Regaleira is bidding for back-to-back Arima Kinen wins but man in-form Cristian Demuro has other ideas as he partners the Satsuki Sho winner Museum Mile.
Cristian Demuro is out for revenge in Sunday’s G1 Arima Kinen. Twelve months ago, Regaleira took the spoils in Japan’s end-of-year Grand Prix and left the Italian ace with the torture of “what if?” as he passed the winning post just a nose behind on Shahryar.
Shahryar headed to stud thereafter but Regaleira is back as a four-year-old, seemingly in the form of her life, and Demuro is preparing to take her on with Museum Mile, this year’s leading three-year-old in the field.
Museum Mile took the first colt’s Classic, the G1 Satsuki Sho over 2000m at Nakayama last April ahead of Croix Du Nord and Masquerade Ball; stepped up to a mile and a half in the Derby when he was only sixth behind those rivals in first and second; won the G2 St Lite Kinen thereafter, then was second to Masquerade Ball in the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn at 2000m.
With the Derby being the longest trip Museum Mile has tackled — and also the one blip on his resume — concerns about staying the Arima Kinen’s 2500m are natural. But his St Lite Kinen win at 2200m and Sunday’s venue give Demuro some confidence.
“I think he can handle it at Nakayama because it is a small track,” he said. “Therefore, I don't think there will be a problem. While the question of distance always persists, I believe he can get the job done on this specific course.”
And with Masquerade Ball having franked the form close behind the French champion Calandagan in the G1 Japan Cup last month, Demuro believes the three-year-old form is strong.
“I think the level is very, very high,” he said. “In our last race, I finished only one length behind Masquerade Ball. That same horse went on to finish second by a head in the Japan Cup against the best horse in the world.”
Demuro is enjoying another successful short license in Japan, and among his 31 wins is last Sunday’s top-line feature, the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes on Cavallerizzo. That came a week after he was second in the G1 Hong Kong Mile on Soul Rush.
“I hope to have a great race,” he added. “Last year with Shahryar, I finished very close behind the winner and it was a frustrating result, so I am hoping for some revenge this year.”
Museum Mile faces no easy task, though, with Regaleira going into the race seemingly at her peak off wins in the G2 All Comers and the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup. She was the overwhelming favorite in the fan vote that determines the makeup of the Arima Kinen field, with 612,771 votes, and will attempt to make history as the first filly or mare to register back-to-back wins in the race.
The Arima Kinen lineup is also set to feature the 2024 G1 Tokyo Yushun winner Danon Decile. He rounded off last year with third place in the Arima Kinen and appeared on course to be Japan’s star older horse after winning the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in the spring.
Things did not go to plan overseas in the G1 Juddmonte International at York in August, but he returned to action with third place in the Japan Cup and that should have put him spot on for Sunday’s test.
Yoshioka Hopeful Of Another Juvenile Star
The Arima Kinen is not the only Group 1 action in Japan this weekend. Saturday’s card at Nakayama features the last of the JRA’s three two-year-old majors, the Hopeful Stakes, while at Oi on Monday, the NAR stages its own big end-of-year championship race, the Tokyo Daishoten.
The Hopeful Stakes has produced superstar graduates, not least Regaleira two years ago, Croix Du Nord last year, and of course the Triple Crown winner Contrail in 2019. This weekend’s edition of the 2000m contest features juveniles with similar star potential.
Trainer Tetsuya Yoshioka won last weekend’s G1 Asahi Hai Futurity with Cavallerizzo and is set to saddle Justin Vista, already proven at the distance thanks to his win last time in the G3 Kyoto Nisai Stakes. Only one trainer has won both races in the same year since the Hopeful Stakes was relaunched in its current guise in 2014 — Kazuo Fujisawa, nine years ago.
Naosuke Sugai-trained Shonan Gulf could go off favorite based on his seven-length Newcomer win last summer and his victory in the G3 Sapporo Nisai Stakes over 1800m in September.
Then there is the Mitsu Nakauchida-trained Anduril, winner of the Listed Ivy Stakes last start at 1800m, while L’Avenue, trained by Yasuo Tomoichi, was an impressive five-length winner at his sole start to date.
Meanwhile, on the dirt at Oi, Christophe Lemaire looks set to ride JBC Classic hero Mikki Fight in the Tokyo Daishoten. The race could also see a rematch of the three-year-olds Narukami and Natural Rise, first and second in the Japan Dirt Classic, with Narukami looking to bounce back from a disappointing 13th in the G1 Champions Cup.
