The Kentucky-bred colts Arcadia Cafe and Magna Victor, both expensive purchases at American auctions, are two of the three leading contenders in Saturday’s $197,000 Cattleya Stakes for 2-year-olds at Tokyo Racecourse, the first of four stakes in the country’s qualifying series for the 2026 Kentucky Derby.
They are part of a field of 12 in the one-mile race led by the Japanese-bred Into Mischief colt Satono Voyage, the only two-time winner in the field.
Paul Lally:
R1: 2-10-5-11
R2: 7-10-12-8
R3: 3-2-6-10
R4: 7-1-9-4
R5: 8-6-11-1
R6: 3-7-6-1
R7: 4-12-3-14
R8: 6-4-13-2
R9: 6-12-11-9
R10: 7-12-1-6
Best Bet: R5 N8 The Golden Knight
Longshot: R6 N3 Metro Power
Play: R10 QQP 1-7-12
By Paul Ryding
Douglas Whyte says his exciting import Shanwah can improve with a step up in distance at Sha Tin on Sunday (30 November) and justify his inclusion in the field for the HK$40 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m).
Calandagan is on a three-race winning streak, all Group 1 races in France and Britain since early summer, an achievement that led to him being recognized as the 2025 European Horse of the Year earlier this month. It may take a Horse of the Year such as Calandagan to win Sunday’s Grade 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse against a tough field of local horses.
By Leo Schlink
Vincent Ho and Hugh Bowman have clinched the final two places in the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) on 10 December, edging out Jerry Chau and Luke Ferraris, respectively, with crucial victories at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (26 November).
An esteemed collection of world-class horses led by Romantic Warrior, Ka Ying Rising, Voyage Bubble, Calandagan, Soul Rush, Satono Reve, Los Angeles, Al Riffa, Sosie and Docklands has been selected to contest the HK$130 million LONGINES Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) at Sha Tin on Sunday, 14 December.
By Declan Schuster
Two spots remain on the sought-after LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) roster before the final line-up is confirmed following Wednesday night’s (26 November) nine-race fixture at Happy Valley.
Vincent Ho (11 wins) leads Jerry Chau (10) in the race for a prized berth available to the leading homegrown rider. Both Ho and Chau have four mounts on Wednesday, while Luke Ferraris (15) holds a slender one-win advantage over Hugh Bowman (14) in the place designated to the next highest-ranked Hong Kong-based jockey.
Jantar Mantar clinched his second career championship in Japan with a win by 1 3/4 lengths in Sunday’s Grade 1 Mile Championship at Kyoto Racecourse.
Jantar Mantar (who paid $4.30 in American pools) won the Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen at a mile on turf in June. Those two wins are enough to give Jantar Mantar the title of 2025 champion miler.
