Conquering a nail-biting duel to the finish line at Nakayama Racecourse on Sunday, fifth favorite Regaleira became the second three year-old filly to dominate the 2500m All-Star race since Star Roch won the Gr1 Arima Kinen in 1960.
Beating a stellar field which included nine Gr1 winners, the Suave Richard filly had been winless since claiming the Hopeful Stakes (Gr1, 2,000m) last year, finishing sixth in the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas, Gr1, 2,000m) and fifth in the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby, Gr1, 2,400m) against male opponents this spring.
After a fifth in her first start of the autumn season, the Rose Stakes (Gr2, 2,000m), she was fifth again in her latest outing, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (Gr1, 2,200m) on 10 November.
Trainer Tetsuya Kimura, who won the Arima Kinen with Equinox in 2022, scored his 11th JRA-Gr1 victory following this year’s Shuka Sho with Cervinia. Jockey Keita Tosaki, who took the reins of the filly for the first time on this Grand Prix stage, registered his 13th Gr1 title, his latest being the Satsuki Sho with Justin Milano, and second Arima Kinen victory after Gentildonna in 2014.
Regaleira was settled off the pace in fifth to sixth the first time in front of the stands with 10th favorite Shahryar traveling two to three lengths behind in mid-division. After steadily cruising down the backstretch, Shahryar gradually made headway from the outside before the third corner while the Suave Richard filly also made bid and slightly shifted out for clear sailing at the final turn.
Entering the straight in third, the eventual winner was immediately challenged by the six-year-old son of Deep Impact who emerged from the outside and after both unleashed a furious drive and a head-to-head battle all the way to the wire while picking off the tired pacesetter 50 meters out, it was Regaleira who won by a whisker in a breath-taking photo finish.
“I knew a good break was crucial but although we might have been a tad late, we were able to sit in a good position and maintain a smooth run in good rhythm. She responded well but the competition was so strong, I couldn’t tell at all crossing the wire who’d won. I just want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the connections of the filly for giving me the opportunity to ride her today,” commented Keita Tosaki after the race.
Second pick and this year’s Tokyo Yushun champion Danon Decile took the front from the innermost stall to set the slow pace and maintained the lead until 50 meters out but was overtaken by the fast-closing Regaleira and Shahryar while securing third place by half a length.
Race favourite Urban Chic missed his break but quickly improved position to sit on the rails in mid-pack. Although hitting the stretch in good striking position, the three-year-old chestnut struggled in climbing the hill and finished sixth.
Established in 1956 as the Nakayama Grand Prix, the race was renamed Arima Kinen (Arima Memorial) a year later after the sudden passing of the second JRA president, Yoriyasu Arima.
Arima initiated the idea of holding an attractive event at Nakayama Racecourse, where a new grandstand had just been completed at that time, in an attempt to create a race that would receive as much attention as the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) held at Tokyo Racecourse.
The Arima Kinen was designed to be a season-end Grand Prix, in which the runners are selected by fan poll—an “All-Star” event in Japanese racing, and the fans can cast their votes online to select the ten most popular runners.
Among the horses entered in the race, ten runners with the most votes are entitled to run in the race, while the rest of the field is determined in order of earnings. The race was designated as an international Gr1 race in 2007 with the winner’s prize money raised to 500 million last year, making it the richest race along with the Japan Cup.
The Arima Kinen has been known as a final stage before retirement for JRA’s legendary runners such as Orfevre (JPN, by Stay Gold; ’13), Gentildonna (JPN, by Deep Impact; ’14), Kitasan Black (JPN, by Black Tide; ’17) and Lys Gracieux (JPN, by Heart’s Cry; ’19) who capped off their stellar racing careers with impressive wins in this race.
- Japan Racing Association
