Presenti al via anche Mirco Demuro e Cristian Demuro, i fratelli terribili. Saranno presenti tutti i cavalli più forti del Giappone tranne Almond Eye che reduce dalla Japan Cup si prenderà un turno di riposo. Siamo in attesa dle sorteggio del numero degli steccati e quest’anno i voti sono stati 1,520,485. Tra i più nominati ci sono REY DE ORO con 110,293, la campionessa ALMOND EYE ha comunque ottenuto 105,561 preferenza (però non correrà), OJU CHOSAN 100,382, SUAVE RICHARD 89,456, SATONO DIAMOND 78,204, KISEKI 75,471. Mirco sarà in sella a Mozu Katchan e Cristian sarà on board a Perform a Promise. Lemaire, leader incontrastato in classifica, sarà su Rey De Oro mentre Oisin Murphy, che si è portato a casa le prime 4 vittorie della sua stagione giapponese nel weekend a Nakayama, salirà su Mikki Rocket.
2018 Arima Kinen
December 23, 2018 – 1m 4½f (2,500 meters), Nakayama, Japan
| Age | Trainer | |
| Baby Step | 4 | M. Kikukawa |
| Blast Onepiece | 3 | M. Otake |
| Cheval Grand | 6 | Y. Tomomichi |
| Clincher | 4 | H. Miyamoto |
| Happy Grin | 3 | J. Tanaka |
| Kiseki | 4 | K. Nakatake |
| Makahiki | 5 | Y. Tomomichi |
| Mikki Rocket | 5 | H. Otonashi |
| Mikki Swallow | 4 | T. Kikuzawa |
| Mozu Katchan | 4 | I. Sameshima |
| Oju Chosan | 7 | S. Wada |
| Perform A Promise | 6 | H. Fujiwara |
| Platinum Bullet | 4 | H. Kawachi |
| Rey De Oro | 4 | K. Fujisawa |
| Ridge Man | 5 | Y. Shono |
| Sakura Empereur | 7 | T. Kanari |
| Satono Diamond | 5 | Y. Ikee |
| Smart Layer | 8 | R. Okubo |
| Sounds Of Earth | 7 | K. Fujioka |
Preview: December 19, 2018
New Japanese superstar Almond Eye will not take part in the 2018 Arima Kinen (7:25 CET), still the horse race with the world’s highest betting turnover will present a strong field, as several of the best Japanese thoroughbreds skipped the Japan Cup for the Arima Kinen. Favourite is the recent Tenno Sho winner Rey De Oro. Japan Cup runner-up Kiseki and Cheval Grand will probably turn out to be his most dangerous rivals. Also steeplechase champion Oju Chosan is set for the Arima Kinen.
Rey De Oro won the Tenno Sho (Autumn) as 21:10 favourite on October 28, but did not start in the Japan Cup afterwards, probably to avoid a clash with Almond Eye. The 2017 Japanese Derby winner will now be the horse to beat in the 2018 Arima Kinen. He should have no problems with the tighter turns at Nakayama, as he had won the Sankei Sho All Comers there in September. Rey De Oro’s trainer Kazuo Fujisawa could win the Arima Kinen three times already, fresh Japan Cup winner Christophe Lemaire will be in the saddle.
Kiseki gave a strong performance in the 2018 Japan Cup recently. Leading the whole way, he was only beaten by Almond eye, but crossed the line well ahead of the rest. Last year’s Japanese St Leger winner had already displayed rising form when ended third in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) a length behind Rey De Oro.
Cheval Grand beat Rey De Oro when won the 2017 Japan Cup, but finished only fourth in that race this year. The son of Heart’s Cry, third in the 2017 Arima Kinen, will be ridden by the Australian jockey Hugh Bowman in Nakayama again, who had won the Japan Cup with him.
