Japan's racing year winds toward its close with a bang Christmas Day as Japan Cup (G1) winner Vela Azul will seek another top-level win in the Arima Kinen (G1).
The Arima Kinen, along with the Takarazuka Kinen (G1), allows fans to vote for horses they want to see contest the 2,500-meter (about 12 1/2-furlong) event. This year, their wishes are granted with the likes of Titleholder, Efforia, Equinox, and filly Geraldina set to line up.
Many eyes, however, will be on Vela Azul, a 5-year-old son of Eishin Flash whose first 19 starts produced only three wins, all in unheralded races. The tide turned abruptly as Vela Azul was switched from dirt to turf this year. He won his first start on the green, finished third in the next two, and then won both the June Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse and the Kyoto Daishoten at Hanshin in October.
By the time he lined up for the Japan Cup Nov. 27, the astute Japanese fans had caught on and made him third-favorite. He overcame traffic problems to win the nation's iconic race.
Ryan Moore rode Vela Azul to victory in the Japan Cup but Kohei Matsuyama, who was aboard for the Kyoto Daishoten win, is back in the irons for the Arima Kinen. They will start from gate No. 6 in a 16-horse field.
"The Japan Cup was a tough race," said Vela Azul's trainer, Kunihiko Watanabe. "But he did a good job of winning it coming from way back in the field. In the end, the draw and the course he took all worked out well. I think it was a race that really drew on his experience of having previously raced on dirt."
Watanabe said Vela Azul showed no ill effects from the effort. Should he win Sunday, Vela Azul would be the first horse since Deep Impact in 2006 to win the Japan Cup and the Arima Kinen in the same year.
Despite Vela Azul's ascendance, Titleholder, a 4-year-old son of Duramente, was the No. 1 vote-getter as fans excused his 11th-place finish in his most recent start—the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1). Prior to that disappointment that was attributed to the unfavorable ground, he won both the Takarazuka Kinen and the Tenno Sho (Spring) (G1).
"He is improving slowly but surely," said Titleholder's trainer Toru Kurita. "There are strong 3-year-olds this year and Efforia should be on his toes again. It is an intimidating lineup. My staff and I have done everything we can to get him ready to give a worthy performance. After that, it's up to the jockey."
Efforia, a 4-year-old by Epiphaneia, won the 2021 Arima Kinen. That was his sixth win from seven starts—the only loss a second in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, G1). That's the good news for his supporters. The bad news is his 2022 record: ninth in the Osaka Hai (G1) April 3 and sixth in the Takarazuka Kinen June 26.
The younger generation is represented principally by Equinox, a 3-year-old by Kitisan Black. He has only five starts to his credit but three of those were wins, including the Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) in his previous outing, and two were seconds, including the Tokyo Yushun.
Japanese racing royalty is represented by Geraldina. The 4-year-old filly is by six-time grade 1 winner Maurice, out of seven-time grade 1 winner Gentildonna. Despite the blue blood, Geraldina was slow off the mark. After finishing seventh in the 2020 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (G1), she was relegated to lesser levels of competition until this year.
Given another chance, she stepped up to win the Sankei Sho All Comers (G2) at Nakayama Racecourse Sept. 25 and then won the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1) at Hanshin Nov. 13. In the latter, she topped a classy field that included subsequent Longines Hong Kong Vase (G1) winner Win Marilyn.
Deep Bond also returns from the Arc, where he finished 18th. He was second to Efforia in the 2021 Armina Kinen after a 14th-place showing in the Arc.
Among the others: Boldog Hos (JPN), a 3-year-old by Screen Hero, was last seen finishing second in the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger, G1); Justin Palace, a Deep Impact colt, was second in the 2021 Hopeful Stakes (G1) and third in the Kikuka Sho; and Breakup, a 4-year-old son of Novelist, was second to Vela Azul in the June Stakes and has won both starts since that heat.
The race starts on the outer backstretch of the sprawling Nakayama Racecourse layout, proceeds right-handed through the stretch and around the inner loop for a second pass before the grandstand.