This Week In Horse Racing History
Hollywood Park held its last race day on December 22, 2013. Woodman’s Luck, trained by Vladimir Cerin and ridden by Corey Nakatani, edged a photo finish to go down in history as the final winner at the track, which opened in 1938.
Christmas Day, December 25, 2016, delivered a thrilling battle in the G1 Arima Kinen between Kitasan Black, Gold Actor and the late-closing Satono Diamond. With the Nakayama crowd producing a deafening roar, Christophe Lemaire galvanized Satono Diamond deep in the home stretch and scored by a neck to give iconic trainer Yasutoshi Ikee a record fourth win in the great end-of-year Grand Prix.
On December 26, 2022, Fun To Dream won the G1 La Brea Stakes at Santa Anita to give trainer Bob Baffert a record-stretching ninth win in the race. Baffert’s first success in the seven-furlong contest, exclusive to three-year-old fillies, came 30 years earlier with Arches Of Gold on December 27, 1992, when the race held G3 status.
Also on December 26, 2022, the incredible Flightline made his G1 debut in the Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita. He won by 11½ lengths and would go on to win three more races without any horse getting close, in a sadly all-too-short six-race unbeaten career that ended after his G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic win in November 2023.
Racing Pic Of The Week
Cristian Demuro embraces Cavallerizzo after their victory in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity. @luck_photograph
As the cold December rain fell at Hanshin, Cristian Demuro embraced Cavallerizzo after their victory in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity. One week on from the disappointment of finishing second aboard Soul Rush in the G1 Hong Kong Mile, the Italian ace piloted the eager son of Saturnalia astutely through the race and delivered a surging late sprint that took the colt to the top of the juvenile pecking order.
Global Blackbook
Crepuscular has shown high-class potential in two starts to date, the latest a two-and-a-half-length win in the Hiragi Sho at Nakayama under Christophe Lemaire. That performance highlighted both the colt’s class and his quirks: Lemaire had his hands full trying to teach the horse to focus and relax, but once he let him go, the turn of foot was powerful and the win was achieved comfortably.
Trainer Toru Kurita said afterward that the son of Leontes’ “potential is tremendous” but also noted that “he has a lot of issues” and “there are moments when he loses control of himself.”
Rachel King, who rode Crepuscular to victory on debut, and Lemaire have both expressed concerns about the colt’s control, but Lemaire said after the Hiragi Sho: “Even when he’s keen and pulling, he still finishes strongly and he’s a strong horse.”
If Crepuscular can learn to control his power, he could be a top-line performer and one for the Classics next year.
What’s Coming Up? World Racing Calendar
Hopeful Stakes
Nakayama, Japan — December 27
The Hopeful Stakes was given its current name and conditions in 2014 and since then the 2000m race for two-year-olds has been won by subsequent Triple Crown hero Contrail, fellow Derby winners Rey De Oro and Croix Du Nord, Satsuki Sho winner Saturnalia, and current star filly Regaleira. Saturnalia sired last week’s G1 Futurity winner Cavallerizzo and this week he has the exciting colts Anduril and Justin Vista representing him, while the field also features the unbeaten Shonan Gulf and L’Avenue.
Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix)
Nakayama, Japan — December 28
Last year’s winner Regaleira is chasing back-to-back victories and attempting to become the first filly or mare to win the Arima Kinen in consecutive years. She faces a major challenge from G1 Satsuki Sho hero Museum Mile, as well as this year’s G1 Dubai Sheema Classic winner Danon Decile, the Tokyo Yushun winner flying the flag for the four-year-old colts.
Tokyo Daishoten
Oi, Japan — December 29
The day after the Arima Kinen, attention turns to the National Association of Racing (NAR)’s year-ending championship, the G1 Tokyo Daishoten at Oi. Past winners include Forever Young, four-time champion Omega Perfume, and Ushba Tesoro, who also captured the G1 Dubai World Cup. This year’s edition is set to feature Jpn1 JBC Classic winner Mikki Fight and could also include leading three-year-olds Narukami and Natural Rise.
This story first appeared on Idol Horse as "World Racing Weekly: Museum Mile, Justin Vista & Crepuscular."
