Arima Kinen Boasts Top Talent, Abundant Mix of Winners

Kenichi Ikezoe owns the most wins in Arima Kinen history, placing first in 2009 (Dream Journey), 2011 (Orfevre), 2013 (Orfevre) and 2018 (Blast Onepiece).

Frenchman Olivier Peslier is the only jockey to win The Grand Prix in three consecutive years. He did so aboard Symboli Kris S in 2002 and ’03 and Zenno Rob Roy, a Sunday Silence-sired stallion, in ’04.

There’s been one other multiple-race winner this century, Masayoshi Ebina (Manhattan Cafe, 2001; Matsurida Gogh, 2007).

In a sign of the ultra-competitive nature of the race each year, 10 different jockeys have reached the finish first since 2010.

Zenno Rob Roy’s winning time of 2 minutes, 29.5 seconds is still the race record.

Trainers Set the Tone for Success

Since 2000, 16 different trainers have had an Arima Kinen-winning horse in their stable.

Most notably, Yasutoshi Ikee has won it five times. His dream lineup: Deep Impact, Dream Journey, Orfevre (twice) and Satono Diamond.

The other multiple-victory trainer this century is Kazuo Fujisawa, who set the plan in motion for Symboli Kris S (twice) and Zenno Rob Roy.

Yoshito Yahagi, the 2019 winning Arima Kinen trainer with Lys Gracieux (whose grandsire was Sunday Silence, the 1989 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes champ) and Damian Lane, watched Loves Only You’s mediocre performance last December. The JRA's race summary evaluated the mare’s performance this way: “raced around ninth, angled out but met traffic at early stretch, never a threat.”

Eleven months later, Loves Only You triumphed at the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf in Del Mar, California.

With another marquee win for Loves Only You at the Hong Kong Cup on December 12, Yahagi’s training tactics have worked well on the big stage in recent weeks.

Will his nurturing of Panthalassa pay off in the biggest way possible on Sunday?Panthalassa has performed well of late, with a wire-to-wire triumph in the October Stakes on October 17 and a four-length win in the G3 Fukushima Kinen on November 14. Both races are 2,000 meters, and Panthalassa’s stamina was strong in both, suggesting another 500 meters won’t be a problem.

Every year, success stories and a lucrative payday arrive in late December at the Arima Kinen. The 66th annual race will add to its rich history.

[Japan Sports Notebook] here on Sundays, in [Odds and Evens] here during the week, and Twitter ＠ed_odeven.