The Takarazuka Kinen, established in 1960 and opened to foreign-trained horses in 1997, became the first international Grade 1 race to be held in western Japan and is also the final top-level race of the Japan Racing Association's spring season.

Like the year-ending Arima Kinen (Grand Prix) in December, the horses are chosen by the fans with the top 10 vote-getters receiving an automatic place in a maximum field of 18. The Takarazuka Kinen is also the first race where the paths of the 3-year-olds intertwine with that of the older horses.

The Australian-trained Seto Stayer by Bellotto in 1997 (ninth place) was the first and to this day remains the only foreign challenger in the Takarazuka Kinen. The trend continues this year as no horse from abroad was among the 20 nominations for the 2,200-meter race at Hanshin Racecourse.

Named after the Hyogo Prefecture city, the inaugural Takarazuka Kinen was held at 1,800 meters and assumed its current distance in 1966. The race starts in the pocket of the home straight with a run of 500 meters before three righthanded turns leading back into the stretch. The course remains flat for most of the trip until the last 800 meters, where it descends toward the 200-meter mark before rising two meters over the next 150 meters. The race record of 2 minutes, 11.1 seconds was set in 2004 by Japan Cup winner Tap Dance City by Pleasant Tap.
Hanshin Racecourse
Hanshin Racecourse

The Takarazuka Kinen has traditionally been kind to the favorites, with the first choice having won 21 of the past 51 races, the second pick 15 times. Last year's champion Nakayama Festa, however, fit neither bill as the eventual Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runnerup won as the eighth overall choice.

The 52nd Takarazuka Kinen will again come down to Buena Vista, who won the most votes for the second straight year. The JRA's two-time, defending horse of the year settled for second in 2010 and will be out to vindicate her popularity this weekend.

While Dubai World Cup holder Victoire Pisa (third in the voting), Victoria Mile winner Apapane (fourth) and defending champion Nakayama Festa (seventh) have all passed on the race, the likes of Japan Cup holder Rose Kingdom, former Takarazuka Kinen champion Dream Journey and the 2010 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) winner Eishin Flash have thrown their hats into the ring, hoping to head into the summer on a high note.

Yasutoshi Ikee will also be out to set a record for trainers by fielding five horses in a single Grade 1 race in former Takarazuka Kinen champion Dream Journey, To the Glory, Tosen Jordan, Forgettable and Trailblazer.

The 275 million yen Takarazuka Kinen, with first-place prize money of ¥132 million, is the 11th race on the 12-race card at Hanshin on Sunday, June 26. As part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, the winner will automatically qualify for a place in the $3 million Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Turf at 2,400 meters in November. The Breeders' Cup World Championships will again be held at Churchill Downs in Lousiville, Kentucky, on Nov. 4 and 5.

Post time is 3:40 p.m. The following are the early favorites:

BUENA VISTA: The JRA's horse of the year the last two seasons, Buena Vista won at the ballot boxes for the second straight year by a comfortable margin, drawing 22,000 more votes than runnerup Rose Kingdom. The Hiroyoshi Matsuda-trained 5-year-old has been the first choice in every one of her 17 domestic starts, and she should be the betting favorite again this Sunday. Of the 32 top vote-getters who ran in the Takarazuka Kinen in the past, 12 have won, 11 placed and four showed. "We appreciate that she's got so many fans behind her," Matsuda said. "We have a responsibility to meet their expectations. She's a lot more relaxed compared to how she was last time. She's been really loose out there. There's no tension, just very relaxed." Buena Vista hopes to end a recent string of bad luck at the Takarazuka Kinen, having settled for silver in her last three races on Japanese soil - the Japan Cup, Arima Kinen and the Victoria Mile on May 15 under new partner Yasunari Iwata. Just like every other jockey who has ridden this daughter of Special Week, Iwata gushed about Buena Vista and regretted not being able to guide the mare to her sixth career Grade 1 victory. "She's a really easygoing horse, very feminine away from the track," Iwata said. "But you get her in a race, and she just takes off. She ran a good race in her own right. Her time was as fast as the winning horse at a minute and 31.9 seconds, but I really wanted us to win. The mile might be a little short for her, but she has won at this distance before. It's such a shame because she came on strong at the end." Apapane, the filly's Triple Crown champion last year, edged Buena Vista to top the Victoria Mile in record time. While Buena Vista has enjoyed success at the mile -- she won the race in 2010 and also captured the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas earlier in her career -- both trainer and jockey feel she is at her best in much longer races. "I've been saying all long the mile isn't for her, and the distance won't be an issue as long as she has at least 2,000 meters," said Matsuda. "I like the vibes she's giving off this time. Plus, I think Iwata knows how to get the most out of her." Added Iwata, "I think you'll see a changed horse at 2,200 meters. I'm not sure if I'll work her myself, but I've been told she continues to be in good shape. You've got to produce when you're on a horse of her class so losing to Apapane still gnaws on me. I've been given another chance and I want to make the most out of it this time." Buena Vista took a narrow second to Nakayama Festa in last year's Takarazuka Kinen, and Matsuda hopes she can pick up what she left behind. "I wish the jockey had a bit more faith in her ability," Matsuda said, referring to Norihiro Yokoyama. "She's a year older and while that wouldn't matter with a male horse, she is a female after all. It's a stretch to say she's in exactly the same shape."

