Notable runners in Sunday's G1 Champions Cup
Wednesday, 29 November, 2023 20:05
Lemon Pop (Photo: Masakazu Takahashi)
The buzz of the Japan Cup and Equinox's stunning performance is still in our heads, but one more G1 is coming up this Sunday, the Champions Cup at Chukyo Racecourse. Here are the notable runners in the Champions Cup.
Two-time G1/JpnI winner Lemon Pop leads the field despite some concern about the distance of the race, 1800m. This will be his first time racing over a distance that completes a lap. He is a winner of this year's G1 February Stakes and the JpnI Nanbu Hai at Morioka Racecourse. He finished 10th last time out in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. Ryusei Sakai will be taking the reins.
Seraphic Call is an unbeaten three-year-old with explosiveness and a quick turn of foot. He is still having a bit of problems with the gate but his speed is making up for those mistakes. He also has won four races with over three lengths ahead of the second-placed horses. This will be his first time running up against G1 level horses and it will be interesting to see how much he is going to hold up against those runners. Mirco Demuro is booked to ride.
T O Keynes is a veteran three-time G1/JpnI winner including the winner in the 2021 Champions Cup. He has not been able to win a title this year but it is too early to judge whether he's past the peak point of his career. Kohei Matsuyama will aim to bring him back to the winner's circle once again.
Other runners include Korea Cup winner Crown Pride, G3 Sirius Stakes winner Hagino Alegrias, three-time JpnI winner Meisho Hario, and this year's JBC Ladies Classic winner Icon Tailor.
Two-time G1/JpnI winner Lemon Pop leads the field despite some concern about the distance of the race, 1800m. This will be his first time racing over a distance that completes a lap. He is a winner of this year's G1 February Stakes and the JpnI Nanbu Hai at Morioka Racecourse. He finished 10th last time out in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. Ryusei Sakai will be taking the reins.
Seraphic Call is an unbeaten three-year-old with explosiveness and a quick turn of foot. He is still having a bit of problems with the gate but his speed is making up for those mistakes. He also has won four races with over three lengths ahead of the second-placed horses. This will be his first time running up against G1 level horses and it will be interesting to see how much he is going to hold up against those runners. Mirco Demuro is booked to ride.
T O Keynes is a veteran three-time G1/JpnI winner including the winner in the 2021 Champions Cup. He has not been able to win a title this year but it is too early to judge whether he's past the peak point of his career. Kohei Matsuyama will aim to bring him back to the winner's circle once again.
Other runners include Korea Cup winner Crown Pride, G3 Sirius Stakes winner Hagino Alegrias, three-time JpnI winner Meisho Hario, and this year's JBC Ladies Classic winner Icon Tailor.