Sixpence | Japanese Racing Association
By Heather Anderson
Despite a massive contingent of Japanese horses set to contest the $30.5 million Dubai World Cup night card in the UAE on Saturday, a strong field of 15 is still set to line up at the recently renovated Hanshin Racecourse back home in Japan. With a berth in the G1 Irish Champion Stakes on the line, Sixpence (Jpn) is hoping to follow in the hoofsteps of his sire 11 years after Kizuna (Jpn) won the Hanshin showpiece.
Leaving from stall 10, the four-year-old has won his last two starts, and five of his six lifetime starts. He set a new course record of 1:44.80 in the 1800-metre G2 Nakayama Kinen in early March, defeating Ecoro Walz (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}).
Trainer Sakae Kunieda said, “I think it shows what a talented horse he is, being able to win the Nakayama Kinen in record time after returning from a break and being about 80% ready. He’s been at Northern Farm Tenei, and on his return to the stable, his hooves are in good condition and things have been as expected with him.”
Last year’s Oka Sho heroine Stellenbosch (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) is not only one of Sixpence’s biggest rivals, but also his stablemate. She has been raced exclusively in top-level company in her last five starts and enters this test cutting back from a third-place run over 2400 metres in the G1 Hong Kong Vase in December.
“It was tough for her last time in the Hong Kong Vase, having to race wide throughout the race,” said trainer Kunieda. “She’s been a bit unlucky in her last two starts. We’ve had this race in mind for her next, and since returning from a spell at the farm, she seems to be in good condition.”
Bellagio Opera (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) has been winless in three starts since taking the 2024 Osaka Hai, but he also hasn’t been missing by far. Third in the G1 Takarazuka Kine in June, he was sixth to Do Deuce (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) and finished his campaign with a fourth in the G1 Arima Kinen over 2500 metres.
“On his return to the stable, he’s already put in some good training, on the flat and also uphill,” said trainer Hiroyuki Uemura. “He’s not fully switched on yet, but his workload’s been good so far.”
Both Yoho Lake (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Lord Del Rey (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) enter on the back of wins in the G2 Kyoto Kinen and the G2 Nikkei Shinshun Hai, respectively and could also be dangerous from posts seven and 13.
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