Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1) - Preview

Last year's Tenno Sho (Autumn) turned out to be a race for the ages, featuring a stellar cast with Vodka beating rival Daiwa Scarlet in a photo finish - and in a record time of 1 minute, 57.2 seconds. But just when you thought it couldn't get any better, this year's fall version of the Emperor's Cup is shaping up to be another race for the history books, with half the field of 18 having won an international or Japanese Grade 1 race.

Until 1983, both the spring and autumn Tenno Sho were held at 3,200 meters in Kyoto and Tokyo, respectively. The champion has only been allowed to defend his or her title from 1981, and in 1984, the fall race was shortened to 2,000 meters.

The Tenno Sho was founded in 1905 as the Emperor's Cup by the Japan Race Club of Yokohama in honor of the Meiji Emperor. After local racing clubs around the country were merged in 1937, the race took on its current form - held twice a year, once in the spring in Western Japan, once in the autumn in the nation's capital.

The inaugural Tenno Sho was held in Tokyo at 2,600 meters, the second race the following spring in Hanshin at 2,700 meters. The race was not held in 1945 and 1946 because of World War II, but was revived in 1947. Since, the Tenno Sho (Spring) has been held in Kyoto, the autumn in Tokyo.

The race starts at the far right of Tokyo Racecourse, bending over 400 meters to the back straight which runs for more than 500 meters. After turning for home over 400 meters, the race enters the 525-meter stretch which rises for the first 225 meters before flattening out toward the finish.

The winner will take home 132 million yen; weights are set at 58 kilograms for 4-year-olds & up, 56 kilograms for anyone younger while females are allowed two kilograms. The following are the early favorites in the 140th running of the Tenno Sho (Autumn):

Air Shady AIR SHADY: The late Sunday Silence has sired five champions of the Tenno Sho (Autumn), and 8-year-old Air Shady is eyeing to become the sixth this weekend. He was fifth in last year's record-breaking race, only 0.1 seconds off the winning time. Trainer Masanori Ito's horse finished fourth in his latest race, the 2,000-meter Niigata Kinen on Aug. 30, but returns to his favorite course at Tokyo, where he has won four and placed four in 12 appearances. Jockey Hiroki Goto knows him inside out, and if Air Shady runs anywhere near the race he ran last year, then Vodka, watch out.

Asakusa Kings ASAKUSA KINGS: The 2007 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger) champion was the top choice to win the 2008 Tenno Sho (Spring) but came in third. He took fifth in his following race, the Takarazuka Kinen, before calling it a spring. Well rested and rejuvenated over four months, Asakusa Kings will be out to re-establish his place among the elites of the game. He was runner-up to Vodka in the 2007 Tokyo (Yushun) Japanese Derby, so his suitability to the Fuchu track should not be questioned. Asakusa Kings may not be getting the credit he is due and under the wily Hirofumi Shii, the 5-year-old horse could strike back with a vengeance on Sunday.

Captain Thule CAPTAIN THULE: Much had been expected of this Agnes Tachyon colt after he won the Satsuki Sho last year, but he broke a leg ahead of the Japanese Derby, an injury that sidelined him for a year. The road back to prominence for the Hideyuki Mori-trained Captain Thule began in August this year with the Sekiya Kinen at Niigata, where he came in fourth out of 18 over 1,600 meters. A month later at Hanshin, he held off 3-year-old Break Run Out by a neck to win the 2,000-meter Asahi Challenge Cup. Captain Thule bypassed the Mainichi Okan on Oct. 11, Mori wanting to give the horse ample time to recover and prepare for the Tenno Sho. With no clear candidate to set the pace apart from maybe Eishin Deputy, jockey Yuga Kawada will likely push Captain Thule out in front at a relatively gentle pace and see if he can hang on to the wire, although the 2,000 meters at Tokyo - where he will race for the first time this weekend - is not kind to such tactics. A very, very intriguing pick.

