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Posted 2014-11-26 22:36:14  
The 34th Japan Cup : World's no. 1 takes on dual reigning champion

Since its inauguration in 1981, the Japan Cup (G1, 2,400m) has seen 19 Japanese and 14 foreign contenders claim the title, and while only one foreign runner has won in the past decade, the home team is extending its winning streak to eight. This year, three foreign raiders will take part including last year's Irish Derby (G1, 2,400m) winner Trading Leather (IRE, C4, by Teofilo), German star colt Ivanhowe (GER, C4, by Soldier Hollow) and 2013 Canadian Horse of the Year Up With the Birds (USA, C4, by Stormy Atlantic). They will face tough competition against the Japanese middle-long distance runners that are of high standard.

A stellar group of horses will highlight the Japanese line-up such as Gentildonna who aims to claim her third consecutive title, Just a Way, currently ranked at the top of the LONGINES World's Best Racehorse Rankings, and victors of the Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1, 3,200m) and Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m). Spirited three-year-olds—the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1, 2,400m), Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, G1, 2,000m) and Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas, G1, 1,600m) winners—are up for the challenge as well, and we are most likely to witness one of the most competitive contests in Japan Cup history. Here are some of the key runners;

Gentildonna (JPN, M5, by Deep Impact; 119L), after marking the feat of becoming the first back-to-back winner in last year's Japan Cup, is coming off the same racing schedule as last year, competing in Dubai and the Takarazuka Kinen (G1, 2,200m) in the spring, and kicking off her autumn campaign in the Tenno Sho (Autumn). In the saddle is the same Ryan Moore who is poised to repeat their Japan Cup triumph, having registered two wins out of as many starts so far. She has four wins and three seconds out of seven starts on left-handed courses and has registered 4-1-0 in five races over the 2,400m distance (including Meydan's 2,410m), which include her two Japan Cup titles and the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1). A versatile and reliable runner who can race in both front or behind, there is no reason to doubt the mare's third triumph facing this year's strong field.

Just a Way (JPN, H5, by Heart's Cry; 130M) is sustaining his seat at the top of the World's Best Racehorse Rankings, achieving 130 points—the highest any Japanese-bred horse has ever been appointed—when capturing the Dubai Duty Free (G1, 1,800m). His outstanding closing speed showcased in the Dubai Duty Free was already seen in last year's Tenno Sho (Autumn), where he easily put away Gentildonna by four lengths. While the extra distance and heavier impost after a four-month spell could have resulted in a bitter defeat in his Arc challenge, his connections are willing to try him over the extra distance again and give the horse the chance to demonstrate his world-class performance in the Japan Cup with one race under his belt and on home soil.

Spielberg (JPN, H5, by Deep Impact; 119I) demonstrated an outstanding stretch run to claim the Tenno Sho (Autumn) over Gentildonna while capturing his first G1 victory in his first grade-race win although his potential was already highly assessed during his three-year-old season when racing competitively against subsequent Classics winners like Gold Ship (JPN, by Stay Gold) and Deep Brillante (JPN, by Deep Impact). All of his six career-wins have been claimed at Tokyo where he undeniably displays his powerful kick in the wide and long homestretch. Although this will be his second 2,400m run since his Derby challenge two and a half years ago, his recent performances indicate that he can handle the distance. Whether his powerful stretch kick can match his opponents with similar racing patterns such as Just a Way and Harp Star is yet to be seen.

Fenomeno (JPN, H5, by Stay Gold; 118E), victor of consecutive Tenno Sho (Spring) titles, and always a reliable and versatile G1 horse over various distances, was unable to re-enact his strong performances in the recent Tenno Sho (Autumn). His previous long break and the shorter distance are considered possible reasons. He is expected to bounce back to form over the mile-and-a-half distance at Tokyo, where he claimed the Aoba Sho (G2, 2,400m) at three, and marked a second and a fifth in the Tokyo Yushun and the Japan Cup, respectively.

Epiphaneia (JPN, C4, by Symboli Kris S; 116I) is last year's Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1, 3,000m) colt, and data proves favorable to four-year-olds as five have dominated the race in the past ten years. With Kizuna (JPN, by Deep Impact) absent, Epiphaneia tops his generation with a win and two seconds in the Three-Year-Old Classics. He has the advantage of being lightly raced with only three starts this year, and with one start in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) this fall following a six-month break. Focus is on jockey Christophe Soumillon's skills in controlling the colt's keen temperament.

The highest rated three-year-old colt and filly, One and Only and Harp Star, will also be among the line-up. While only four of this age group have captured the Japan Cup title so far, the three which also include Satsuki Sho winner Isla Bonita, have a good chance to threaten their senior rivals.

Harp Star (JPN, F3, by Deep Impact; 117I-L) defeated multiple G1 winner Gold Ship in the Sapporo Kinen (G2, 2,000m), and turned in a sixth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1, 2,400m) this year, besting her fellow Japanese challengers. She was rated 117 after each of the two races, and considering the four-pound allowance for fillies/mares, Harp Star is the highest rated three-year-old at this point. While it is always tough for three-year-olds to challenge their seniors in the Japan Cup, three Japanese fillies at this age have marked 1-1-1 in the previous five years. If she is able to demonstrate her powerful charge with the weight advantage, the chance of her emulating Gentildonna's accomplishment two years back is a high possibility.

Three-year-old Tokyo Yushun and Satsuki Sho winners are also headed for the gates;

Isla Bonita (JPN, C3, by Fuji Kiseki; 117I-L), victor of the Satsuki Sho, registered a third, 0.1 second behind the winner, in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), his first start against older company. Breaking from a wide stall, the colt secured good striking position early in the race and shot to the front in the stretch but was pinned at the wire, but nonetheless proved competitive against older horses at the highest level. He has marked six wins and two seconds in eight starts against his own generation. Only two three-year-olds have finished ahead of the Fuji Kiseki (JPN, by Sunday Silence) colt—One and Only, to whom he lost only once in the Tokyo Yushun while defeating him twice, and Harp Star, who won over Isla Bonita easily at the age of two. The match-up between these three that are now all G1 winners is another attraction in this year's edition of the Japan Cup race.


One and Only (JPN, C3, by Heart's Cry; 119L) claimed the Tokyo Yushun this year, and although coming off a win in the Kobe Shimbun Hai (G2, 2,400m), he could only turn in a ninth as race favorite in the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Kikuka Sho. Seeing that the third and second placed colts in the Kobe Shimbun Hai finished first and second in the Kikuka Sho, respectively, it is only fair to assess that he failed to show his true form while the wide trip and an extended 3,000m distance may have also worked against him. Never as consistent as Isla Bonita, his strength to bounce back after a huge defeat is somewhat unpredictable, however, the same venue as the Tokyo Yushun is an advantage to consider 

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