Japan: Lemon Pop looks to repeat in Champions Cup for career finale

Lemon Pop’s flawless record in Japan in the last 24 months will make him a massive favorite to win the third Grade 1 race of his career in Sunday’s Champions Cup at 1 1/8 miles on dirt at Chukyo Racecourse.

The $1.55 million Champions Cup will be Lemon Pop’s final start before retirement. Lemon Pop has won 12 of 17 starts.

Lemon Pop, a 6-year-old Kentucky-bred horse, won the 2023 Champions Cup and can become the second horse to win the race in consecutive years. Transcend achieved the milestone in 2010 and 2011.

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By Lemon Drop Kid, Lemon Pop has won his last six starts in Japan, all in stakes ranging in distances from seven furlongs to 1 1/8 miles. He has not been successful overseas, finishing 10th in the Group 1 Golden Shaheen Sprint in Dubai in March 2023 and 12th in the Group 1 Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia last February.

Lemon Pop was honored as Japan’s outstanding dirt horse of 2023, and is in contention for the same award this year.

Since the loss in Saudi Arabia, Lemon Pop is unbeaten in two starts in Japan, winning minor stakes on dirt at seven furlongs in June and at a mile in October.

In the Champions Cup, Lemon Pop is part of a field of 16.

Gaia Force and Wilson Tesoro are Lemon Pop’s leading rivals.

Gaia Force was second in the Grade 1 February Stakes at a mile on dirt at Tokyo Racecourse in February and fourth in his only subsequent start, finishing behind Romantic Warrior in the Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen at a mile on turf at Tokyo in June.

Wilson Tesoro was second in the 2023 Champions Cup and was fourth in the Group 1 Dubai World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in March. More recently, Wilson Tesoro ended a seven-race losing streak with a win in the JBC Classic at 1 1/4 miles on dirt at Saga Racecourse on Nov. 4.

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