Nominations out for the Yasuda Kinen (G1) - Asian Mile Challenge - Preview (2)

Nominations for the 60th running of the Yasuda Kinen (G1) have been announced, with 25 horses, including three contenders from Hong Kong, up for the money.

The race, opened to foreign-based runners from 1993, has had two winners from overseas since then. Both victors hailed from Hong Kong, which has fielded the most runners. Fairy King Prawn won the race in 2000 and Bullish Luck took top prize in 2006. There have been two runnerups from abroad as well, Diktat from the UAE in 2000 and Armada from Hong Kong in 2008. This year, of the Hong Kong-based, New Zealand-bred geldings here for the race – Fellowship, Sight Winner and Beauty Flash -- Fellowship is expected to perform the best with attention being garnered by Beauty Flash as well. Nonetheless, expectations for a Japanese winner this year are high.

No one name stands out among what will be 15 Japan-based runners in the Sunday lineup, a lineup that pales somewhat in light of far more competitive years. Wagers are likely to be spread across the board and picking the winner a far more difficult task than usual. Reach the Crown and Triumph March are perhaps the two most-oft cited names for having the best shot at the winner's circle, but any number of others are considered to have a good chance. This year's Yasuda Kinen is looking to be a wide open race for the money, an even 100 million yen to the winner.

No horse is gunning for the Asian Mile Challenge $1 million bonus this year though Sight Winner, who was up for the bonus last year, is back and looking to improve on his sixth-place finish of last year. The five highest-rated Japanese horses (following in order) – Faridat, Reach the Crown, Meiner Falke, Captain Thule, Triumph March -- will receive an automatic place in the field.

There are no 3-year-olds in this year's Yasuda lineup. Three-year-olds would have been allowed to run at 4 kg less than the 58 kg carried by the older males. Only one filly, the 4-year-old One Carat not expected to make the final field, would be eligible to run with 56 kg.

Post time is at 3:40 p.m. Sunday, June 6.

Below are the likely Japanese favorites:

Triumph March Triumph March: The 4-year-old Triumph March displayed awesome footwork his last time out in the April 17 Yomiuri Milers Cup at Hanshin Racecourse. Covering the final 600 meters in a blistering 33.3 seconds, he just missed out on the win by a neck. Second in last year's Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2,000 Guineas), this son of Special Week is considered better suited to the Tokyo venue than either Nakayama Racecourse or Hanshin, however. Despite only having two wins in his total 13 starts, five of those starts were over much longer distances than the mile, which is now considered the colt's best distance. Triumph March has had five close seconds, three of them at the mile, as were both wins. He has also won at the mile at Tokyo in the open class Capital Stakes last fall. Both the distance and the venue are in this colt's favor. Jockey Yasunari Iwata has high praise for Triumph March, calling him a "horse with real power."

Reach The Crown Reach the Crown: Beating Triumph March to the wire in the Yomiuri Milers Cup was another Special Week 4-year-old colt, Reach the Crown. He has been tried at fast distances and over dirt as well as turf -- runnerup in the 2009 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby), fifth in the 3,000-meter Kikuka Sho, ninth in the 2,400-meter Japan Cup and 10th in the February Stakes over dirt—but Reach the Crown has since been pegged as a miler, especially after his easy win last outing. His other win was at 1,600 meters and the other two over 1,800 meters. He has matured in recent weeks, proving he can maintain his concentration and speed when taken out away from the pack for a clear run. He has lost the irritability displayed prior to earlier races and is able to settle down to some serious work. Veteran rider Katsumi Ando, up for the last win, will be taking the reins once again. Left sitting for the Derby after his ride was scratched due to injury on the eve of the big race, Ando will surely be looking to make up for lost opportunity and raring for a Yasuda win. Reach the Crown has had four wins and four seconds in 13 starts, though only one of those, the Derby second-place, was at Tokyo. The track suits him though. With a big ground-gobbling stride, Reach the Crown will enjoy the space as well as the fast going a week of clear skies predicted for Tokyo is expected to deliver for the Yasuda Kinen.

Captain Thule Captain Thule: A top classic horse, the 5-year-old Captain Thule was sidelined for 16 months following the 2008 Satsuki Sho after suffering a broken bone. Though he finished third in his last outing in the Milers Cup, the Agnes Tachyon-sired Captain Thule appears best suited to the mile and is said to have shown improvement with the run in the Milers Cup.

Super Hornet Super Hornet: The Rodrigo de Triano-sired Super Hornet has had two seconds in the Mile Championship (G1) at Kyoto Racecourse but has had no luck in his three tries at the Yasuda Kinen thus far. His best was a seventh-place finish last year. Still, he is not considered unsuited to the Tokyo venue, and has beaten superstar Vodka at Tokyo carrying a kilogram more in the 1,800-meter Mainichi Okan (G2) in 2008. Given a rest after his 2008 trip to Hong Kong and a fifth-place in the Hong Kong Mile, Super Hornet has been only lightly raced since. He has had only four races total, including a win of the Yomiuri Milers Cup (G2) in April 2009. His two races this year, which ended in 15th and ninth-place finishes, came after yet another spell of eight months. Though his recent performance has been less than satisfactory, Super Hornet is considered to finally be up to speed, back in form and ready to successfully take on the less-than-stellar lineup of this year's Yasuda. Other Japanese runners that will likely be favored in this year's Yasuda Kinen are Keio Hai Spring Cup (G2, 1,400 meters) runnerup Maruka Phoenix and 2009 Mile Championship runnerup Meiner Falke. Third-place finisher in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen sprint A Shin Forward could likely do well with the extra ground offered by the Yasuda. Seiun Wonder, Showa Modern (coming off two wins), Smile Jack and five-time winner at the mile Absolute are also surely worth a wager. Faridat, third to Vodka and Deep Sky in last year's Yasuda, may fare better amid this year's relatively weaker Yasuda lineup.