Tenno Sho (Spring) - Preview

Kyoto Racecourse

Buena Vista and Unrivaled dominated in the Oka Sho and the Satsuki Sho, but Sunday afternoon's Tenno Sho (Spring) is looking anything but a race for one single horse to own.

Fittingly staged in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto as a race named after the Emperor, the course for the 3,200-meter contest features a flat home straight just over 400 meters. Circling a swan lake, Kyoto Racecourse is known for its hill laid out over the third and fourth turns. The slope rises from the 1,200 mark to the 800 mark, then dips right to the mouth of the stretch, the trip of the Tenno Sho lasting one-and-a-half laps around the oval.

The Tenno Sho took on its existing format in 1938, when the distance was changed to 3,200 meters. Until a year before, the Tenno Sho was held at 2,700 meters and before that, races held in honor of the Emperor were organized individually by various local racing clubs around the nation, the first of its kind held in 1905 by the Japan Race Club of Yokohama.

Such races were unified in 1937, and gave birth to the Tenno Sho – to be held once in the spring and once in the autumn each year in the Kansai area and Tokyo, respectively.

Sunday's Tenno Sho will be the 70th running of the race (it was canceled from 1945-46 because of the war), and along with its autumn counterpart, it will be the 139th Tenno Sho overall. The race record is owned by retired superstar Deep Impact, who ran in 3 minutes, 13.4 seconds – a phenomenal performance that shattered the previous mark by one full second.

The inaugural spring Tenno Sho champion was named Hase Park; last year's winner, Admire Jupiter, has been retired, as well as the runnerup, Meisho Samson, and will make Sunday's race a tough one to call for the punters.

The following are the early favorites for this year's Tenno Sho (Spring). Post time is 3:40 p.m.:

ASAKUSA KINGS: The expected No. 1 pick on Sunday, the 5-year-old son of White Muzzle was third last year also as the favorite, but the Ryuji Okubo-trained horse will take a lot more momentum into the race this weekend than he did in 2008. Under Hirofumi Shii, Asakusa Kings has won both races in 2009, the 2,200-meter Kyoto Kinen in February and last month's 3,000-meter Hanshin Daishoten - the prep race preferred by most spring Emperor's Cup contenders. The Kyoto Kinen victory was his first win since October 2007, when he captured the Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger), the final leg in the triple crown series. It's hard to bet against Asakusa Kings with his return to winning form, and the fact that the top two finishers from last year - winner Admire Jupiter and Meisho Samson - will both be absent. Barring injury or accident, it's difficult to imagine Shii's mount not improving on his finish from last spring. The safest pick of the lot.		Asakusa Kings
SCREEN HERO: The 5-year-old son of Grass Wonder will be out to prove his victory in last year's Japan Cup was not a fluke. Trainer Yuichi Shikato had always projected big things for the Teruya Yoshida-owned Screen Hero, but further down the line in a career which was once derailed for nearly a year due to injury. After winning the Japan Cup as the ninth choice over the likes of Deep Sky, Vodka and Matsurida Gogh, Shikato said he expected Screen Hero to come full circle next spring - which is now. With new partner Norihiro Yokoyama aboard, he finished fourth in his first race of the year, the Hanshin Daishoten, while shouldering 59 kilograms on heavy going, an admirable result given the circumstances. Racing under 58 kg in the Tenno Sho, and with Yokoyama returning in the saddle and sunny skies forecasted on the day of the meet, it's hard to not like Screen Hero's chances. Could even unseat Asakusa Kings as the favorite, depending on his workout this week.		Screen Hero
AL NASRAIN: Following a runner-up finish in the 2007 Kikuka Sho, Al Nasrain quickly became the next big thing in Japanese racing, with some convinced that he would win at least one Grade 1 race in 2008. As it turns out, the Shigeki Matsumoto-trained horse would not win the first graded title of his career, period, until late last month, when he won the 2,500-meter Nikkei Sho at Nakayama under Masayoshi Ebina. Now 5 years old and having run out of excuses, the Tenno Sho could either make or break Al Nasrain's career. Pressed to do something in order to turn fortunes around, Matsumoto changed his training regimen - which led to victory in the Nikkei Sho - and believes the Admire Vega son will be ready to run his best race on Sunday. But if Al Nasrain does not produce a convincing performance at the very least, he could become past tense. It's now or never.		Al Nasrain
DREAM JOURNEY: Originally, the Tenno Sho was not in the plans for the 2006 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes champion. But after beating Deep Sky in the Grade 2 Sankei Osaka Hai on April 5, and at the urging of jockey Kenichi Ikezoe, trainer Yasutoshi Ikee decided to throw Dream Journey's hat into the ring for the Emperor's Cup. The chief concern for this 5-year-old bay by Stay Gold will be the distance of 3,200 meters. After taking fifth in the 3,000-meter Kikuka Sho two years ago with Yutaka Take up, the jockey said he felt the race was too long for Dream Journey. While the horse has stayed in top form, and even though Ikezoe insists the distance will not be an issue, it remains to be seen whether Dream Journey can keep up with the best stayers in the nation. But if he does settle, then a second Grade 1 title for Ikezoe's mount is very well within reach.		Dream Journey
JAGUAR MAIL: This 5-year-old son of Jungle Pocket trained by Noriyuki Hori has yet to even enter in a Grade 1 race in Japan, but do not be surprised if he ends up as the new champion of the spring Tenno Sho. Consider the following: Jaguar Mail took second to eventual Japan Cup winner Screen Hero in the Copa Republica Argentina in November - while racing with an extra three kilograms; in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase in December, he finished third behind world-class competition in Doctor Dino and Purple Moon, despite being boxed in on the final straight. The wins have not come about for Jaguar Mail, but the performances have certainly been Grade 1 caliber. Making him a further intriguing pick is his jockey, Katsumi Ando, arguably the most clutch in the country. The one disadvantage is that Jaguar Mail has not raced since Hong Kong; the Tenno Sho will be his first race in more than four months. But if he can overcome the layoff, Jaguar Mail has every shot at reaching the winner's circle.		Jaguar Mail
HIKARU KAZABUE: He heads into the Tenno Sho with all of eight starts under his belt, but if there is anyone with upside in the field, it's the 4-year-old colt by Jungle Pocket. Sunday's race will be Hikaru Kazabue's third graded race yet, but the colt is coming off an encouraging run in the Hanshin Daishoten, finishing only a nose behind Asakusa Kings under Shinichiro Akiyama to take second on a very sloppy surface. Trainer Inao Okada claims Hikaru Kazabue is in the best shape of his career, and that the distance of 3,200 meters will not be a factor. Traditionally, the spring Emperor's Cup has featured few surprises, but given this year's relatively level field, Hikaru Kazabue could turn some heads.		Hikaru Kazabue
TOKAI TRICK: Sunday will be Tokai Trick's fourth spring Emperor's Cup, the 8-year-old's highest finish in the race being in 2007, when he took third as the third favorite. This year, with Ryuji Wada handling the reins, Tokai Trick, one of the JRA's top long-distance runners in recent history, was fifth in the Hanshin Daishoten and it will be up to the jockey to see if the El Condor Pasa son can capitalize on what could be his last shot at a Grade 1 title.		Tokai Trick
DELTA BLUES: In his first race in a year and three months, Delta Blues came in a distant sixth in last month's Hanshin Daishoten. His last race prior to that was the Tokyo Daishoten on the local circuit in December 2007, when he faded out to 12th on dirt over 2,000 meters. In the 2007 Tenno Sho, Delta Blues came in 12th as the third choice under Yasunari Iwata, who the Katsuhiko Sumii-trained horse won the 2006 Melbourne Cup and the 2004 Kikuka Sho with. The 8-year-old horse and jockey will be reunited on Sunday for a go at one more Grade 1 honor, but a return to respectability might be more likely at this stage for Delta Blues.		Delta Blues
NEVER BOUCHON: In the 2007 Tenno Sho, Never Bouchon was far from impressive, finishing 13th as the seventh choice. Two years on, and having missed close to a year of it with a broken right foreleg, the 6-year-old is back for the spring Emperor's Cup a much improved horse, with the American Jockey Club Cup title in hand. Never Bouchon is coming off a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Nikkei Sho as the favorite, but trainer Masanori Ito pins that down to sheer muscle soreness. A reunion with jockey Hiroki Goto, who the Marvelous Sunday son has won three of his seven wins with, could make Never Bouchon an outside pick this weekend.		Never Bouchon
MONTE KRIS S: Next to Jaguar Mail, this rising 4-year-old is the dark horse of the field, with six-time spring Tenno Sho winner Yutaka Take set to do the driving. The Kunihide Matsuda-trained Monte Kris S won the 3,400-meter Diamond Stakes at Tokyo in record time in February, and was a narrow third behind Al Nasrain in the Nikkei Sho in March. You can bet the house that Matsuda will have him fit and ready, and the Symboli Kris S colt could even follow in the footsteps of his sire in becoming a Grade 1 champion in his first Tenno Sho appearance.		Monte Kris S