DREAM JOURNEY: At seven years and 30 starts, the 2009 Takarazuka Kinen champion is the oldest of the five horses trainer Yasutoshi Ikee has entered for this weekend. Dream Journey, who also won the Arima Kinen in 2009, will be out to prove he is not yet over the hill after slumping to 13th in the Arima Kinen in December, followed by a ninth-place showing in his first run of the season, the 2,000-meter Grade 2 Sankei Osaka Hai. "When I worked him right before the race, I thought he had his lungs and was well rested," said jockey Kenichi Ikezoe, who won the Japanese Derby last month aboard Dream Journey's younger brother Orfevre, another talent-rich colt at Ikee's stable. "He felt pretty good to me. He traveled fine during the race, but didn't respond too well from the third turn. As it turned out, he may have been overweight." "The horse feels and looks young. He was fit," Ikee said. "But he hasn't had much luck recently, and couldn't run his best race on the day. If he was running up to potential I could live with the results, but he hasn't been able to for one reason or another." Fed up with the underachieving, Ikee has changed the Stay Gold son's workout regimen, driving him on the woodchip course and not just on the upslope. The horse weighed in at a career-high 442 kg for the Sankei Osaka Hai, and Ikee hopes a leaner, meaner Dream Journey can capture his fourth Grade 1 title on Sunday. "Age wise, he won't have too many more opportunities ahead," the trainer said. "We're hoping this is where he makes his comeback." Said Ikezoe, "He's still very competitive and isn't showing any signs of slowing down. I'll be working him all the way up to the race so I can get an exact feel of where he is."

EARNESTLY: Trainer Shozo Sasaki hopes this weekend will be the time 6-year-old Earnestly finally joins the select fraternity of Grade 1 champions. The son of former Takarazuka Kinen champion Grass Wonder came close twice last season, in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and in the Takarazuka Kinen, and both times, he finished third. But Sasaki says there's no comparing Earnestly's current form from what it was a year ago. "He's in better condition than he was at this time last year," said Sasaki, who has likened Earnestly to former Japan Cup and Takarazuka Kinen winner Tap Dance City. "He's just gotten stronger all around, and we have no concerns over his hoof or his hip this year. I'm so excited for his future." Earnestly's 2011 campaign started with the May 28 Kinko Sho -- his first start since the Tenno Sho -- where he came in third on yielding turf. Given the conditions, Sasaki confided he was expecting much worse. "I thought we were staring at disaster. The going was anything but suitable for Earnestly, and he didn't travel well at all," the trainer said. "I just tip my hat off to him. His performance has really made the Takarazuka Kinen worth looking forward to." Earnestly only trailed Nakayama Festa by a length in last year's race, with Buena Vista sandwiched in between. Although he will be up against a star-studded field, Sasaki's faith in his horse remains unwavering. "The going was bad then, too, and he wasn't in especially good condition," he said. "We've gotten the first race of the season out of the way. All we need now is a good going."

EISHIN FLASH: The 2010 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) champion was left to rue an outside draw in the Tenno Sho (Spring) after settling for a narrow second behind Hiruno d'Amour, who slipped through the inside to capture his coveted first Grade 1 crown. Eishin Flash's performance in the Emperor's Cup, however, was strong enough to convince owner Toyomitsu Hirai to register him for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the fall. Hirai is expected to give trainer Hideaki Fujiwara the final OK for the trip if Eishin Flash wins the Takarazuka Kinen this weekend. Asked about the Arc, Fujiwara said, "I've got nothing to say about it at this point in time. Look, I'll be more than happy as long as we win the Takarazuka Kinen. No one needs to worry about a thing for us because everything's gone according to plan since his last race." With chief rider Hiroyuki Uchida sidelined by injury, Eishin Flash will be in the steady hands of Katsumi Ando, who has won his share of Grade 1 titles over the years and knows a thing or two about their chief rival Buena Vista, having ridden her for all but one race of her 3-year-old career. "He's a big-time veteran who understands what to do when," Fujiwara said of Ando, who has yet to win the Takarazuka Kinen. "We'll be fine as long as he runs a clean race." Ando was just as complimentary of Eishin Flash, who is looking for his first victory since winning the Japanese Derby. "He sure can run," Ando said of the King's Best colt out of Moonlady. "He knows how to turn it up when he needs to, and he's not like your average horse when he does it switch it on. He ain't a Derby winner for nothing."

