Zenno Rob Roy in repeat bid

Zenno Rob Roy waltzed away with Japanese Horse of the Year honors last year with a late-season sweep of the Autumn Tenno Sho, the Japan Cup, and the Arima Kinen. On Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse, he will embark on an attempted repeat of that remarkable triple in the $2.2 million Autumn Tenno Sho, a 1 1/4-mile Grade 1 turf contest that has attracted a field of 18 runners.

Recently returned from England after a narrow Aug. 16 loss at York to Electrocutionist in the Juddmonte International, Zenno Rob Roy will have his work cut out for him Sunday. His biggest challenge could come from a 4-year-old filly, Sweep Tosho, who beat Zenno Rob Roy into third in the 1 3/8-mile, Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen on June 26. Before that she had run in the one-mile Yasuda Kinen, finishing second to Asakusa Den'en and ahead of third-place Hong Kong champ Silent Witness. Asakusa Den'en, absent since the June 5 Yasuda Kinen, will be going further than a mile Sunday for the first time in his career.

Lincoln, one of 10 sons of Sunday Silence in the Tenno Sho, is an appealing dark horse off his victory in the 1 1/2-mile Grade 2 Kyoto Daishoten on Oct. 9.