Japan: Kentucky Derby starter Crown Pride leading contender in Champions Cup

Crown Pride, 13th in the Kentucky Derby earlier this year, will have his Grade 1 debut against older horses in Sunday’s $1.72 million Champions Cup at Chukyo Racecourse in Japan.

Crown Pride, a winner of 3 of 7 starts, has already faced his toughest rival in the Champions Cup in T O Keynes. In the JBC Classic at 1 1/4 miles at Morioka Racecourse on Nov. 3, T O Keynes won by 2 1/2 lengths over Crown Pride, who set the pace.

Crown Pride’s most recent win was the Group 2 United Arab Emirates Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai in March, a victory that clinched his berth in the Kentucky Derby. Crown Pride was beaten 18 1/4 lengths by Rich Strike after racing near the front for the first mile.

Following the Kentucky Derby, Crown Pride did not race again until he finished second by a half-length in the Nippon TV Hai Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Funabashi Racecourse on Sept. 28.

T O Keynes will be favored in a field of 16 in the Champions Cup at 1 1/8 miles, a race he won in 2021. A winner of 10 of 19 starts, the 5-year-old T O Keynes was eighth in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia in February, and has since won two of three starts in Japan as an odds-on favorite in each race.

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Trained by Daisuke Takayanagi, T O Keynes tends to run from a tracking position.

The recent Grade 3 winners Jun Light Bolt and Sunrise Hope have solid chances in the Champions Cup.

Jun Light Bolt, a winner of 6 of 24 starts, won his second consecutive race in the Sirius Stakes at 1 3/16 miles at Chukyo on Oct. 1.

Sunrise Hope was 12th in the Sirius Stakes, but rebounded to win the Grade 3 Miyako Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Hanshin Racecourse on Nov. 6.

The Champions Cup has a post time of 2:30 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 11:30 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.

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