BRINGING ASIAN RACING TO THE WORLD

A A A
JAPAN

Japan Cup G1 Guide

Japan’s biggest race in terms of the international attention it receives is the Japan Cup, which was first staged in 1981 as a restricted invitational race.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER //

SUBSCRIBE
Distance: 2,400 metres
Venue: Tokyo
Prize money: ¥864,000,000

The first edition of the Japan Cup was won by the US-trained Mairzy Doates in 1981. International raiders went on to dominate the race’s early years. Horses trained outside Japan won nine of the first 11 Japan Cups and 14 of the first 25, right up to and including the British-trained Alkaased’s win in 2005. But the tables have turned markedly with Japan’s prowess as a thoroughbred powerhouse resulting in the cup remaining on Japanese soil ever since. The outstanding mares Gentildonna and Almond Eye, each with two victories, are the only horses to have won the Japan Cup more than once.

Featured winner: El Condor Pasa

El Condor Pasa’s Japan Cup victory in 1998 ended a run of three consecutive wins in the race for foreign-trained stars and signalled an era of home domination in the international feature. His achievements in Europe the following year were a key part of Japan’s emergence as a serious force on the global stage as he won the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the G2 Prix Foy. But he is remembered most for his gallant second-place in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe when he led the field only to be run down late by the exceptional European three-year-old Montjeu.

El Condor Pasa’s Japan Cup win came at the end of a progressive three-year-old campaign in which he also won the G1 NHK Mile Cup. The Yoshitaka Ninomiya-trained colt won eight of his 11 starts and was never out of the first two. He was Japan’s Horse of the Year in 1999.

Past Japan Cup winners

YearWinnerJockeyTrainerOwnerTime
2021ContrailYuichi FukunagaYoshito YahagiShinji Maeda 2:24.7
2020Almond EyeChristophe LemaireSakae KuniedaSilk Racing2:23.0
2019Suave RichardOisin MurphyYasushi ShonoNICKS Co, Ltd2:25.9
2018Almond EyeChristophe LemaireSakae KuniedaSilk Racing2:20.6
2017Cheval GrandHugh BowmanYasuo TomomichiKazuhiro Sasaki2:23.7
2016Kitasan BlackYutaka TakeHisashi ShimizuOno Shoji2:25.8
2015Shonan PandoraKenichi IkezoeTomokazu TakanoTetsuhide Kunimoto2:24.7
2014EpiphaneiaChristophe SoumillonKatsuhiko SumiiU Carrot Farm2:23.1
2013GentildonnaRyan MooreSei IshizakaSunday Racing2:26.1
2012GentildonnaYasunari IwataSei IshizakaSunday Racing2:23.1
2011Buena VistaYasunari IwataHiroyoshi MatsudaSunday Racing2:24.2
SHARE

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER //

SUBSCRIBE

    Subscribe now & get exclusive weekly content from Asian Racing Report direct to your inbox

      Expert ratings, tips & analysis for Hong Kong racing