Top-level racing action in Japan moves from the Japan Cup in Tokyo to the G1 Champions Cup at Chukyo Racecourse 6 December. Formerly known as the Japan Cup Dirt, the 1800m event is open not only to JRA horses and runners from overseas, but to any qualifying NAR runners as well and is sure to be highly competitive.
This year sees only one foreign-based runner taking on the home team. That will be Hong Kong’s Gun Pit, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Caspar Fownes. The gelding has a perfect record over the all-weather track in Hong Kong and is currently on a three-race winning streak. Though Gun Pit’s best distance appears to be less than 1800m, his trainer thinks he can handle it. The surface, however, is an admitted question mark, as is Gun Pit’s first time racing to the left.
Three horses are expected to stand out in the betting in Japan -- new star Nonkono Yume, last year’s winner Hokko Tarumae and this year’s G1 February Stakes (1600m) champion Copano Rickey.
Nonkono Yume leapt to the graded level and made it three wins straight including the JPN G1 Japan Dirt Derby (2000m) at Ohi Racecourse in July, then followed that up four months later with a victory in the G3 Musashino Stakes (1600m) at Tokyo on 14 Nov. It was a tough race, the 3-year-old colt’s first against older horses. But he showed his impressive late kick in the stretch. It will be his first time at Chukyo, but the venue is similar to Tokyo, where the colt has four wins. “He had a nice run last time out, but he’s improved from then,” claims trainer Yukihiro Kato.
Hokko Tarumae is gunning for back-to-back wins of the Champions Cup, as well as a record 10 victories of both G1 and JPN G1 races. The 6-year-old had previously done well in races after a spell but last out in the JBC Classic (2000m JPN G1), he hung out early in the race and didn’t quite have the acceleration he normally displays. He usually improves with a sharpener, however, as he did last year winning the Champions Cup after a fourth in the JBC Classic. Trainer Katsuichi Nishiura expects improvement as usual.
Beating third-place Hokko Tarumae by 3 lengths in the JBC Classic was Copano Rickey, who went wire to wire over sloppy going for a successive win of the race. He nailed the G2 Tokai Stakes (1800m) in January, then captured the G1 February Stakes the following month. Eight months later, he returned to run third in the JPN G2 Nippon TV Hai (1800m) before acing the JBC Classic.
Sound True is another runner to watch. The 5-year-old gelding has proven highly consistent, with seven firsts, seven seconds and eight thirds in 30 starts. Last out, he beat Hokko Tarumae to the line with his second place in the JBC Classic. Trainer Noboru Takagi says, “A trip like he had in the Nippon TV Hai would be ideal, with the frontrunners dueling it out and allowing him to come racing up from behind.”
Last year’s Champions Cup runner-up Namura Victor managed to place third despite missing the jump badly in the G3 Sirius Stakes (2000m) at Hanshin. A difficult and excitable horse, he is a consistent runner nonetheless, finishing in the top three spots 15 out of 23 career starts.
Rain is forecast only for part of Thursday for Nagoya, making a fast track likely on Sunday.