NAMURA CRESCENT: The Nobuharu Fukushima-trained 6-year-old nearly stole the show in last month's Tenno Sho (Spring), wresting the lead with 1,200 meters to go and almost hanging on to it to the finish. Namura Crescent finished third behind Hiruno d'Amour and Eishin Flash for his best career result in a Grade 1 race. "It turns out the inside draw worked against us," said Fukushima, whose horse broke from the No. 3 post. "He couldn't his stride until halfway through the race, and I think it showed in the end. If this horse can run the way he's capable of running, then the race will be very exciting for us." Namura Crescent will continue to be ridden by Ryuji Wada, and continues to be in the shape of his life. He is almost certain to improve on his ninth-place finish from last season, and may do a lot more given his current form. "He went out to the farm for a couple of weeks after the Tenno Sho, but he's been steady since coming back to the stable," Fukushima said.

ROSE KINGDOM: The defending Japan Cup champion is coming off the worst race of his career, an 11th-place finish in last month's Tenno Sho (Spring). Prior to the Emperor's Cup, the King Kamehameha-sired Rose Kingdom had never done worse than finish fourth in last year's Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) but the colt trained by Kojiro Hashiguchi failed to settle in the 3,200-meter marathon at Kyoto Racecourse, even in the hands of the race's six-time winning jockey Yutaka Take. "You spiral out of control like that, you've got no chance," Hashiguchi said, looking back on the May 1 Tenno Sho in which Rose Kingdom went off as the second choice. The Sunday Racing ownership team has handed the reins to Australian rider Craig Williams, who won the NHK Mile Cup last month with Grand Prix Boss. Hashiguchi hopes a switch in the saddle will lead to a switch in fortune for Rose Kingdom, who only trailed Buena Vista in terms of popularity for this race. "We farmed him out for a little bit after the Tenno Sho and he came back to us refreshed," said Hashiguchi, who has yet to win the Takarazuka Kinen. "We'll have him in good condition just like last time. It's all in the hands of the jockey now."

RULERSHIP: By King Kamehameha out of Air Groove, Dubai World Cup-winning trainer Katsuhiko Sumii's 4-year-old colt appears to be coming into his own at just the right time. In his first start since the Dubai Sheema Classic in March, Rulership nearly threw off jockey Yuichi Fukunaga while leaving the gate in the Grade 2 Kinko Sho on May 28, but came back from dead last to first on the home stretch alone to score his second victory of the season. "Everything came together for him, from his condition to the way he matured in time for the race," assistant trainer Matsuda said. Rulership's first trip overseas saw him finish sixth in the Sheema Classic, when his inexperience showed. "There wasn't much distance from the start to the first turn. We pushed him out to try to get good position but then he lost control," Matsuda said. "He was in shape, so it was a little unfortunate." Whatever riled the horse in Dubai clearly wasn't bothering him in the Kinko Sho. Team Sumii's only entry in the Takarazuka Kinen, Rulership will look to follow his parents into the winner's circle. "Up until now, we've had to experiment along the way. But he's finally on track," said Matsuda.

TO THE GLORY: To the Glory didn't quite live up to expectations in last month's Tenno Sho (Spring), where he flamed out to 13th as the top choice under first-time partner Hirofumi Shii. The King Kamehameha colt, out of To the Victory, had won a couple of Grade 2 races -- the Kyoto Kinen in February and the Nikkei Sho in April -- in dominant fashion to start the season, to prove his third-place finish behind Victoire Pisa and Buena Vista was no fluke in 2010 Arima Kinen. But with jockey Yuichi Fukunaga suspended, To the Glory was anything but glorious in the long, long Tenno Sho won by Hiruno d'Amour. Trainer Yasutoshi Ikee, however, maintains that the distance of 16 furlongs was not the reason for the defeat. "His youth and inexperience showed," Ikee said. "I don't think for a minute that it had anything to do with the distance. It was a strange race, and I'm not drawing anything from it." Fukunaga will be back in the saddle for the Takarazuka Kinen, and Ikee is pinning his hopes on the reunion. "Fukunaga's got a good relationship with the horse," said Ikee. "He's built it up through the workouts. I think the horse is due for a Grade 1 title." Fukunaga, 2-for-2 in his partnership with To the Glory, is just as eager to rekindle the relationship. "He should sharpen up now," he said. "I have complete faith in the Ikee stable. I know they'll have him ready."