Blast Onepiece is one of only two three-year-olds in the field and according to the betting market he is has at least outsider chances. The son of Harbinger could win four of his six starts. He had been second favourite in this year’s Japanese Derby, where he finished fifth in May. He then was even first favourite in the St Leger, but ended just fourth there in October. Blast Onepiece is trained by Masahiro Otake on the Nakayama racecourse.
Mikki Rocket won only one of his 15 starts until he triumphed in the Takarazuka Kinen in June, where he beat multiple Group 1-winner Werther. He finished fifth in the Tenno Sho (Autumn), but came from a four month lay-off then.
Perform A Promise, a six-year-old son of Stay Gold, attracted attention by winning the Copa Republica Argentina (G2, 2,500 m) on November 4. The horses he beat there were not the very strongest, still several ‘Republica’ winners have been successful in the Arima Kinen subsequently.
Satono Diamond, winner of the 2016 Arima Kinen, will also be involved at Nakayama. He could win an important race with the Kyoto Daishoten on October 8, but he never really reached his strong 2016 form again, at least came sixth in the Japan Cup. He will also be ridden by an Australian jockey, Brenton Avdulla. The Arima Kinen will be the last run in Satono Diamond’s career.
Makahiki is one of the better known Japanese race horses abroad. He won the 2016 Japanese Derby ahead of Satono Diamond and took unsuccessfully part in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The son of Deep Impact has not shown much the last two years, finished seventh in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) most recently.
Oju Chosan is a very special participant at the 2018 Arima Kinen. The seven-year-old celebrated five Group One victories in hurdle and steeplechase races, also won twice on the flat lately. In the Arima Kinen vote open to racing fans Oju Chosan ended third with 100,382 votes, right behind Rey De Oro (110,293) and Almond Eye (105,561).
The Arima Kinen is the horse race with the world’s highest betting turnover, even far ahead of the Grand National. Ten of the sixteen participating horses are selected by a public vote. It is the most popular horse race in Japan. 165,000 spectators will arrive the Nakayama racetrack also in 2018 again.
Odds on the 2018 Arima Kinen can be found at RaceBets.com and Betbird.com.
To watch a replay of the Arima Kinen, without knowing the result, enter Horse Racing Japan and click on the video button in the Arima Kinen row.
20/12/2018 16:48
G1 – 2500m – Turf
| Blast Onepiece | Enjoys a very impressive second season, winning a pair of G3s over 1800m and 2000m as well as finishing 5th and 4th in two G1s. While he has been better at mid-distances in the higher levels, he has been game at longer distances as well and will be coming into the race fresh. |
| Cheval Grand | Back with Hugh Bowman who has partnered his win in the G1 Japan Cup (2400m) and coming in 3rd in this race last year, also 2nd in the G1 Tenno Sho Spring (3200m) in April. In his past two starts, he ran 4th both times, neither bad, but Bowman can get that extra drop out of the horse. |
| Clincher | After a disappointing trip to France this fall, the colt is refreshed for the Arima Kinen. Earlier in the year, he had beaten several G1 winners including Rey de Oro in the G2 Kyoto Kinen (2200m) on 11 February. Has ability to handle distance. |
| Kiseki | He set pace in the G1 Japan Cup (2400m) last time. While setting up Almond Eye’s record-breaking victory, he managed to hold on well for 2nd. Given the success up front in his past few races, it is likely the speedy bay will keep it up. His stamina is absolutely astounding. |
| Makahiki | Last seen in the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn where he finished a fairly disappointing 7th. He was closing well in that 2000m race, so perhaps with a little more time to position himself, he could perform better with an extra 500m. His greatest victories have all been over 2400m and this will be his first attempt in this race. |
| Mikki Rocket | Finished 5th in the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn (2000m) in October. Winner of the 2200m G1 Takarazuka Kinen two starts back, he should be set for a bigger run this time out with the added distance. Always a game runner he could be one to watch. |
