2025 Tenno Sho (Autumn)
Venue: Tokyo Racecourse
Distance: 2000m
Value: ¥651,000,000 (about US$4,340,000)
Japan’s premier middle-distance race the Tenno Sho (Autumn) contains a compact but high-quality field of 15 runners, including seven Group 1 winners. The 2000m contest – known as the “Emperor’s Prize” – is a true test of class, balance, and speed on the demanding Tokyo turf.
Lemaire’s Hot Hand
Christophe Lemaire comes into the race having won Group 1s on consecutive weekends and aims for a sixth Tenno Sho (Autumn) victory in the past eight years. The Frenchman’s dominance in this race is unmatched, with wins aboard Almond Eye (x2), Equinox (x2), and Rey de Oro. This time Lemaire partners Derby runner-up Masquerade Ball, who faces older rivals for the first time.
3YO Exam
The younger generation is on trial as Museum Mile (1st, G1 Satsuki Sho) and Masquerade Ball (3rd, G1 Satsuki Sho; 2nd G1 Tokyo Yushun) – both prominent in the big spring classics – take on the more established older horses. The record of three-year-olds since the race opened to them in 1987 reads just four winners, but recent trends are encouraging: Efforia (2021) and Equinox (2022) both won after finishing second in the Tokyo Yushun. Over the past 30 years, three-year-olds have a record of 26: 3-3-4, a small but significant share in a notoriously tough age clash.
The Mountain For Mares
Nine mares have contested the race in the past five years and only Almond Eye has prevailed, while Gran Alegria (2021) and Chrono Genesis (2020) finished in the placings. All three were proven Group 1 winners before their success. This year’s trio – Shirankedo, Queen’s Walk, and Brede Weg – must scale that same peak. 2023 G1 QEII Cup winner Brede Weg carries the best credentials.
Tastiera’s Test
Last year’s Tenno Sho (Autumn) runner-up and 2023 Japanese Derby champion Tastiera returns from a six-month break following his G1 QEII Cup triumph in Hong Kong, with jockey Damian Lane retaining the ride. Tastiera has never finished worse than third over 2000 metres but a word of caution from trainer Noriyuki Hori: “Compared to his best, he’s lacking forward momentum and sharpness.”
New French Flavour
While Lemaire is chasing his 56th JRA Group 1 win, countryman Alexis Pouchin seeks his first. Just two weeks after notching his maiden victory in Great Britain, the 23-year-old Frenchman will take his first Group 1 ride in Japan aboard last year’s Kikuka Sho winner Urban Chic. Pouchin follows in the footsteps of French greats Olivier Peslier and Christophe Soumillon, continuing the long Gallic connection to Japanese racing’s grandest stages. ∎
