Grade 1 racing returns to Japan with a wildly diverse field set to contest the Sprinters Stakes (G1T) Sept. 27 at Nakayama Racecourse.
The field has everything from last year's 50-1 upset winner, Win Carnelian, now 9, to Star Anise, a 3-year-old filly who won this year's Oka Sho (Japanese One Thousand Guineas, G1T) and now faces males while retreating from that route to the 1,200-meter (about 6-furlong) sprint distance.
Nor is Win Carnelian the only runner that has experienced success in this event, one of two top-level sprints on the Japanese calendar.
Win Carnelian finished 11th in the Hong Kong Sprint (G1) last December, then third in two starts this season. But trainer Yuichi Shikato remains in a positive frame of mind.
"He's in very good order and I'm pleased with him," the trainer said. "I can evaluate him highly. He's shown that even though he's a 9-year-old, he's still very well and is a match for younger horses."
Star Anise's conditioner Tomokazu Takano explained his reasoning in dropping his filly back to the sprint ranks.
"Looking at the races in the autumn, she's likely to be more suited to this one, as opposed to the Shuka Sho, which is run over 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles). With the ability she has, I think she'll perform well over 1,200 meters without any problem. Her breeding also suggests this too."
Indeed.
Star Anise was sired by Drefong, the 2016 Eclipse Award champion male sprinter. Trained by Bob Baffert, Drefong won three grade 1 sprints, including the 2016 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1).
Star Anise has the added advantage of Christophe Lemaire in the irons. Lemaire currently is tied with Mirai Iwata atop the jockey standings with 113 wins apiece, although Iwata has some 200 more starts than Lemaire. Iwata rides Puro Magic, a 5-year-old mare who finished second in the Centaur Stakes (G2T) Sept. 6 at Hanshin Racecourse.
Mama Cocha won the 2023 Sprinters Stakes and remains competitive at age 7. Lugal won in 2024 and returns from a close-up eighth-place finish in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1) during the Royal Ascot meet and a runner-up showing in the Al Quoz Sprint (G1T) in Dubai.
Mama Cocha finished sixth in last year's Sprinters Stakes and finished third in the Centaur in her last start. Her connections said that effort provided encouragement. Hirotaka Hanada, assistant trainer to Haruki Sugiyama, attributed Lugal's 12th-place finish last year to a poor start and said a better jump this year could get him back on top.
An expected foreign entry, Fast Network, returned to Hong Kong after a breathing problem recurred in the Centaur. Flicker Jab won the Centaur, his third straight victory, and steps up in class for this test.
While there are no foreign-trained horses, there is one American-bred runner, with Irish blood into the bargain. June Blair, a 5-year-old daughter of American Pharoah from the Galileo mare Lap of Luxury, was bred in Kentucky by Diamond Creek Farm and sold for $275,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She was second in the 2025 Sprinters Stakes, but finished well up the stretch in two subsequent runs.
