) won the 2006 version.
Defending champion Win Carnelian came off a third in the Keeneland Cup (G3, 1,200m, Aug.23) where Sound Moryana claimed her first graded title, with 2025 NHK Mile Cup (G1, 1,600m) victor Panja Tower in second. In the Centaur Stakes (G2, 1,200m, Sep.6), Flicker Jab scored consecutive graded victories following his win in the Kitakyushu Kinen (G3, 1,200m, Jul.5), with Hakodate Sprint Stakes (G3, 1,200m, Jun.13) and Ibis Summer Dash (G3, 1,000m, Aug.2) winner Puro Magic in second and 2023 Sprinters Stakes champion Mama Cocha in third.
This year’s field also included Lugal and Star Anise, respective winners of the 2024 Sprinters Stakes and this year’s Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m), as well as Red Mon Reve and World’s End, runner-ups in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the Yasuda Kinen (G1, 1,600m), respectively, this spring.