Japan: Superstar Equinox heavy favorite in Tenno Sho

Unbeaten in four starts in the last year, Equinox will be a massive favorite to win the Grade 1 autumn running of the $2.8 million Tenno Sho at 1 1/4 miles at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan on Sunday for the second consecutive year.

The Tenno Sho, one of Japan’s top late-season races for older horses, was the first victory of Equinox’s current winning streak. Last December, Equinox won the Grade 1 Arima Kinen to clinch his title as Japan’s 2022 Horse of the Year.

A 4-year-old colt, Equinox has won two starts this year – an easy win in the Group 1 Sheema Classic at 1 1/2 miles in Dubai in March, and a neck victory in the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen at 1 3/8 miles at Hanshin Racecourse in Japan in June.

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Those credentials seem to have scared off some of the competition for Sunday’s race. Japanese Grade 1 races often draw full fields of 18. There are 11 entered in the Tenno Sho, which has a post time of 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday.

Equinox, who will be ridden by Christophe Lemaire, drew post 7, which should suit his closing style.

Other contenders such as Do Deuce and Danon Beluga start from posts 3 and 4.

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Do Deuce and Equinox were first and second in the Grade 1 Japanese Derby at Tokyo Racecourse in May 2022, the last time they met. Do Deuce has not raced since a win in the Grade 2 Kyoto Kinen in February. He was scratched from the Group 1 Dubai Turf in March.

Danon Beluga was third in the 2022 autumn running of the Tenno Sho, and second in the Dubai Turf in March. In his only subsequent start, Danon Beluga finished fourth in the Grade 2 Sapporo Kinen at 1 1/4 miles at Sapporo Racecourse on Aug. 20.

While the autumn running of the Tenno Sho is one of Japan’s most prestigious races, it is a prep for two other Grade 1 races in coming months – the Japan Cup at Tokyo on Nov. 26, and Arima Kinen at Nakayama on Dec. 24.

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