| Mikki Swallow | Finished 5th in the G1 Japan Cup (2400m) after trailing the field, he should be looking to be closer to the pace this time to make up for the shorter stretch. The colt looks to be a decent stayer but will need to improve significantly to be a match for others in this race. |
| Mozu Katchan | Winning filly of last year’s G1 2200m Queen Elizabeth II Cup. Finished 3rd as top favorite of the same race this year. She doesn’t have the form to say she can beat the boys this time around but she was 2nd in the 2400m G1 Japanese Oaks last year so the distance shouldn’t be a problem. |
| Oju Chosan | This champion Steeplechaser is a 5-time JPN G1 winner. Connections decided to take him back to the flat to have a go at the Arima Kinen. He ran two different flat allowances since winning the JPN G1 Nakayama Grand Jump (4250m) in April and he won both fairly well. However, this is much harder. He will likely go to post at very low odds due to his popularity. |
| Perform A Promise | A late bloomer, it has taken the 6yo a long time to work his way into the highest level of the JRA. Though a remarkably consistent runner his first attempt at G1 ended with a 9th place finish in the G1 Takarazuka Kinen (2200m) in June. Took the G2 Copa Republica Argentina (2500m) latest Distance shouldn’t be a problem, but the competition could be. |
| Rey De Oro | The probable favourite on Sunday, the 2017 Derby winner won the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn (2000m) in October and skipped the Japan Cup in favour of the Arima Kinen. He has never been one to race too frequently either, choosing to train up to his goals. Distance is not a problem for the colt. |
| Ridge Man | Winning the G2 Stayers Stakes (3600m) on 1 December at Nakayama landed this son of a sprinter into the Arima Kinen. While he loves a good long run he will be running in his first G1 race. |
| Sakura Empereur | Probably a better middle-distance horse than a stayer, he finished 16th in this race last year. While he did finish 3rd in a G2 over the course and distance in March, the quality of the best runners in that race was not as high as we have in this race. |
| Satono Diamond | Took this race in 2016 and he will be looking to go out a winner one last time before retiring to stud. A top 3yo in Japan in 2016, but has been off his game ever since. While he won the G2 Kyoto Daishoten (2400m) in October, he finished a fairly disappointing 6th in the Japan Cup (2400m) last month. |
| Smart Layer | She hasn’t been in the top three since winning the G2 Kyoto Daishoten (2400m) last October. She had always been a game mare so this looks to be her last run before retirement. |
| Sounds Of Earth | The elder horse hasn’t been in the top three since he finished 2nd in the G1 Japan Cup in 2016 and he finished 14th in this year’s Japan Cup. |
The Arima Kinen Story (有馬記念) is a Grade I flat horse race in Japan open to Thoroughbreds which are three-years-old or above. It is run over a distance of 2,500 metres (approximately 1 mile and 4 1⁄2 furlongs) at Nakayama Racecourse, and it takes place annually in late December. It is one of the two “All-Star” races in Japanese horse racing; the other is the Takarazuka Kinen in late June.
The event was first run in 1956, and it was initially titled the Nakayama Grand Prix (中山グランプリ). The following year it was renamed in memory of Yoriyasu Arima (1884–1957), the founder of the race. The distance was originally set at 2,600 metres, and it was shortened to the present length, 2,500 metres, in 1966.
The majority of the runners (10 out of 16) in the field are selected by a vote from racing fans, which must be a Japan Racing Association(JRA) horse. If at least one horse in top 10 decided not participating the race, the void will be filled with next available horse until 10 available runners are filled. The remainder of 6 (including National Association of Racing (NAR) and foreign-based horses) are determined by the amount of prize money won.
Until 1999 the Arima Kinen was open to Japanese trained horses only. However, the Japan Racing Association introduced a new condition in 2000 which allowed for the participation of a foreign trained horse, if it had won that year’s Japan Cup (though, no horse eligible has ended up participating this race). The Arima Kinen was classed as a Domestic Grade I until 2006, and it was then promoted to an International Grade I in 2007. Consequently, it is now possible for more foreign trained horses to compete in the race. The maximum number of these was set at four in 2007, and this increased to six for the 2008 running.
