2025 Takarazuka Kinen: Group 1 Preview
Venue: Hanshin Racecourse
Distance: 2200m
Value: ¥651,000,000 (US$4,522,041)
Japan’s first “Grand Prix” race of the year, the G1 Takarazuka Kinen (2200m), brings the curtain down on the first half of the Japanese season at Hanshin on Sunday.
The Takarazuka Kinen, along with the G1 Arima Kinen (2500m) at Nakayama in December, is an all-star race with part of the field determined by a public vote. These are considered the two “Grand Prix” races of the Japanese calendar.
The Leading Votegetter: Bellagio Opera
Remarkably, Bellagio Opera drew almost 230,000 votes – the second most of all time, just behind Do Deuce last year. It is over 10,000 votes more than Equinox received two years ago.
Bellagio Opera has won the G1 Osaka Hai here at Hanshin twice and he was placed in the Takarazuka Kinen last year but does not have the same profile as horses like Do Deuce and Equinox.
That could change should Hiroyuki Uemura’s five-year-old win the Takarazuka Kinen. He will jump from gate one and is likely to start favourite on the day, particularly with Osaka Hai runner-up Lord Del Rey out in barrier 15.
Kazuo Yokoyama, who won the Takarazuka Kinen in 2022 aboard Titleholder, will maintain his association with Bellagio Opera. It is a partnership that now stretches back more than two years, to when the son of Lord Kanaloa finished fourth to Tastiera in the G1 Tokyo Yushun.
The History Maker: Regaleira
Arima Kinen winner Regaleira will make her four-year-old debut in the Takarazuka Kinen as she seeks to become the 16th horse to win both of Japan’s all-star races.
However, the Tetsuya Kimura-trained filly will attempt to become the first horse in almost 50 years to win the Takarazuka Kinen first-up from the Arima Kinen. The last was Tosho Boy, who won the 1976 Arima Kinen and 1977 Takarazuka Kinen under champion jockey Kunihiko Take – father of another champion in Yutaka Take.
An avulsion fracture saw her sidelined for the first part of the year but, should she perform to her best, a Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe bid may be on the cards. She was among six entries from Japan this year.
The Form Horse: Urban Chic
Every week, last year’s three-year-old form seems to get a boost. There are five four-year-olds in the Takarazuka Kinen that could continue that run of form for last year’s classic crop.
Among them is G1 Kikuka Sho winner Urban Chic, who has not raced since March but whose form has only continued to strengthen in the months since.
Out of the Japanese St Leger, Danon Decile (sixth) won the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, Redentor (second), Byzantine Dream (fifth) and Shonan La Punta (fourth) filled the trifecta in the G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) – that after Byzantine Dream won the G2 Red Sea Turf Handicap in Saudi Arabia – and Admire Terra (third) took out the G2 Meguro Kinen on Tokyo Yushun day.
Other Kikuka Sho runners Hayatenofukunosuke (eighth), Ecoro Walz (ninth), West Now (11th), Meliorem (13th), Ask Come On More (17th) and Noble Sky (18th) have also won races since.
Christophe Lemaire will ride in the famous Silk Racing colours after wearing those same silks two years ago to win on Equinox.
The Globetrotter: Rousham Park
Trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka said this week that he didn’t think that Rousham Park was a great traveller – quite something given two of his last three runs have come abroad at Del Mar (second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf) and Randwick (sixth in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes). He has also travelled to Hong Kong as well in the last 18 months.
The question came about as Rousham Park had to make the trip from Tanaka’s Miho base, north-east of Tokyo, all the way down to Hanshin in the Osaka suburbs. In fact, he has been moved to Ritto Training Center in Kyoto early to overcome any travel issues.
If jockey Kenichi Ikezoe can win on Rousham Park, he will win his eighth Takarazuka Kinen or Arima Kinen, joining Yutaka Take as the most successful Grand Prix jockey of all time.
The Tearaway Leader: Meisho Tabaru
It has been 19 years since Yutaka Take won his last Takarazuka Kinen – that coming aboard the great Deep Impact at Kyoto – while it is 28 years since he won the Takarazuka Kinen at its traditional home of Hanshin.
He will take the ride aboard Meisho Tabaru, a bold front-runner who was beaten only three lengths by Soul Rush and Romantic Warrior in the G1 Dubai Turf last start. Facteur Cheval, Brede Weg, Liberty Island and Nations Pride were among those behind him at Meydan.
It is likely that, from gate 12, Meisho Tabaru will stride forward and take the lead at a good tempo. Take last attempted similar tactics in this race aboard Kitasan Black in 2016 and he was only just run down in the final few strides by Marialite and Duramente.
Meisho Tabaru is the best-performed son of the enigmatic Gold Ship, who won this race in 2013 and 2014 before controversially bombing the start when attempting a three-peat in 2015 – an event still known as the “12 billion yen incident” in Japan. ∎
