The springtime version of the Tenno Sho (G1) is the longest of Japan's top-level races at 3,200 meters (about two miles), and the April 28 renewal at Kyoto Racecourse features a mixed bag of veterans and newcomers.
The second- and third-place finishers from a year ago, Deep Bond and Silver Sonic, return but neither presents a convincing case for a repeat performance.
Deep Bond, now age 7, actually has finished second in the race three years in a row but has managed only one third-place showing in five starts since last year's Tenno Sho (Spring). And 8-year-old Silver Sonic's only intervening race was the March 17 Hanshin Daishoten (G2), in which he reported 11th.
Deep Bond's trainer, Ryuji Okubo, said after drawing gate 6 in a field of 17, "I'll have to admit that having come this far, we can't very well expect any further growth out of him."
Promising Younger Rivals
Those recent performances by the veterans would seem to open the door to younger challengers with Durezza and Tastiera standing out on form.
Durezza, a 4-year-old colt by Duramente, not only has five wins, a second, and a third from seven starts but also has shown ability get a distance of ground. In his first top-level start, he captured the third leg of the 2023 Japanese Triple Crown, the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1) at Kyoto Racecourse, going 3,000 meters (about 1 7/8 miles) Oct 22.
In that, Durezza led for more than a mile, dropped back to third and came again at the top of the straight, accelerating boldly to win by more than three lengths. After the winter break, he started the 2024 season with a second-place finish in the March 10 Kinko Sho (G2).
"He is definitely improving as he heads toward the grade 1," trainer Tomohito Ozeki said of Durezza. "I can't say the distance is welcome, but with the way he's looking now, I think he'll be able to handle it."
Tastiera, a 4-year-old son of Satono Crown, was second in the Kikuka Sho, advancing from well back in the field but never close to threatening Durezza in the final furlong. After finishing sixth against older horses in the Arima Kinen (G1) in December, he returned in the Osaka Hai (G1) at Hanshin March 31, finishing 11th at the end of the 2,000 meters—a performance that mystifies trainer Noriyuki Hori.
"I still can't find a reason for his losing his last race," Hori said. "He hadn't been eating well after shipping west and had left 80% of both his morning and evening feed the day before the race. It's not a venue where he doesn't run but, looking at his last result, I can't really say how he'll do. I'll just keep my thinking cap on as we head into this race."
Looking for a Breakthrough
Another who's been knocking on the door, in his case for a long time, is T O Royal, a 6-year-old by Leontes. He makes his first top-level start since 2022, having finished third in the 2022 Tenno Sho (Spring) and then 14th in the Japan Cup (G1) later that year. But he also has put together a two-race win streak at staying distances—taking out the 3,400-meter Diamond Stakes (G3) at Tokyo Racecourse Feb. 17 and the 3,000-meter Hanshin Daishoten March 17.
"Everything about his prep has gone smoothly," assistant trainer Atsushi Obayashi reported. "The competition will take a step up, but there's nowhere this horse comes up short. He has come into his own now. He has ample stamina, and with the condition he's in presently, I think he has ample chance."
T O Royal is owned by Tomoya Ozasa, who also has T O Password in the May 4 Kentucky Derby (G1) field after finishing first in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby standings.
The Tenno Sho (Spring) is run right handed on the outer loop of the Kyoto turf course. It starts on the backstretch and then requires one and a half laps of the layout. There is a significant uphill climb entering the stretch turn, then a dip back to a level run through the final 600 meters.
