Museum Mile

International superstar Forever Young has been named the Japanese Horse of the Year after the selection committee for the 2025 Japan Racing Association (JRA) Awards met on Tuesday. The son of Real Steel is the first dirt horse to be honoured with the Horse of the Year award. Racing in the silks of Susumu Fujita, he was also honoured as the Japanese Best Older Male and Japanese Best Dirt Horse. During 2025, Forever Young prevailed in an epic showdown with Hong Kong Horse of the Year Romantic Warrior (Acclamation) in the...

Museum Mile eased the pain of last year's agonising defeat for jockey Cristian Demuro when producing an irresistible late burst to win Sunday's Arima Kinen, the fan-voted 'Grand Prix' of Japan. Returning to Nakayama, the scene of his Classic victory in April's Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas), Museum Mile was settled towards the rear of the 16-strong field in the early stages. Shadowing Danon Decile (Epiphaneia) for much of the race, the son of Leontes swung wide around the final two corners and began to pick off his rivals one...

Sunday, Nakayama, Japan, post time: 15:40, ARIMA KINEN (THE GRAND PRIX)-G1, ¥960,040,000, 3yo/up, 2500mT Field: Excite Bio (Jpn) (Rey De Oro {Jpn}), Shin Emperor (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), Justin Palace (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Museum Mile (Jpn) (Leontes {Jpn}), Regaleira (Jpn) (Suave Richard {Jpn}), Meisho Tabaru (Jpn) (Gold Ship {Jpn}), Sunrise Zipangu (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), Chevalier Rose (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Danon Decile (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), Cosmo Kuranda (Jpn) (Al Ain {Jpn}), Mystery Way (Jpn) (Just A Way {Jpn}), Meiner Emperor (Jpn) (Gold Ship {Jpn}), Admire Terra (Jpn) (Rey De Oro...

Billed as Japan's richest race, the ¥960,040,000 (€5.2m) G1 Arima Kinen sees a slew of Group 1 winners vying for its ¥500,000,000 (€2.7m) first-place prize. Leading the way in the advance markets and by total votes delivered by the voting public is four-year-old mare Regaleira. The three-time Group 1 winner by Suave Richard will carry the silks of Sunday Racing. Christophe Lemaire will ride the daughter of Roca (Harbinger), who claimed the 2023 Hopeful Stakes--won today by Lovcen--the 2024 Arima Kinen, and last month's Queen Elizabeth II Cup. Assistant trainer...

Race favourite Masquerade Ball, making his first appearance on a racecourse since chasing home Croix Du Nord (Kitasan Black) in June's G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), made the breakthrough at the top level with a comfortable success in Sunday's Tenno Sho (Autumn) at Tokyo Racecourse. Trained by Takahisa Tezuka, Masquerade Ball was allowed to settle in mid-division for much of the 2,000-metre contest. The Duramente colt was caught behind horses as the field closed in on the leader approaching the final turn, having to wait for horses on his outside...

Group 1 winners lie thicker in the field than the falling leaves on the ground in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn), set for Sunday in Kyoto. However, it is G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) runner-up Masquerade Ball (Duramente) who leads in the advance markets as an 8-5 chance against 13 rivals, seven of them Group 1 scorers. Yet to salute at the highest level, the 2024 Listed Ivy Stakes winner's only blip in six lifetime starts was an unplaced run to his Derby conqueror Croix Du Nord (Kitasan Black) in...

Despite losing his unbeaten tag to Museum Mile (Leontes) in the G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas), Croix Du Nord still carries the burden of favouritism in Sunday's G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby). Never tested at the 2400-metre trip, the son of Kitasan Black and the Cape Cross mare Rising Cross went three-for three in his juvenile season and put an exclamation point on his career thus far in the G1 Hopeful Stakes, defeating Giovanni (Epiphaneia). The Japanese Champion 2-Year-Old Colt will leave from stall 13 in the 18-horse field...

Hong Kong's star sprinter Ka Ying Rising (Shamexpress) has moved up the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings to sit in a joint second at 126, after the latest round of rankings were released on Thursday. Now a winner of 12-straight after his victory in the G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize, he shares that mark with fellow Hong Kong wunderkind Romantic Warrior (Acclamation). Japan's Forever Young (Real Steel) remains the leader at 127. After the first Classics of the season, G1 2000 Guineas hero Ruling Court (Justify) is among the top 10...