Japan's autumn festival of racing switches from the Tokyo Racecourse turf to the dirt for the Champions Cup (G1) Dec. 1 at Chukyo Racecourse with Lemon Pop looking to make a statement in his final start.
The 6-year-old, Kentucky-bred son of Lemon Drop Kid won the 2023 Champions Cup on his way to being named Japan's top dirt horse by the Japan Racing Association. He aims to become just the second horse, after Transcend in 2010 and 2011, when it was known as the Japan Cup Dirt, to win the race in consecutive years.
Although Lemon Pop has been a dominant force on Japan's dirt tracks, that country's strong emphasis on turf racing has left him short of graded stakes credentials. Still, he won his only other top-level start in Japan, the 2023 February Stakes (G1). Overall, on homeland tracks, he has 12 wins and three seconds from 15 starts.
The overseas record is another matter. A 2023 trip to Dubai produced a 10th-place finish in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1). Saudi Arabia proved no easier as Lemon Pop reported 12th in the 2024 Saudi Cup (G1).
Trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka said the signs point the right way for Lemon Pop.
"We've given him his usual training but have also run him over a slightly longer distance," Tanaka said. "He's still physically strong, and the jockey (Ryusei Sakai) is pleased with him, saying that he's running up to his usual level. The Champions Cup will be his last race, so I'm hoping for a good run."
Lemon Pop, out of the Giant's Causeway mare Unreachable, was bred by Mr. and Mrs. Oliver S. Tait.
The opposition in the Champions Cup includes last year's runner-up, Wilson Tesoro, a 5-year-old son of Kitasan Black, who comes off a strong win in the JBC Classic over 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) at Saga Nov. 4. Earlier in the year, he finished fourth in the Dubai World Cup (G1) and second to another Champions Cup contender, Crown Pride, in the Korea Cup (G3).
"He didn't take long to recover from his last race and he's been spot on with his training on the woodchip course, stretching out well at the finish," assistant trainer Masahiro Yokota said of Wilson Tesoro "The experience he's had in (National Association of Racing) races, as well as overseas, has been good for him, and these things have given the horse himself extra confidence. This year sees a strong field for the race, but we hope he can put in a good challenge again against Lemon Pop."
Crown Pride won the Korea Cup for the second straight year and finished fifth in both the Saudi Cup and the Dubai World Cup in 2023. He won the U.A.E. Derby (G2) in 2022 and advanced from that to the Kentucky Derby (G1), where he finished 13th after chasing a wicked early pace.
Peptide Nile, surprise winner of the February Stakes, would be the fifth to score a February-Champion double. He also was second to Lemon Pop in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai over a mile at Morioka Oct. 14.
There were some "regret" RSVPs for the race.
Ramjet, winner of the Tokyo Derby and fourth in the Japan Dirt Classic, won't represent the 3-year-old class because of a stone bruise. And Meisho Hario, second to Wilson Tesoro in the JBC Classic Nov. 4, is out with a muscle injury.
Six American horses were nominated to the race but none made the trip. Among them was Rattle N Roll, who failed to draw into the Breeders' Cup and instead was pointed to the Clark Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs Nov. 29.