Company COMPANY: Eight years and 33 races into his career, Company is still going strong - and coming off one of his most impressive victories yet. The veteran trained by Hidetaka Otonashi defeated Vodka by a full length in the Mainichi Okan last month as the fourth choice for the seventh graded win of his career. In 2008, he was fifth in the Mainichi Okan, despite having dropped close to 20 kilograms over the summer; Company rebounded for the Tenno Sho (Autumn), putting some of the weight back on to finish fourth, only a fraction of a second behind Vodka. His results this year - including a narrow fourth in both the Yasuda Kinen and the Takarazuka Kinen - offer more hope for the Tenno Sho (Autumn) this weekend. Jockey Norihiro Yokoyama has had the hot hand this year, winning a nation best nine principal races including the Tokyo Yushun aboard Logi Universe. Without the retired Daiwa Scarlet and Deep Sky - who were second and third in the 2008 fall Emperor's Cup - there's only one horse to beat for Company in the 2009 Tenno Sho (Autumn).

Dream Journey DREAM JOURNEY: The 5-year-old Dream Journey has shown signs of maturity as a racehorse this year, winning his second Grade 1 title in the 2,200-me ter Takarazuka Kinen in June after taking third in the Tenno Sho (Spring) over 3,200 meters in May. He also won the Grade 2 Sankei Osaka Hai at 2,000 meters in April, and is coming off a second-place finish to 2007 Arima Kinen champion Matsurida Gogh in the 2,200-meter Sankei Sho All Comers under 59 kilograms on Sept. 27. There's no question Dream Journey is in the finest form of his career, but the horse has yet to prove he can run lefthanded. All six of his starts in 2009 have been at righthanded courses, and the son of Stay Gold has not won running to his left since his debut at Niigata on Sept. 3, 2006. Dream Journey came in 10th as the fourth choice in last year's Tenno Sho (Autumn), which doesn't exactly boost his prospects for this weekend. He will be a tough call for the punters, who will have to decide whether to bet on his current superb condition, or his history at righthanded tracks.

Eishin Deputy EISHIN DEPUTY: The 2008 Takarazuka Kinen champion made his return to the turf last month in the Sankei Sho All Comers from a ligament injury in his front leg that kept him out of action for a year and three months. The comeback, however, turned out to be less than remarkable as the 7-year-old finished 14th among 15, having put on 22 kilograms during his absence. As impressive as Eishin Deputy's victory over Meisho Samson was in the Takarazuka Kinen, it would be cruel to expect him to regain his pre-injury form just two races into a new lease on his career, especially against a field as tough as the one he will face this Sunday. And with a new partner in Keita Tosaki from the local racing circuit, asking him to improve on his last performance would be a more realistic request for the French Deputy son.

Matsurida Gogh MATSURIDA GOGH: The former winner of the Arima Kinen by Sunday Silence has thrown his hat into the ring at the last minute, although trainer Sakae Kunieda had said all long that the horse would race in the Japan Cup before finishing his career in the Arima Kinen. Kunieda now says the Tenno Sho (Autumn) will allow Matsurida Gogh more space in between races ahead of the 2,500-meter Arima Kinen at Nakayama, where the 6-year-old has won eight of his 10 victories. He came in 15th in the 2007 edition of the fall Emperor's Cup, but Kunieda has attributed the flop to a bad, outside draw. Matsurida Gogh did finish fourth in last year's 2,400-meter Japan Cup which is also held at Tokyo, so the lack of previous success at Tokyo could be purely coincidental. He won the Sankei Sho All Comers at Nakayama last month for the third straight year, showing no signs of lag in his physical form. Reunited with jockey Masayoshi Ebina - who he won the Arima Kinen with - for the Tenno Sho, Matsurida Gogh could have his best race yet at Fuchu this weekend.

Oken Bruce Lee OKEN BRUCE LEE: After winning last year's Kikuka Sho as the No. 1 pick, a lot was expected of the colt for 2009. But the Hidetaka Otonashi-trained 4-year-old ran just once in the spring, finishing a disappointing seventh in the 3,000-meter Hanshin Daishoten, a race held in such yielding conditions that it proved to be taxing on the legs of Oken Bruce Lee. Otonashi gave the son of Jungle Pocket all summer to recover, and it showed in the Kyoto Daishoten which he won under 59 kilograms by three-quarters of a length. Hiroyuki Uchida is never short of offers, so it says something about the quality of Oken Bruce Lee when the Japan Racing Association's leading jockey chooses to ride him. Together with stablemate Company, Oken Bruce Lee looks set to give Vodka a run for her money.

