Pools brings Japanese Grade 1 action to S’pore

Local racing fans will have even more to savour when Singapore Pools begins simulcasting Japan’s Grade 1 feature races, which will kick off with the 369.9 million yen (S$3 million) Sprinters Stakes (1,200m) at Nakayama racecourse on Sept 27.

Japanese racing has long been a Pools product enjoyed by Singapore viewers, but watching elite competition from champions of world-class calibre, past and present alike, such as Deep Impact, Equinox, Lord Kanaloa, Almond Eye and Forever Young, just elevates the thrill to another level.

Organised by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) – the racing authority responsible for racing events at 10 major racecourses in metropolitan areas – a total of 24 Grade 1 races are featured on the Japanese racing calendar annually, and they are held at the Tokyo, Kyoto, Chukyo, Hanshin and Nakayama racecourses.

The latter, launched in 1920, is home to four Grade 1 events. Besides the Sprinters Stakes, the other features are the Arima Kinen (2,500m), Hopeful Stakes (2,000m) and Satsuki Sho (2,000m).

One of only two top-level sprints under JRA, the other being the Grade 1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m) won by the recently retired champion sprinter Satono Reve at Chukyo on March 29, the Sprinters Stakes was first run in 1967 and was elevated to Grade 1 status in 1990.

The first Grade 1 event of the autumn season became in 1994 one of the first JRA races to be open to foreign contenders, most notably Singapore’s very own racing icon, Rocket Man who ran fourth to Japanese mare Curren Chan in 2011. The late champion sprinter is the only Singapore horse to have contested a Japanese Grade 1 race.

Silent Witness (2005) and Ultra Fantasy (2010) have both won the Sprinters Stakes for Hong Kong, while Takeover Target claimed the title for Australia in 2006.

This year, however, it will be an all-Japanese affair with 21 nominations – of which 16 will run – and no foreign raider entered.

Hong Kong trainer Dennis Yip had planned to run Fast Network at first, but the six-year-old gelding was disappointing in the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes (1,200m) at Hanshin on Sept 6 after returning with a throat ailment.

The home team is, however, not short on quality. This renewal has the distinction of featuring three past winners, Mama Cocha (2023), Lugal (2024) and Win Carnelian (2025).

Clearly, the one with the best chance to do a repeat is the latter, who will defend his crown for trainer Yuichi Shikato.

Should he succeed, he will become the fourth horse since 1990 to go back-to-back, with Red Falx the last horse to pull off the feat in 2016 and 2017.

A son of Screen Hero, Win Carnelian sprang a 50-1 shock after he won the 2025 edition as an eight-year-old, and also handed jockey Kosei Miura his first Grade 1 win.

Flicker Jab, who has now won three in a row – including his latest success in the Centaur Stakes – is a force to be reckoned with in the sprinting ranks.

The Saturnalia four-year-old colt is looking to become the first horse to win both the Grade 2 Centaur Stakes (1,200m) and the Sprinters Stakes in the same year since Tower Of London in 2019.

While Kohei Matsuyama was aboard the Shota Nishizono-trained galloper in the Centaur Stakes, Atsuya Nishimura will take the reins for the first time in the Sprinters Stakes.

However, Win Carnelian will have to worry about Sound Moryana who beat him into third in the Grade 3 Keeneland Cup (1,200m) at Sapporo on Aug 23 last time.

The Mikki Isle four-year-old mare trained by Hidenori Take has been running well since switching to turf in 2025. So she is worth keeping an eye on.

Panja Tower, who ran second in the Keeneland Cup, has shown his versatility by winning four races over 1,200m to 1,600m, including the Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup (1,600m) in Tokyo on May 11.

Trainer Shinsuke Hashiguchi’s Tower Of London four-year-old will, however, be having his first start at Nakayama and Matsuyama will be riding him.

Star Anise is a surprising entry given the Grade 1 Oka Sho (1,600m) winner had been running over longer in her last four starts since August 2025.

But the Tomokazu Takano-trained three-year-old filly won her maiden over 1,200m last July. She will carry only 54kg in the race and has the services of top French jockey Christophe Lemaire.

The Sprinters Stakes is slated as Race 11 on the 12-race meeting and will run at 2.40pm Singapore time.