Sakura Mega Wonder SAKURA MEGA WONDER: The 6-year-old Sakura Mega Wonder has been a model of consistency and durability over the years, plugging in 28 starts since his debut back in July 2005. He has been particularly rock solid this year, finishing second in the Kyoto Kinen in February, winning the Grade 2 Kinko Sho in May and placing behind Dream Journey in the Takarazuka Kinen. Although the son of Grass Wonder has never even shown in six previous races at Tokyo, trainer Yasuo Tomomichi is convinced his horse is a different horse from the past. The Tenno Sho (Autumn) will be Sakura Mega Wonder's first race in four months, but it will hardly be a surprise if he makes a run at the winner's circle.

Screen Hero SCREEN HERO: Another horse in the field seeking to reestablish his name, the Japan Cup holder is eager to put his disappointing spring behind him. The 5-year-old Screen Hero, in a new partnership with Norihiro Yokoyama, started 2009 well by finishing fourth in the Hanshin Daishoten, but flopped to 14th as the second choice in the Tenno Sho (Spring) before ending the season with a fifth-place showing in the Takarazuka Kinen. Screen Hero heads to the Tenno Sho (Autumn) without a tuneup race, although trainer Yuichi Shikato remains adamant the Grass Wonder son is ready to roll. Yet reunited with Hiroshi Kitamura – who will take the reins for the first time March 2007 – Screen Hero will have to prove he is no flash in the pan this weekend.

Shingen SHINGEN: Of the 33 nominated for the Tenno Sho (Autumn), it is this 6-year-old horse, not Vodka, who has the most wins at Tokyo; of the eight wins Shingen has for his career, six have come at Fuchu. The Tokyomeister by White Muzzle bred at Shadai Farm has come into his own this year, winning 3-of-4, two of the wins graded. He was beaten in his first race of the fall in the Sankei Sho All Comers, but trainer Hirofumi Toda was pleased with the performance, finishing only behind winner and Nakayamameister Matsurida Gogh and Dream Journey, who won this year's Takarazuka Kinen. Jockey Shinji Fujita has had the hot hand this season, already winning the Sprinters Stakes with Laurel Guerreiro and taking an unfortunate second to Red Desire in the Shuka Sho. All the stars have fallen into place to make Shingen a legitimate threat to defending champion Vodka.

Vodka VODKA: There's not a lot more to say about trainer Katsuhiko Sumii's superstar that hasn't already been said. The Tanino Gimlet-sired Vodka, the likely favorite on race day, has won the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, the Tokyo Yushun, the Yasuda Kinen twice, the Victoria Mile and the Tenno Sho (Autumn). This weekend, the 5-year-old will look to join some very select company; victory on Sunday will make Vodka only the second horse ever to win the Tenno Sho (Autumn) in consecutive years after Symboli Kris S, which will be her seventh international and Japanese Grade 1 win combined - a tie for the all time record alongside Symboli Rudolf, T.M.Opera O and Deep Impact. Vodka, under star Yutaka Take, launched her fall campaign on Oct. 11 in the Grade 2, 1,800-meter Mainichi Okan at Tokyo, just as she did last year. And also like last year, Take pushed her on to the lead, only to succumb at the wire to take second; in 2008, it was to Super Hornet and this year, it was to Company who, at 8 years old, is eagerly eyeing his first Grade 1 win. But there's no question Vodka will be in improved form on Sunday, and not only will she be in better form, Tokyo is easily her favorite track; she has won five of her nine victories at Fuchu, having finished below third there just once in 10 races. Barring injury or some kind of freak accident during the race, it's hard to imagine Vodka - who won the Victoria Mile at Tokyo by a whopping seven lengths back in May, and will receive a two-kilogram gender handicap in the Tenno Sho (Autumn) - not defending her title.